progress is better than fudge.

Right, so I've moved past the fudge-eating stage. Feeling very proud of myself.

There are dozens, hundreds, of index cards in neat little groups of three, and then larger groups of nine, spread every which way in my bedroom/studio... covering the bed, desk, all available surfaces. The plotlines and subplots labeled, very neat, very nice...

But all the rest of the cards are empty.

Snow falling outside; blankets of snow-white index cards inside.

The idea of a symphonic score is all well and good, but you still have to compose the darn thing.

Composers, how do you do it? Something I never learned in years of music lessons. How do you turn chaos and bits and pieces, snatches of a melody, bits of fugue... how do you make it an actual workable piece of music? What's your process?

Years of being fascinated by where do you get your ideas have turned into this: How do you do it? Skip the brainstorming and idea generation: tell me how you make it happen. The rubber to the road, notes to the score, ink to the paper.

I think I've captured the high points. I think I know where those go. Hoping to inch my way from there...