Conversations with Calliope- Dialogue with My Muse

(Niagara Falls)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Fine, but busy.
CALLIOPE: Still sorting and packing?
JOE: Yes, although I'm beginning to see a dent in the pile.
CALLIOPE: Any literary progress?
JOE: A little. I started on ideas for the video Are You Afraid of This Book.
CALLIOPE: Tell me the premise again.
JOE: I have a suspicion that many people don't read The Pastor's Inferno because it scares them off.
CALLIOPE: Have you thought that it could just be your writing?
JOE: That occurred to me, but I think it's more than that.
CALLIOPE: Such as?
JOE: The topic of sexual abuse, the darkness of the subject, more information than they want about the human condition.
CALLIOPE: What do you think people look for in fiction?
JOE: Escape, entertainment, reaffirmation of their views on society, a good story.
CALLIOPE: So you think you challenge people's thinking too much.
JOE: Maybe so. Let's talk a little more about it tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How was your weekend?
JOE: Busy with Carol's house renovations and family get-togethers. I enjoyed it.
CALLIOPE: You said you were going to take the weekend off from writing. Did you?
JOE: Yes and no. I wrote in my journal Saturday and Sunday. I also had some time to think about my writing yesterday but did not do any direct writing of my novel.
CALLIOPE: What did you come up with?
JOE: I realized that when I write, I focus on what I think should be said and how I think it should be said, taking into account what selected reviewers think.
CALLIOPE: So what's wrong with that?
JOE: I have concluded that I need to take marketing more into account even before I write?
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I can't tell my readers what they should be interested in. I think I have to redo my approach.
CALLIOPE: What would you do different?
JOE: I think I need to understand the needs and interests of my target readers as well as what would grab and maintain their attention and then write with those considerations in mind.
CALLIOPE: That sounds like a good approach. Do you plan to try it?
JOE: Yes. I will begin today and use the approach for the rest of the writing of Marital Property and in the revision process.
CALLIOPE: I will be interested to see how well that works.
JOE: So will I. I'll keep you posted.

(Nantucket Windmill)