'Twas the night before deadline, and all through the room
Not a keystroke was clicking, and I saw my doom.
The words were not coming, and my head, it ached,
With hopes that my manuscript wouldn't be late.
My family slept soundly, like angels, like rocks,
While I sat and sat, and the clock, it tick-tocked.
"It's hopeless!" I cried. "This conflict is flat!"
And I made to toss it all out, just like that.
When into my room crashed a wild-looking girl
With crazy green eyes and a mess of red curls.
"Don't dare scrap that book!" she shouted with vigor.
"The conflict is fine! It just needs to be bigger!"
"Your hero is sexy! Your heroine's brave!
The villain is everyone's love-to-hate knave!
You just need to give that plot tension a crank,
And this book will put lots of bucks in your bank."
From mind-boggling hairdo to fabulous shoes,
This woman could only have been my own muse.
She sat me right down with a notebook and pen,
And set me to work, a-scribbling again.
"Take lots of notes," she advised with a smile.
"You write, and I'll talk, and we'll plot for a while.
The hero is great. So's his significant other.
But how about making the villain her brother?"
"That's it!" I cried loudly, and jotted it down.
"This new clash will make the whole story come 'round!"
I wrote like a flash, and she spoke here and there,
And we got the final draft polished and squared.
At last, she jumped up with a nod of her head.
"I think that you've got this all covered," she said.
"For now, I must go, until next time we meet.
Until then, my dear, get your butt in that seat!"
As she left, I sat back in my office chair,
And did what all authors with moxie would dare.
I finished my book, and proofed it in time,
And emailed my editor as midnight chimed.
And so, lesson learned! You must heed your muse.
She knows what she's doing, and so, friend, do you.
You'll finish that book, and your words will take flight.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good write!
~ Happy Holidays from Nicki Greenwood, 2013 ~
