Your favorite theater-loving, Shakespeare-hating Odyssey writer is back with another Something Rotten!-themed article! Remember that last article where I blasted William Shakespeare's writing? Well, I still stand by the notion that he was a terrible write. However, only a few mere hours after that article was published, I won the Something Rotten! Ticket Lottery. My dad and I scored some sweet orchestra seats, and before I knew it, I was finally able to experience the genius that is Something Rotten!

In a very quick Reader's Digest summary, the musical is about two aspiring writer brothers struggling to come up with an original play idea that will outshine Shakespeare. Meanwhile, good ol' Willy Shakes is struggling to come up with his own new play idea that will keep him on the top.

At one point, Shakespeare (who, when I saw the show, was played by the fabulous Eric Sciotto) has a song titled "Hard to be The Bard." And, I'll be damned, that song made me realize that Shakespeare understood what a struggle it actually is to get an idea out on paper. For example, you may...

"...write down a word but it's not the right word,
So you try a new word but you hate the new word,
And you need a good word but you can't find the word..."

Even now in the 21st century that holds true. Honestly, until I heard that song, I didn't have all that great an idea for a new article. Now, though I hate to admit it because technically Shakespeare said it, I've got an article topic that actually means something to me. And sure, I know there are people who scoff at writers and say it can't possibly be difficult to put words on paper. And yes, I could argue until I'm blue in the face that it is. Instead, I'll let Shakespeare explain:

"What people just don't understand
Is that writing's demanding;
It's mentally challenging..."

There's a lot of work that goes into placing words in just the right order so that they can properly convey their intended message. Hours, or even days depending on how long the piece is meant to be, go into writing before it's even fit for editing. After editing, even more hours of work go into corrections and alterations so that the piece can be perfect for publishing. Writing is no less taxing than painting a masterpiece, coming up with a new scientific theory, or composing the next great symphony.

Once again I just have to give a big thanks to Something Rotten! for constantly providing me with inspiration to write, as well as catchy songs to sing along to. With the amount of amazing songs in this show, I can guarantee you all more articles with Something Rotten! as their motivation.