North Hollywood, California
Maybe I was too cocky? Or maybe I just jinxed it. Whichever - today's historic moment fell a little flat. Part of it was the sheer "scope" of the scene - I felt like, "No pressure there!" But I was feeling pressured. I was trying to get stuff done before my boss came in; then I had to run an errand at lunch that look longer than it should have and it was hot which made me cranky; then when I got back I suddenly had to do actual work. By the time all that was past, I sat down to try to write...and it just kind of wouldn't come. I wrote the dialogue part, but the song...ugh. It's the first one so far I've tried to write to pre-existing music and it wasn't as easy as I remembered. You have to fit certain things, not only syllabically (is that even a word?), but also in tone and mood. Your words have to match what the music's saying. I can feel what I want to get across put I just couldn't get it out of me the way that I wanted. The thing that torques me about that is, since tomorrow's Friday and Monday's a holiday, it could be 5 days before I can get back to work on this. Maybe that's the time I need to let the ideas roll around in my head, but...I wanted to be finished today. Busting out a scene in a day generally hasn't been a problem. Today it was.
Also, I wonder if I might not be running out of steam somewhat. After all, I've been writing like mad for 6 weeks. I wasn't happy with Ewan's proposal, either - it might actually be all right, but it was rough. Leo has yet to see it; maybe once he does I'll realize it's OK; maybe I'm just too close to it. At the moment, I'm feeling frustrated, but when I look back at how much I've done since 20 July, it does help me realize that this little block is just temporary.
Maybe the trick is not to shoot video logs when starting a scene!
31 August 2006
29 August 2006
Studio City, California
The writing continues and the years are whipping by - for Maud, that is! Today I've gotten into 1906 and 1907. Yes, Maud has written Anne and history is about to be made. But first I've got a little of my own history that happened today, considerably minor as it is. So far I've either written a complete scene in a day, or two complete scenes, or part of a scene. Today, I got stuck writing Ewan's proposal (it's a quasi-duet with Ewan and Maud, but I need more information than I have in front of me at the moment), so I stopped and moved on to the next scene where Maud takes her manuscript out of the hat box and decides to try sending it to one more publisher. I hate to break up the set, as it were - although it's not like anyone's going to know!
That means, if all goes well, our Maud will find her Anne published on 31 August. Of course, as you know, that's a monumental moment and I'm a little jittery just thinking about it! I'm planning on working a song in there based on a tune Leo came up with last October. It's sort of been an unofficial Maud theme for us, and everyone he's played it so far has loved it. We're in slight disagreement over what it evokes - but isn't that how music is? I see it as more euphoric and triumphant, whereas he sees it as more bittersweet and says people have cried when they've heard it. I can see it that way, too, so the publication of Anne seems to me the best place to use this music. You'll see. I'm pretty sure I can make that work. It's just an awesome enough piece that I feel it has to be used for an important moment and not one of the more common ones!
Of course, stay tuned for more - right here on LMM-TV!
The writing continues and the years are whipping by - for Maud, that is! Today I've gotten into 1906 and 1907. Yes, Maud has written Anne and history is about to be made. But first I've got a little of my own history that happened today, considerably minor as it is. So far I've either written a complete scene in a day, or two complete scenes, or part of a scene. Today, I got stuck writing Ewan's proposal (it's a quasi-duet with Ewan and Maud, but I need more information than I have in front of me at the moment), so I stopped and moved on to the next scene where Maud takes her manuscript out of the hat box and decides to try sending it to one more publisher. I hate to break up the set, as it were - although it's not like anyone's going to know!
That means, if all goes well, our Maud will find her Anne published on 31 August. Of course, as you know, that's a monumental moment and I'm a little jittery just thinking about it! I'm planning on working a song in there based on a tune Leo came up with last October. It's sort of been an unofficial Maud theme for us, and everyone he's played it so far has loved it. We're in slight disagreement over what it evokes - but isn't that how music is? I see it as more euphoric and triumphant, whereas he sees it as more bittersweet and says people have cried when they've heard it. I can see it that way, too, so the publication of Anne seems to me the best place to use this music. You'll see. I'm pretty sure I can make that work. It's just an awesome enough piece that I feel it has to be used for an important moment and not one of the more common ones!
Of course, stay tuned for more - right here on LMM-TV!
24 August 2006
23 August 2006
North Hollywood, California
Since there are so many Anne fans out there (including myself!), I think it's noteworthy to mention that, this afternoon, Anne made her début into the libretto. I can't believe I'm up to 1905 already, but it's true. Keeping in mind that we're planning shorter scenes and songs than your average musical, to date I have written 21 scenes, 8 songs, and 2 reprises. Of course, these are all words. But a good many of them there are. Today I wrote 2 scenes (I generally seem to do one a day, sometimes two). I like the majority of them but I think it'll be worth going back over them tomorrow and tweaking some things. I'm having a bit of trouble with Grandmother Macneill, and I want to be sure the Frede/Stella stuff feels natural, too. As well as bringing in Una - later known as Kilmeny from Kilmeny of the Orchard. The Anne stuff, although she doesn't say a word in this scene, I feel pretty good about!
Temporarily going red for the opening Anne scenes.
Writing Anne into the libretto!
One thing I wanted to point out is the irony that I've done absolutely all my writing at work. All at the office, nothing here at home! I'm not sure why this is. I keep thinking maybe it's because once I get home there are plenty of things to get distracted with. But I'm always dealing with distractions at the office, so there goes that theory. Perhaps it's because we're going through a rather slow period and it fills the time? I'm not so sure. Maybe it's just that, for whatever distractions are there, it's still easier to get distracted at home with chores and meals and day-to-day junk. Whatever it is, every single word I've written has been from the office. I'm just grateful to have a job where there's enough down time to do this much work, because if I had your typical, full-time job, I don't know when this would get written! If we're going to put this on by June 2008, I want to be finished with the libretto by the end of 2006, barring revisions.
So far my unintentional writing schedule has me writing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Fridays at the office are generally pretty busy with actual work I have to do, so I don't even try> to write on Fridays. Of course, I'm home on the weekends, but it's the only time I have to do other things, so no writing gets done then, either. Mind you, I'm going to the gym now 3 times a week as well and I have a relationship to maintain, and every once in a while my friends get some (very little!) attention. I wish I was writing more, but, all things considered, I'm going at a pretty good clip. I don't think I've ever written this much this fast!
Since there are so many Anne fans out there (including myself!), I think it's noteworthy to mention that, this afternoon, Anne made her début into the libretto. I can't believe I'm up to 1905 already, but it's true. Keeping in mind that we're planning shorter scenes and songs than your average musical, to date I have written 21 scenes, 8 songs, and 2 reprises. Of course, these are all words. But a good many of them there are. Today I wrote 2 scenes (I generally seem to do one a day, sometimes two). I like the majority of them but I think it'll be worth going back over them tomorrow and tweaking some things. I'm having a bit of trouble with Grandmother Macneill, and I want to be sure the Frede/Stella stuff feels natural, too. As well as bringing in Una - later known as Kilmeny from Kilmeny of the Orchard. The Anne stuff, although she doesn't say a word in this scene, I feel pretty good about!
Temporarily going red for the opening Anne scenes.
Writing Anne into the libretto!
One thing I wanted to point out is the irony that I've done absolutely all my writing at work. All at the office, nothing here at home! I'm not sure why this is. I keep thinking maybe it's because once I get home there are plenty of things to get distracted with. But I'm always dealing with distractions at the office, so there goes that theory. Perhaps it's because we're going through a rather slow period and it fills the time? I'm not so sure. Maybe it's just that, for whatever distractions are there, it's still easier to get distracted at home with chores and meals and day-to-day junk. Whatever it is, every single word I've written has been from the office. I'm just grateful to have a job where there's enough down time to do this much work, because if I had your typical, full-time job, I don't know when this would get written! If we're going to put this on by June 2008, I want to be finished with the libretto by the end of 2006, barring revisions.
So far my unintentional writing schedule has me writing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Fridays at the office are generally pretty busy with actual work I have to do, so I don't even try> to write on Fridays. Of course, I'm home on the weekends, but it's the only time I have to do other things, so no writing gets done then, either. Mind you, I'm going to the gym now 3 times a week as well and I have a relationship to maintain, and every once in a while my friends get some (very little!) attention. I wish I was writing more, but, all things considered, I'm going at a pretty good clip. I don't think I've ever written this much this fast!
09 August 2006
Studio City, California
Maud talked a lot in her journals about how hard it was to write amid constant interruptions. I feel her pain! Of course, it's my own fault, I suppose, trying to write at work. Oh, don't worry; I'm not sneaking it - they know. And there's generally enough down time for me to get a good bit of work done, which I'm grateful for. How many writers can write at a day job? But it's not without its drawbacks. The phone rings, someone asks me to do something, delivery services arrive - and this week I'm finding it quite annoying. These last 2 sequences I've written (So I Say Farewell and More Important Things) have been very complicated by nature and have required a lot of further research and concentration, and it's a wonder I've gotten anything written with everything conspiring to throw off my train of thought! How did Maud do it?
But I did it, too...as of now I have written 10 scenes with 6 songs within them. I'm at least grateful that I'm in such a prolific phase.
Maud talked a lot in her journals about how hard it was to write amid constant interruptions. I feel her pain! Of course, it's my own fault, I suppose, trying to write at work. Oh, don't worry; I'm not sneaking it - they know. And there's generally enough down time for me to get a good bit of work done, which I'm grateful for. How many writers can write at a day job? But it's not without its drawbacks. The phone rings, someone asks me to do something, delivery services arrive - and this week I'm finding it quite annoying. These last 2 sequences I've written (So I Say Farewell and More Important Things) have been very complicated by nature and have required a lot of further research and concentration, and it's a wonder I've gotten anything written with everything conspiring to throw off my train of thought! How did Maud do it?
But I did it, too...as of now I have written 10 scenes with 6 songs within them. I'm at least grateful that I'm in such a prolific phase.
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