More holiday mayhem

Hey, y'all — it's a Christmas season more than usually hectic for me. The Ph.D. is picking up pace, I've been doing a fair bit of editing, the summer job has been quite time-consuming, and — yes! — I've actually been doing some writing!

There is still some polishing to do on the libretto for the Dancing Mice opera, but Houston is cranking out the music for it at a rate of knots. Moreover, we've written yet another opera: only ten minutes long, but we have great hopes for it. (I should clarify: the libretto is done, and Houston is currently working on the music.) From the notes I'm hearing from the next room, it's going to be a little ripper of a piece.

It's more than a little challenging, handing a script to a composer. Who knows what they'll do with it? Will they think the funny bits are funny? Will they recognize the sad bits or the thoughtful bits, and will their music reflect that? Or will it plow through all your beautifully crafted words, obscuring their meaning with florid and overwrought Wagnerian chords? You just have to take a deep breath and let the composer have a go. And hope your script is (a) good, (b) clear, and (c) inspiring. And that the composer is truly collaborative. None of these is necessarily a sure thing.

Having provided you with a momentary glimpse into the apprehension that for me is a steady state these days, I will leave you (there are more cookies that need to be baked, so that I may bring them to the last night of fencing for the year tomorrow). Even though I cannot post the cookies here on the blog for you to have some, I can at least give you something: this link about how to write fantasy that will absolutely slay the editors (from Hannah Paduch via Bryan Cutler).