I just finished e-mailing my publisher. There's an official title change. We both agreed that if the second book was going to be part of a series, we should find some way to connect the books. The new book will now be called The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghouls. I think it sounds right, especially since it follows on the heels of The Mystery of the Frozen Brains. I still haven't looked at my editor's notes, because I'm trying to get my Alberta Anthology monologues sent off. I should be back on to the book tomorrow, along with the Phoenix revisions, and the starting of Nearly Normal. It's going to be a busy summer.
June 2005 Archives
Just got the editor's notes on Graffiti Ghouls yesterday. I'm going to look them over next week and get to work on the revisions. I'm looking forward to the process and kicking the book into shape. I have to remind myself to look at the notes, then walk away for a couple of hours to think them through before I launch into the changes. There's nothing worse than making a change for the sake of change; I have to make sure I understand the problem first. I love fiction editors because they are crystal clear about what they think the problem is. There's no denying they're comments. When I worked in television (and sometimes theatre) the notes were weren't even notes; they were suggestions. I always had to sift through the suggestions to find the root of the problem, but in the meantime the producers and broadcasters had become married to the suggestion as the only solution to the problem. Reminder to self: writing is like addition. There's more than one way to add up to 19; I just have to find the way that works the best for me.
Finally, I've broken the back on the revisions of The Forbidden Phoenix. I've been stumped for several days on the start of the second act (it opens with a song). I finally realized what the lyrical content of the song needed to be, and it's making the revisions flow a lot more smoothly. I can almost taste the end of the revisions. Then it's time to do more work with the composer. Will this process ever end? Playwriting isn't a sprint; it's a marathon with a finish line that shifts around like a mirage.
Yay! I just found out that I've been invited to Thin Air, a literary festival in Winnipeg this fall. More details to come, but I hope to read from Mystery of the Frozen Brains, as well as Mom, Dad, I'm Living with a White Girl. The last time I was in Winnipeg was during the dead of winter, so I'm hoping that I'll actually have a chance to see the city's attractions this time around.
I'm starting to panic a bit as my work load grows and my time shrinks. My Graffiti Ghouls editor will be sending notes by the end of this week. Meanwhile, I have to finish the revisions to the Forbidden Phoenix by the end of this week so that I can get back to work with my composer on the songs. Also, I have about 10 pages left to revise on a TV pilot that I'm working on with a friend. I also have to write a Theatre for Young Audience Play, and I have to get started on my third book. On top of that, there are revisions to my Count of Monte Cristo adaptation, an outline for a play I'm co-writing with a partner in B.C., and I wanted to submit a monologue to CBC Radio's Alberta Anthology. Oh, and if that's not enough, I promised I'd teach a playwriting course in July.
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. If I can finish off the pilot revisions today, the Phoenix rewrite by the end of the week, then I'll have the weekend to come up with a monologue, and then I can spend the next month revising Graffiti Ghouls, writing my TYA play, and leave August for Monte Cristo and the new play.
And what do I do when I have a huge pile of work? Play PS2 until 4:00 am. Ah, the routine reminds me so much of my university days. Hmm, maybe that's why I got the boot from Engineering...
I just got a call from Concrete Theatre, which is producing the Sprouts Festival happening this weekend at the Stanley Milner Library (downtown). They've invited me to read from Graffiti Ghouls (a sneak peek) on Sunday at 1:30 pm. It's pretty short notice, but if you're looking for something to do this Sunday, June 19, come on out. D'oh! As I write this, I realize that Sunday is Father's Day. If you can come out, great. If not, have a wonderfal Father's Day!
My editor just contacted me about Graffiti Ghouls. She's gone through about 80 pages of the manuscript and will send me all her notes when she's finished her line edit. Already, she's flagged a major concern about the boys discovering the graffiti. It has to do with whether one person or a gang has spraypainted the message. I have to agree with her on the note, but I'm trying to figure out the solution. It's probably best to wait until I have all her notes before I start tinkering. I always like to get a little perspective on notes before I dive into changes, because sometimes I make revisions based on knee-jerk reactions, and those changes often don't solve the problem. The key to addressing notes is understanding the problem first; I'm not always so good at understanding right away. That's why I need thinking time. In the meanwhile, I'll keep working on the changes to Forbidden Phoenix, which is really shaping up to be a cool story.
Colour me red in the face. Never count on me to predict anything; I had fully expected to see either Tim Bowling or Greg Hollingshead take the stage and accept the City of Edmonton Book Prize. So when the award was announced, I sat back, crossed my legs, and plastered on my gracious loser face. When my name was called I didn't believe my ears. I had to ask the person beside me if my name had been truly called. Wow! I think I should cash the cheque prize before someone figures out there's been a mistake. Yesterday, I felt like a kid who just woke up on Christmas morning to discover all the presents under the tree, and Audrey's Bookstore (the award sponser) was Santa Claus. Run, don't walk to Audrey's Books, and buy some books. I know that I plan on spending part of my winnings there this weekend.
Oh, and one other cool note. My pals over at Concrete Theatre won for artistic innovation. Kudos to Jared, Mieko, and Caroline. Yay!
Tonight, Mayor Stephen Mandel hosts a celebration of the arts in Edmonton. In the past, this event was a luncheon bringing together artists and business people. While the previous event was fine, it was heavy on the back-patting and skimpy on the celebration of the arts. I like the new format being an evening gala with a combination of awards and performances by artists. It gives the artists a chance to shine, and it gives the business people some idea of what they're supporting. I'm up for the City of Edmonton Book Prize this evening, but the other authors on the shortlist are Tim Bowling and Greg Hollingshead. I have two chances of winning the award: slim and none. Oh well, at least I get some free cake out of the deal. In celebration of our centennial, there will be a birthday cake served after the gala. Diet? What diet?
The manuscript is off to the editor. Now all I can do is wait for the notes and kick the book into shape. Yay! I love printing out a finished draft and holding all the pages in the palm of my hand. I feel like I've really accomplished something when I can hold it in my hands.
Now I have to switch tracks to the Forbidden Phoenix for a few days. Plus, I'm working with a friend on a television pilot. He's finished a first draft, and I have to do the second draft.
Next week, I'm starting Nearly Normal, the Theatre for Young Audience Play that has interest from the Citadel and if I feel particularly ambitious, I'll start working on the outline for the follow up to Graffiti Ghouls. In the mix for ideas are black holes, pot holes, dentists, and stolen bicycles.
Oh, and one last note about Graffiti Ghouls. Because this will be part of a running series, I may be changing the title so that it will be closer to the first book. I'm thinking of "The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghouls." Not a hundred percent sure about the change yet; the publisher likes it, but he's running the idea past his sales team. Titles are a weird thing; you have to find something that sums up the book, but also makes the book appealing enough for people to pick it up.
I'm close to finishing the revisions to Graffiti Ghouls before it goes to my editor. As I get closer to the end of the manuscript, I start to see lots more flaws. I think I was in a rush to finish the first draft, and didn't take the time I needed to go through the work. Maybe one day I'll be able to write a pitch perfect first draft, but until that day comes, I'll just keep revising and polishing.
I haven't remembered my dreams for about a year; in fact, I'm not sure I've been dreaming for a year. Maybe that's why I'm so burned out right now.
Anyway, last night I finally had a dream that I remembered, and boy was it weird. I was hosting a small house party for Will Ferrell. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman crashed the party, but he looked like Bruce Willis from 12 Monkeys and she looked like Susan Powder. Everyone gushed over Will Ferrell, claiming that Elf deserved an Oscar nomination. He seemed flustered and just wanted to go get out for a smoke.
I joined him outside, after trying to shake off Tom Cruise who was hounding Will all night about joining Scientology. Once outside, I tried to warn Will Ferrell that Tom Cruise was going to brain wash him. Will didn't seem to want to talk about it; instead he bemoaned the fact that a tree from his childhood died because the birds kept pecking at the bark. We chopped down a tree and peeled off the bark like it was a carpet roll to find a white cane inside that had been pecked by birds.
Finally, I got a chance to warn Will that Tom Cruise was going to kidnap him. As soon as I said "Here's how it's going to go down," Tom Cruise runs around the house and yells that we have to get going now. Will Ferrell looks to me with pleading eyes and I tell him to go, and I tell him the next thing that will happen is Tom Cruise will knock me out. I tell him I'll pretend to go down and then come to the rescue.
Sure enough, when we get to the front of the house, Tom Cruise clubs me and shoves Will Ferrell in a Dixie ice cream van. The van takes off, but I grab on to Tom Cruise's legs and hold him. We wrestle on the ground while I scream for him to tell me where the Scientologists have taken Will Ferrell.
Before Tom Cruise can tell me anything, I wake up. What does this dream mean? Don't eat a meal just before going to sleep, and be wary of Tom Cruise.
I'm starting to make progress on the revisions to the script. Now that I'm happy with the human drama behind the political allegory, now I have to bring the history back into play and still keep the Monkey King fable alive. It's not easy walking this line between subtle references that may be considered obscure and overt symbols that beat people over the head. I've decided that verbal clues are subtle, and I can't go more overt with explanation because it just bogs down the story. However, visual symbols don't need any explanation and tell the story clearly. The big problem that I'm facing is that the story of the Bachelor Men starts in the 1880s, and I've been trying to stretch the time line to end around the time of the Cultural Revolution. That means the Empress Dowager villain must represent two political ideologies, and I'm not sure anyone is going to get it. I might have to jettison the Cultural Revolution. This doesn't change the story, but it does impact what symbols I choose.
I've hit a wall with the revisions on Graffiti Ghouls; I know what I have to do, but I'm a bit tired of going through the story. As a change of pace, I'm switching tracks to Forbidden Phoenix for a day or so. It'll be nice to wrap my head around something different, so that I'm not feeling like I'm in a writing rut. My research on Nearly Normal, the TYA play for the Citadel, spurred this change. Yesterday, as I was reading up on stroke victims, I found myself getting very excited about the possibilities for the TYA play and wishing I could just start writing it. It gave me a little boost of energy, which has been missing from my routine lately. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm pretty burnt out when it comes to motivating myself to write. I'm hoping the change of pace will refuel me.
