Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for July 25, 2020

A muse isn’t going to waste her time on an untalented hack like you.

The major difference between a professional writer and an amateur is a pro doesn’t wait around for a muse. He puts his butt in his chair and does the mental work, himself.

Fortunately, Pastis has a bulit-in fallback ’toon: The “Searching for the Muse” meme.

Well, this was amusing.

The muse isn’t going to come if you call her “stupid”.

How amuseing.

Tried and tried to come up with a joke about Stan Musial, but failed. Stupid muse!

My muse has been practicing social distancing.

I saw my doctor the other day and told him how happy I was that my muse was speaking to me again. I just don’t understand why he had me recommitted.

Edgar Allan Poe died an alcoholic.

There was an early Pearls strip where Rat was “waiting for the muse to strike” so Pig brought in a moose with a boxing glove.

https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2003/07/11

my muse only visits while i’m sleeping…

The Muse wanted you to mask up ;-) …. Croc Power !

It’s tough to come up with a new strip everyday!

Think he needs a “Muse trap”!

She turned up in another strip the other day.

https://www.gocomics.com/looseparts/2020/07/20?ct=v&cti=649237

I do believe our cartoonists during this threesome of torture (pandemic, Trump, heat) doth proceed essential services for the sanity of our nation.

Perhaps he meant “mouse” (rat)?

Plus this poor guy only has three shirts.

But where is the muse? It’s over there in a box. With the ambiguity.

I’ve been sitting her for hours trying to find something to add to this discussion. Oh Muse, why have you left me?

Panel 6 : The Muse That Roared"!

It would be funny if it weren’t so true.

I write when the ideas flow….

Ask the crocs and guard duck for help

Don’t give up the search Stephan. We need you to a-muse us.

All sympathies here from a retired freelance writer. . .Thinking up something funny/clever/pointed seven days a week to fit in a specified number of panels so that the entire world can comment on how bad/good you are. . .GAWD, I’M GLAD I’M RETIRED. . .

I lost my mouse once… same thing…

Being a writer is a real challenge.

Faulkner….

Cartoonists have it easy, when they lose the muse, or go on vacation, they have some of their older work repeat for a few weeks or months. Or in some cases they just repeat the same jokes for years – I’m looking at you Garfield.

By the summer of 1830, Victor Hugo was facing an impossible deadline. Twelve months earlier, the famous French author had made an agreement with his publisher that he would write a new book titled The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Instead of writing the book, Hugo spent the next year pursuing other projects, entertaining guests, and delaying his work on the text. Hugo’s publisher had become frustrated by his repeated procrastination and responded by setting a formidable deadline. The publisher demanded that Hugo finish the book by February of 1831 — less than six months away. Hugo developed a plan to beat his procrastination. He collected all of his clothes, removed them from his chambers, and locked them away. He was left with nothing to wear except a large shawl. Lacking any suitable clothing to go outdoors, Hugo was no longer tempted to leave the house and get distracted. Staying inside and writing was his only option.

The strategy worked. Hugo remained in his study each day and wrote furiously during the fall and winter of 1830. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was published two weeks early, on January 14, 1831.

Are you not a mused?!

The muse is named Jack. Jack Daniels.

Thank God he doesn’t go the classical route and look for a muse in a bottle of liquor. I had a cat who was my muse for a while. She would look at me like I was about to do something amazing; I felt obligated. It’s a cat thing.

I’ve been stuck on the title of my memoirs for 77 years.

This seems like a good comic to comment on something I’ve been thinking about for some time. I appreciate the fact that you are always there for us. Some cartoonists take off a day or several days or weeks, but you are here every day. I for one really appreciate that. I don’t often comment here, but I read and love the comic every day.

Lookin’ for that pretty little gal from Greece.

My favorite writing quote is from Nora Roberts/JD Robb, one of the most prolific, successful, and competent working writers in the world.

“I’m just starting [a new book] and the battle has already begun. I don’t think they ever go smoothly. It’s work. It should be work. It should be hard work. I think if you sort of sit around and wait to be inspired, you’re probably going to be sitting there a long time. My process is more about crafting, working an idea through my head to see if it’s a good concept.” Nora Roberts in an interview with the “Hagerstown Herald-Mail.”

It’s hard to force either sleep or creativity

I am not aMUSEd.

Your muse is quarantined.

hence the reason for puns

What constitutes a muse varies from writer to writer. Consider Turgenev, certainly a professional, who said he always had to be at least a little in love in order to write; and now that he was old and not in love, he couldn’t write anymore. My wife, my soul mate, died 10 years and nearly 5 months ago, and since then I’ve been much less enthusiastic about any creative projects, though I continue with some work.

Looks like this guy has a “Stress of Her Regard” type muse

She’s in the non-smoking car.

There is a virtually unlimited number of ideas floating around on the Web. No reason for anyone to complain about a lack of inspiration.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Walt Disney got his start.

In the past, I always enjoyed the sarcastic humor of this strip. Lately? A lot of sarcasm, but not much humor…

I’m surprised to see rat is covered in ink in

When my muse disappears I usually find her in the bottom of a shot of JD. Luckily, she doesn’t disappear too often……but she does like to play peek-a-boo from time to time.

So all the characters get covered in ink when they write, not just Pig. Who knew?

“The Writer” smokes. Rat drinks. Pig puzzles.

Separating the Pro from the Amateur writer is the quality and expense of the booze they use as Muse….

I thought that Pastis WAS able to draw himself.