MJ Beasi

Writer, Arts Educator

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Yes, I am still writing a novel.

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Now that the opera is finally over, I’ve finished the second draft of my novel, and have it out to my first batch of beta readers.

My greatest struggle over the past few days, as I begin the (probably longish) wait for feedback, is not obsessively re-reading the book myself and making changes before having any idea what’s working/not working for other readers. And by “struggle,” what I mean is that I failed completely and ended up doing exactly that. The changes I’ve made are not *huge* changes, but significant in smaller ways. I was not at all prepared for how irresistible the temptation to re-read and edit would be at this point. In an attempt to squash that temptation, I’ve started some preliminary work on the second book, which might also be a bad idea, but at least it’s giving me a new itch to scratch.

I’m adding a few of the background characters from the first book into the supporting cast in the second… fun thing about writing this vs. reading other people’s books: I can ‘ship these characters to my heart’s content, and it’s always canon. ;)

Dido & Aeneas wrap-up

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I’ve been doing some angsting out loud over questions of sustainability and the viability of the Opera Workshop in the community, which is sort of the inevitable result of the dust clearing on a financially difficult year. When the excitement over the summer’s artistic successes begins to pass, what I’m left with is the practical realities in front of me, which never seem to get any easier and which were especially rough this year, on all fronts. But before I let myself do a really deep dive into those unavoidable realities, I want to take a long moment to express my gratitude to everyone who made Dido and Aeneas such an incredible experience and probably my favorite opera we’ve done to date. Because no matter how much hand-wringing and hair-pulling I’m doing over the practical, business-y aspects of this thing, that gratitude is REAL. [Read more…]