Well, dear readers, these here notes should already be posted and yet these here notes are not even written so how can they be posted? Yes, I am behind in the writing of these here notes, and that is because I got slightly sidetracked by the writing of the new book. I thought I was done for the evening, but then I took a shower and as usually happens when I’m in the shower, I think of things to add so I went back and added them, then got carried away and kept writing. Carried away, carried away, I get carried away. What am I, Comden and Green all of a sudden?
Yesterday was another very long day. I was up at nine after eight hours of sleep. I answered e-mails (there are so many concerning this benefit that I can’t keep up with them), then did a little finessing of the previous day’s writing, adding a few things, rewording some other things, just the usual futzing and fixing, which only resulted in about a page and a half. All of that was for chapter one – just mentioning a character who will appear in chapter two and setting that relationship in motion, and doing detail work.
Then we had our rehearsals for the benefit. Joan Ryan was first and ran through her number. The scheduling of the singers is kind of irritating – today it was one an hour for the first part of the day, but we’re really only running through the songs once or twice and really just for me to hear them, so we did a lot of useless waiting around. They have other days scheduled similarly, but both the musical director and I have told them to adjust so our time isn’t being wasted like that. After Joan, we had Daisy Eagan, Ilene Graff, Kay Cole, and Kerry O’Malley – very pleasurable to hear them do their stuff, I must say. After that was finally done, I wrote one more page, then went and had a cup of chicken soup and some bacon and eggs, with toast and tomatoes. Then I picked up no packages. After that, I came home.
I wrote a couple more pages, then relaxed for a bit, but didn’t watch anything because I just wasn’t in the mood. Then I did stuff on the computer, after which I wrote more pages and got a few pages into chapter two. I think at the end of it all I did seven or eight pages, so that’s pretty good. One of my favorite things about the early stages of a new book is naming the characters and I always have a lot of fun figuring all that stuff out. And figuring out what they look like and what kind of clothes they where and the cadences of their speech. The Hofstetter books are easy in that regard, since there are so many recurring characters, but in a completely new book it’s starting from scratch. I think when I’ve finished chapter two I’ll probably have thirty pages or so, and will then give those to Muse Margaret to make sure I’m on the right track.
I am going to have to buckle down, Winsocki, over the next few days and write whatever I need to write for the benefit, and I also have a set of liner notes I need to get done. And there’s a new Kritzerland release, too, so I have to decide what date I’m announcing that. Usually January is an easy month for me – I always try to keep it that way so I can just mostly do the book stuff, but this January and early February is really busy and crazy.
Today, I shall be up by ten at the latest, I shall try to jog, I shall futz and finesse yesterday’s pages and then try to write a couple of pages before our two o’clock stumble-through. Actually some of the cast is arriving early to run the one group number. After the stumble-through some of us are going out to celebrate Sarah Staitman’s birthday. That should be fun – just have to figure out where.
Tomorrow, I shall definitely jog, then write, then we have our sound check and then show. I will, of course, have a full report. Monday and the rest of the week is all benefit rehearsals and attendant stuff, plus a couple of meetings and meals, and, of course, writing every single day. Wednesday night we have a brush-up rehearsal – I’m of two minds about attending it actually – I really think that’s the province of the stage manager at this point, but we have been off for two weeks so I should probably make sure the pacing is right and that everyone’s up to snuff, performance-wise. I don’t even know if I’ll get to attend any of the shows this week, although I’ll definitely try for Saturday night, since I know a bunch of people who are going. Next Sunday is a band rehearsal and a chance for me to talk to the tech people about the show, and then show day will be insane, with trying to light and get sound and make sure every performer knows exactly how they’re entering and exiting.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to jog, write, have a stumble-through, eat, and write. Today’s topic of discussion: What are the most irritating things you find about the computer and the Internet, and what are the best things your find about the computer and the Internet? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall be carried away, carried away, I get carried away.