Fun with Friday Videos

I realized after thinking more about yesterday's post (and I think I may have this epiphany about twice a year. Maybe someday it will stick) that the important thing is to generate emotion in the readers. That can sometimes be done through showing the characters' emotions, but the key is making readers care about the characters, and then they'll have feelings about what the characters are going through. A stoic character facing his fate without so much as an inner flinch can still make readers cry if they care about what happens to him. So it comes back to being mean to your characters. The art of writing good fiction apparently involves sadism because it's all about making bad things happen to people you care about, and enjoying it.

In other news, the book went off yesterday (yay!). Then I wrote a description of the book I'm working on now, which is a good way to force yourself to focus on what the story's really about. Today I think I'll dive into copy edits on the previous book in this series so we can start getting it ready for publication.

Meanwhile, I need to find a balance between resting my voice and keeping it in shape so I can sing Sunday. Here's a recording of some other group doing the song we're doing. I'm singing the soprano solo in the middle of the piece. Yes, it's pretty high, which is why I'm nervous (well, aside from all the other reasons I'm nervous):



Now for some other fun with music-related videos. I may have found my favorite version of the now-ubiquitous "Let it Go" from Frozen, which may also be one of the better actor rants to fans since the infamous "Get a Life" William Shatner sketch on Saturday Night Live. Arthur Darvill, most famous as the late, lamented Rory on Doctor Who, lets people know that he's moved on, and so should they. It's hilarious (even though I have to admit that I'd rather not let it go because Rory is one of my favorite characters ever), but what really impresses me is that the way he's looking at the sheet music gives me the impression that he's sight reading. On live radio. Though I guess you don't do Broadway and West End musicals if you're shy about singing in public. If I only had about a tenth that confidence.


The perfectionist in me feels obligated to share a less rough performance, a scene from Once, the music he's currently performing in, as a better representation of what he can really do.


On a totally different note (see what I did there?), as a follow-up to last weekend's jazz festival, here's an act they need to add: A piano duet involving an elephant, with bonus elephant boogieing. See, even elephants like jazz.