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Local author writes with and about his muse

By Howard B. Owens

Once in a while, a reader stumbles across a morning post by Joesph Langen which he titles "Conversations with Calliope" and asks us what they're about.

Langen is a writer and he uses The Batavian as a morning writing exercise to connect with his muse.

We've never put these posts on the home page. They're just a writer's journal about his writing.

But Langen has been doing it daily since almost the first day The Batavian started publishing. Now he's made a collection of his writings available for free in PDF form. Click here for home info.

He lists these 10 reasons to download the book:

  1. Find out where writers get their ideas.
  2. Hear what a writer does all day.
  3. Listen to what writers say about being a writer.
  4. I want my muse to be more helpful.
  5. See how to get unstuck when you write.
  6. Learn how to talk with a muse.
  7. Explore what else writers need to know besides how to write.
  8. Discover what keeps a writer going page after page.
  9. Determine who supports a writer’s efforts.
  10. Unearth the sources of writers’ inspiration.

Langen says he's now a full-time writer after 35 years as a psychologist. He recently published his first novel, "The Pastor's Inferno." His other books include on one life's lessons, "Commonsense Wisdom for Everyday Life," and a memoir about his nine years in a seminary, "Young Man of the Cloth."

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