Hey, Geoffrey! This post really articulated a lot of feelings I've been having about Whitney and Bobbi lately. It's why I couldn't follow through on my promise to very publicly learn a Whitney song this year...it just felt cheap and exploitative. I think, every death is tragic and, when special people pass on, we need to pay our respects, even if everyone doesn't see. Major props for writing this!

I'd say to have a "Sacred Circle" of 4 or 5 people you show your work to - the people who really support you in your journey but keep you grounded. Otherwise, my work would be as much on lockdown as the director's cut of "I'll Do Anything."

You forgot the best thing about "Go" - it inspired the Simpsons episode "Trilogy of Error!" This year's Simpsons Christmas episode involved Homer going to a Christmas rave. Hmm...

Obligatory Simpsons quote! Nobody knows Grand Funk? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Chakra? The competent drumwork of Don Brewer? OH MAN!

That is nuts!!! Way to go!

I don't see a back-up plan as any sort of fallback. Once I turned 25, I kind of wished I'd planned more around one that I enjoyed doing and could make a stable income from - and, once I did, I basically fought tooth and nail to not do what I hated doing anymore as a crutch.

This is hysterical!! So unlike every "how to play bass not like a guitarist" article out there.

Every highbrow writer I know is anti-"Family Guy," but this is one of my favorite cutaway gags ever: "At least I don't openly write at Starbucks."

I'd say the best advice is to just do it. If you have a thick skin, there's no wrong way. I think, as long as you know how to censor yourself and not cross a line. Even then, it is a formative experience for your writing to not go over well (as everyone who's been in a workshop will likely attest). Don't write offensively, but allow yourself to write badly even if no one ever sees it because that's creative freedom no matter what. And it allows you to grow.

Love that these are comedy/political satire - I could use more of that in my life and fewer, well, let's face it, cover songs. And, as promised, "What if Bo Burnham was on My Little Pony?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQFmaNlq2lk

If you're my age, you not only picture that Chips Ahoy commercial, but three(!) Bette Midlers singing "In the Mood!" And maybe Lisa Simpson's jazz band version of "Take Five!"

I remember when "Tiny Furniture" came out and I was in grad school - everyone I knew came up to me and said, "Someone is doing exactly what you do with their writing and making money from it!" I never thought that, years later, so many girls would not only relate to Lena, but they'd have the courage to try writing about the same things, too. "Girls" opened a LOT of doors, didn't it?

Hi, Sue! I was going to give an update in next week's blog. In short, life happened, and writing a musical just stopped being my biggest priority right now. When I started writing these posts, I assumed that I would be writing a musical but, I guess, things change and people adjust accordingly. If you are interested in the creative process of writing a musical, there are tons of other CrazyTown writers who do blogs on it - Greg Jacobs-Roseman, Julia Meinwald, Circle Songbook, and David Davila, to name a few. I have many different interests as a performer and writer and use this blog to write about them. But, as many bad experiences I've had in that field, I'm definitely not anti-musical theatre. I really hope I'm not coming across that way!