Meet Pen-Dragon

Pen-Dragon is my site's mascot, and your host. He comes in the guise of many different dragonflies, some sporting fountain pens for bodies. However Pen-Dragon appears, he's always the lesser muse of the work-a-day writer. Unlike the glorious Greek Muses who inspired masters such as Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Dickens, Pen-Dragon is the small, serviceable inspiration for the ordinary scribe, aka "hack".

While the Muses inspire unforgettable characters, dramatic plots, and lofty language, Pen-Dragon merely points out poor word choice, misuse of punctuation, lousy grammar and repetiveness. When the Muses strike, they do not fail; only the writer can fail them. Pen-Dragon, on the other hand, can, on occasion, overlook matters and allow a draft that's, frankly, not the greatest, leaving the writer to scramble to make a deadline. He is, after all, only a dragonfly from the wetlands over yonder. One must not expect too much.

Where the Muses are goddesses who inspire fear and awe, Pen-Dragon is a down-to-earth good buddy. You drink ambrosia with the Muses, and then only upon invitation and with trembling trepidation. You can comfortably share a beer with Pen-Dragon. He enjoys relaxing on the rim of the mug while you drink, and watching the playoffs with you . . . even if you should both be writing. I guess he gets distracted, too. Unlike the Muses.

The Muses may cruelly abandon their charges, leaving them to wallow in despair and writer's block, sometimes even for years! Not so Pen-Dragon -- he merely gets delayed now and then, dodging the occasional predatory bird. But he's always nearby, and he always returns, bringing his gentle remonstrances and insights. Gotta love a friend like that.

Besides monitoring your writing, "helping" you drink beer and watch football games, Pen-Dragon has a few other pleasures. Here's a short list of what he enjoys . . .