June 2007 Archives

I made the short list for the 3 Day Novel Contest and did my interview today. I'm pretty sure I blew it.

The first thing I had to do was go into a tiny interrogation room, where the producer asked a few questions and then told me to start writing the first page of my novel. I kicked into high gear and started to write, while the producer called out the time that was left. Then he trashed the writing to provoke some kind of reaction from me. I should have fought back or cried or something, but I just shrugged off his comment. Ugh. That made for boring TV.

Then I moved to another room to do the interview. The producer wanted concise pithy comments where I had to paraphrase the question at the beginning of my answer. I ended up just repeating his questions and then talking forever. I felt like a windbag as I launched into story after story. I should have known better than to go on. Whenever I did TV interviews in the past, I knew I only had a little bit of time, so I kept my answers short and funny. Today, I rambled. Not a good thing. The producer chuckled a couple of times but the camera guy was dead silent. I felt like I used to feel after writing a final exam. All I can do is think about how I could have made my answers better. The one that I really blew was "Did I think I could win?" I started saying I could because I'd cheat, then I talked about bringing magnets and unplugging cords as a joke, and as the joke failed, I floundered for a few seconds trying to recover. What the heck was I thinking?

Mercifully, the interview came to an end, and I had to do some publicity shots with props. Once it was all over, I shook some hands and left. That's probably the last time I'll see the folks, because I totally BOMBED.

Anyway, it was fun to try out for the series. If I do make the cut, it will be a miracle. If I don't, I still don't regret trying out. Despite my nerves, I did have an okay time. At least I saw what goes on behind the scenes of a reality series in the audition phase. I can only imagine that the stakes get higher for shows like Big Brother and Survivor. The producer will contact the finalists by July 20, but I'm not holding my breath. Oh well. At least I got a free pen out of the audition.

Wow! Today, I was floored by the reaction of the CBC Radio drama producer who commissioned me to write a half-hour radio pilot. He loved the first draft. In fact, I have a total of seven notes that I can address in about ten minutes.

He said that he could take the current script into the studio and produce it today. That's the kind of feedback every writer dreams of getting for their first draft. I'm totally blown away, and I'm so thankful that I took the time and care to really hone this draft. I spent about a week or two on the outline alone and kicked it around a fair bit before I was ready to write the first draft. And the first draft went through 4 revisions before I sent it off to CBC. The producer was going to pass on the draft to a colleague to make sure he didn't miss anything, and I hope the other producer has the same reaction.

In my writing workshops, I've always advocated the value of revising and reviewing, and now I can point to this experience as an example of what happens when a writer puts their best foot forward. Well, this news has pretty well put me into the stratosphere. I doubt I'll be able to concentrate on anything else for the rest of the day. Yay!!!!!!!

I popped into the rehearsal for the Fringe play last night. For me, this was my second rehearsal. For the cast and crew, this was their fourth rehearsal.

I was totally impressed with how the director worked. He's building a really strong rapport between Norman and his father, using a lot of improv exploration exercises to help the actors build a bond. Even though Norman's father only has one line near the end of the play, there still has to be a strong connection between the two characters, and I think the pair are really working hard to solidify the relationship.

I'm really excited about the possibilities of the script. I'm treating this year's Fringe as an opportunity to test drive the script and reveal what is working and what might be missing from the script. Based on the director's feedback and the initial reading from the actors, all the major questions seem to be answered. So, now it's a matter of putting the whole thing together as a play and seeing if it holds together.

My only small concern is that the play's length is perfect for a Fringe show, but short for a mainstage show. Once the festival is over, I'm going to have to look at how to find 20 minutes of relevant drama so that I can build a play that might be sold to mainstage companies. The other option may be to leave God's Eye at its current length and write a companion piece that deals with another aspect of faith and science, using the same two actors (but not the same characters).

The question is what to do next? The good news is that it's a question I won't be able to answer until the show goes up at the Fringe.

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

I just heard from my publisher. They gave the green light to the third book in the series. The editor will be in touch with me shortly with notes, and we have to get the final edit ready for November 1, if I want the book out by mid-April. I'm dancing in my fuzzy slippers while my cats are scampering to the basement bedroom. Yay!

On another positive note, the director of my Fringe play won a Sterling Award (Edmonton theatre's version of the Tony's) for best Fringe director. This was for a play he did at the Fringe last year. That makes two in a row for him. For the complete listing of award winners go to the Edmonton Journal.

Finally finished the third Edmonton Journal article, and sent it off tonight. The first draft was so ugly that I needed to pull it apart and start over again. I haven't had to do a page one rewrite in while, but I'm glad I did because five drafts later, I finally had a version that I liked. The editor may find one joke questionable. If I have to revise that section, I'll post the censored paragraph on my blog, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get one past the editor.

Now all my Edmonton Journal pitches are off my plate. I'm in wait mode for my radio play revisions. I'm also in wait mode for the Mad Science Teacher notes. I have absolutely nothing to do for at least three or four days, so what do I do?

Well, here's the answer. A couple of weeks ago, I applied to get on the 3 Day Novel Contest, I'm on the short list. I have to prepare for a screen test and an interview this Friday. I have no idea if I'll be one of the finalists, and the sane part of me secretly wishes that the producers boot me off so that I actually have a weekend to relax. But the insane side of me thinks it would be fun to try to write a novel in 72 hours. If I do make the cut, the insanity won't happen until the Labour Day weekend. Have I gone mad? I believe the answer is "yes, yes, I have."

This is one of my more unproductive days. I came back from a school visit, hoping to jump right into work, and all I've done is answer a lot of e-mails. I'm supposed to finish the Edmonton Journal article, but it looks like I won't be able to even get it started before I have to take off for the APN Lab.

To be fair, I didn't really take a three-day weekend like I promised myself. Yesterday, I reviewed some scripts and made some notes. Guilt and time off are not a good combination. Sigh. So much for watching Hell's Kitchen tonight. I think I'm working late.

Thanks to the grade 3/4 class at Grovenor School. You guys rocked! Thanks for you feedback on the third book. I'll definitely give Trina slushie when she shows up. Have a wonderful summer!

My favourite moment of the entire session had to be when one student shared with me the outline of the book that he wanted to write. He said he was inspired to write it when he was in Scotland. Get writing. It's a very cool idea!

Yay! I just finished reading my article in the Edmonton Journal on glasses. The photographer did a very cool job with the shot. My face is reflected in the lenses of the glasses I'm holding.

I owe the Edmonton Journal one more article. It's all about the business of naming pets, and I hope to get it written this weekend. If I do, the article should show up sometime in July, and I'll have to brainstorm a new batch of articles to pitch to the Life editor.

One of the major icons of Edmonton theatre is changing. Stewart Lemoine is stepping down as artistic director of Teatro la Quindicina. Actor extraordinaire Jeff Haslam takes over. I know Jeff will do a fantastic job, but I'm still saddened to see the public face of Teatro change. Stewart will still be involved as a writer and director, but his stepping down from the artistic director position reminds me that nothing and no one is forever.

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I used to be the main express
All steam and whistles heading west
Picking up my pain from door to door
Riding on the storyline
Furnace burning overtime
But this train don't stop,
This train don't stop,
This train don't stop there anymore

This Train Don't Stop There Anymore - Elton John

Last night, our cast got together and went through the play. Wow! Our lead totally captured the voice of Norman. She was great, mapping out the journey of a kid trying to provoke any kind of response from her father (a stroke victim). The actor playing Norman's father had only one line, but he had my wife in tears when he delivered it. The two actors are great together and I'm really excited to see what my director does with the show. I'm uncoiling from the fetal position and I should be fine until a few days before the show opens at the Fringe. Then, I'll be curling back into a ball on the floor.

As for changes to the script, there were three major cuts and a two dozen trims. Overall, the script stood up to the first and second reading. I've already made the cuts and trims. The great thing about listening to the play is that I can hear the repetition and awkwardness much easier than I could see them on the page. Thankfully, my director was really on the ball and caught two of the major cuts that slipped past me. I was truly impressed with the amount of prep work he did for himself and the actors. I had to smile when he handed the actors thick binders with the script and research material. My play was 31 pages, but the actors' binders looked like phone books.

The CBC Radio play has been shipped off. Now all I have to do is wait for feedback. That marks the end of the first round of some major deadlines. A book, a stage play and a radio play. Phew! I can tell that my body is telling me to shut down. I've got a couple of little things that I need to do this week, and I'll try to get them all done today so that I can get a 3-day weekend. I just hope I don't get notes on anything until next week.

Oh boy, I can feel myself curling up into the fetal position as the first official rehearsal of God's Eye gets closer. Tonight, the actors get together and read through the script. My insecurities about the script are popping up about as fast as the summer acne on my face.

I'm worried that the play won't make sense. I'm petrified that it's boring. I wonder what kind of questions the actors will ask, and I fear that someone will ask a question that will cause the entire play to implode and force me to rebuild the thing from the rubble. I keep telling myself that it's better for the hard questions to be asked now than after the play opens and I can't do anything to change it, but that still doesn't make me feel any better. I feel the same way when I cook for guests and I worry about how they'll react to my experiments in cooking.

Sometimes, I wish life had a fast forward button.

Today, I attended the launch of a very cool new space in Edmonton. The Edmonton Writers Centre and the Edmonton Public Library (downtown branch) have set aside some public space in the southeast corner of the Stanley Milner for local writers to work. The open area has large open windows for lots of natural sunlight.

Signage will be up soon along with a sign-in sheet for booking space. The cost is free, but the organizers would like users to let them know they have used the space so they can get a sense of whether or not a centre like this needs more space. I think it's a great concept, and I hope people take advantage of it. I'm going to try to pop in and use it over the summer.

Unfortunately, there is no budget for computers or internet access, so if you want to use the space, you'll have to bring your own laptop... or just bring a pad and pen... or just bring some research notes. Bring whatever you want. The space is for writers to use in whatever way they need. The concept gives writers a space to write that is free of the distractions of home.

If you want more info, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the organizer. The eventual hope is to find a permanent space with phone, fax, internet, furniture and meeting area.

Phew! What a great day. I obsessed about the theme song to Greatest American Hero, and discovered that my wife had the song on her CD of TV theme songs. Yay!

That was all I needed to work through the revisions of the CBC Radio play. Yay! I'm halfway there. I'm going to take Tuesday to run some errands and get some other word done. By Wednesday, I should have enough perspective to pick apart the script and plug up the holes, then tighten up the story and flesh out the characters. I'm really happy with the direction, but I know I still have a revision and a polish to go before I have something I'm happy sending off. If I have time, I'll also do a punch-up draft to sharpen the humour. It's too early to tell if I have something that might have legs, but I'm really hoping the producer likes the first draft enough to push me to the next level, which would be the official second draft. Hmm, four of my drafts equals one of their first drafts. Somehow, the math doesn't work in my favour. Maybe that's why writers are always starving. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. I love watching a draft take shape and get more solid as I work on it. I just have to be careful not to fall too much in love with that first draft or else I won't see the obvious flaws that an outside eye will see.

Okay, so that's it for me tonight. Time to catch Hell's Kitchen. Yay!

The CBC Radio play that I'm working on is a satire that puts a dictator in a family sitcom. As I've been working on it this morning, I realized that what I needed to kick off the show was a cheesie theme song a la Silver Spoons or Family Ties. Then I started to realize that today's shows don't have theme songs with lyrics any more; at least not the way I remember theme songs of the 80s and early 90s. How sad. I guess it's no longer in fashion to tell the audience in song what the series is about.

But I'm still a big fan of those theme songs. I mean as soon as I hear the theme song to Different Strokes, I'm totally back in the 80s. And what about the Angie? Anyone remember that theme song? Sadly, I've been looking for my favourite theme song, The Greatest American Hero, and I can't find it anywhere. Sigh.

I just received the rehearsal schedule for my Fringe play, God's Eye. The first reading with the new actor (our former actor had to pull out because of personal commitments... sigh) is on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to working with our new actor, especially since she is going to bring a totally new dynamic to the piece. I originally wrote the script with the idea that the main character was a boy. Having a woman play the role may create the aura of a young boy, but at the same time my director and I have talked about leaving the door open to change the character's gender. If that happens, I'll be interested in exploring the nature of father-daughter relationships over father-son relationships.

This is probably the funnest part of working in theatre; not knowing what works until you actually try it. Here's to exploration!

Well, there's nothing left to do, but cry. I've finished running through the manuscript of The Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher. To be honest, my brain kind of froze at the end, and all I wanted to do was send the draft off. Now I'm kicking myself for sending it off to early. I forgot to space out the manuscript. I had the thing set at single space to save on paper, but I should have sent it off double spaced. Ugh. I'm hoping that my publisher will forgive me for that mistake. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there's enough potential in the draft that the publisher gives the green light to a spring 2008 launch. Of course, I'll have plenty of time to fix up mistakes as the editor digs into the manuscript. I just have to get the green light first. Whew! Now I can relax for a day and then tackle the radio play.

As I cycled through the Mad Science Teacher manuscript, I realized that my detectives are committing more crimes than the villains. I had the kids shoplifting, breaking and entering and vandalizing property. I had to cycle through and wipe out the boys' criminal activities. In the moment, the actions seemed right, but stepping back and looking at the big picture I realized that I had to make the change or else the characters' credibility would come into question.

When did I become so linear in my old age. I tried to revise the script from the climax on, but I ended up spinning my wheels. I switched tactics and opted to revise the play from the beginning to the end. I may take the next three days just to finish the polish on the manuscript so that it's out of my hair and off to the publisher by the end of the weekend. That'll give me five days to revise and polish the radio play. Not the idea solution, but I'm finding it very hard to multi-task these days.

It's ugly and all over the place. The characters suck and the story is static, but I have the first draft of my radio play finished. Well, if I want to be technical about it, I have version 0.1 of the first draft finished. Now I have to revise the piece to sharpen the story and strengthen the characters. These will be respectively version 0.2 and 0.3. When I polish the script after that, then I'll have an official first draft that I can show people for feedback. Because the radio play is only a half-hour long, I should be able to finish the revisions and deliver the script by the new deadline date of June 22.

Why do I always describe my first drafts as ugly? I hear rumours that other writers actually fall in love with their first drafts. Maybe I'm hard-wired to hate what I create. Hmm. Maybe that's why I revise so much. Oh well, I'm just happy to be finished a first draft. Now I can take a day to catch my breath and get some perspective. Tomorrow is going to be a full day of Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher. I'll do a second pass on the radio play on Friday, then take the weekend to finish the polish of the novel and come back to the radio play on Monday. If all goes according to plan, I'll actually have time to do a polish and punch up for June 22, and if I'm really on the ball, the novel should be out the door by June 20. Wish me luck.

The script's not pretty, but I've reached the magical halfway point of the radio play. The script is only supposed to be a half hour long, so it's not too bad a job, but it still takes time. I'm going to leave the play alone for a night and finish up the draft tomorrow, which will mean that I'll have the weekend to revise and the beginning of the week to polish before I send the play off to CBC.

I need a little down time now so that I can clear my mind and tackle the Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher polish. I'm going to start at the climax and revise that. I know the ending needs the most work, so I want to tackle that early rather than late. Once I'm happy with the climax, I'll go back to the beginning and punch up the manuscript.

I just hope that my wires don't get crossed when I go from a political satire to a kids' book. This night could end up being very long.

I realized that I didn't have enough time to finish the radio play for the Friday deadline. I had hoped to get a good jump on the play on the weekend, but the work on God's Eye took the wind out of my sails, and I found myself staring listlessly at a blank computer screen.

Since this is my chance to make a good first impression with the drama producer (whom I've never worked with before), I thought it'd be better to hand in a strong first draft a little late than a shoddy first draft on time. I asked for a one-week extension to get the script together. I'm not a huge fan of asking for extensions, but I hate delivering scripts that are incomplete.

Thankfully, I took the hardest step today and finished the first scene. For some reason, when I have the first scene under my belt, I feel less pressure. Or maybe it's because the world of the play is starting to take shape and I want to see more of it. I don't know the reason for the fear subsiding. I'm just glad that I'm over it and ready to write the rest of the draft.

I'm trying to wrap my head around the opening scene of the radio play. The start of any project always intimidates me. I thought that by gradually fleshing out the outline, I'd overcome that overwhelming fear of having to create something from nothing. Nope. I'm still petrified of getting started on the wrong foot. Ah well, the only thing I can do is plug ahead and see what kind of mess I have when I get to the end, then see what I have. I may surprise myself if I trust the original idea and the outline.

Here it goes.

Okay, so I guess my theory was wrong. I've heard from three different people who wanted to learn the punchline of the Edmonton Journal Article. Here's the last sentence.

"Flat on my back, staring up at the gladiator in a gown, I decided to keep this work experience off my resume."

Watch for my next Life article in the Journal on June 22.

P.S. Congratulations to Sean Cullen for winning the Arthur Ellis Award (in the Juvenile Crime Fiction category) for Hamish X and the Cheese Pirates.

Here's an interesting development. My article about embarrassing jobs is in the Life section of the Edmonton Journal. You can't miss it. There's a photo of me with a giant balloon hat. The last line of the article has been cut off, but I'm not sure how many people will notice, because I'm not sure how many people read the "continued on" section of articles.

I wonder if the Journal will get any letters demanding to know the punchline or will I get comments begging to give closure to the piece. Or will people simply ignore the tail end of the article on D2? Or do people not read the article in the paper; instead, perusing it on-line. I'll be curious to see if there is any reaction to the missing line.

My theory is that there will be no reaction, because the editors at the Life section always seem to find the perfect place to break the story so that the piece on the front page seems to have a natural end. There's no reason to read on. Hmmm. I wonder if that says something about my writing. Maybe I'd better ask my editors if they think I'm overwriting the pieces.

Anyway, if you read the article today and you want to know the last line, give me a shout here and I'll post the punchline.

A funny thing happened on the way to revising my Fringe play. The middle act fell apart in my hands. Ugh! In an attempt to create a balanced argument, I lost where Norman stood on the issue of God's existence. The whole argument was meant as a ploy to shake up his father's faith and get the father to come out of his depression, but I turned it into a philosophical debate which, while it had merit, did not actually contribute to the dramatic thruline of the play.

So, I had to yank out the guts of the middle and remind myself what Norman was doing and mercilessly hack away some very cool speeches. In the end, I chopped away 7 and a half pages from the script. I know I have a leaner and meaner script, but is it tight and is it better than the previous version? I'm going to have to get some perspective and read it with a fresh eye and decide for myself. Writing is definitely in the revision.

Not that I'm stressing out too much right now, but I've promised my Fringe director to have my revisions to God's Eye by the weekend (only three days away), but I also have to get the first draft of my CBC Radio play done by June 15th, and I'm still just at outline phase. On top of that, I have to deliver my first draft of The Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher by June 20, and there are a ton of things I still need to do to the manuscript.

So, what am I going to do? What else do I do when I stress out? Nap!!!

Bite-sized pieces. Remember, tackle everything in manageable units of work and when I look up, the work will be done and I'll wonder what all the stress was about.

Spent the morning polishing the article. There's something to be said for perspective and time. What I thought was a brilliant draft yesterday, seconds after I completed the draft, turned out to be a good first draft that needed some massaging. I cleaned up the dialogue and tried to sharpen the images. I'm always trying to write in pictures, even for a non-fiction piece. Maybe it's from all the TV shows I've watched over the years.

Speaking of which, I saw the cry fest that was Hell's Kitchen last night. Summer has officially begun. Bring on the second-string reality competitions. What's next? Canadian Idol and Big Brother of course.

Today was a brutal day. I started working on a beat sheet (outline) for my half-hour radio pilot. It took forever, but there are very few words to show for all the work. The document is barely a page, but I had to pick apart every beat to make sure it was doing what I wanted it to do. Even when I finished, I knew I still had more work to do on it before I could actually start working on the first draft.

To take a break, I switched tracks and started working on a humour article (one of two that I owe to the Edmonton Journal). Switching tracks from the radio play to the article was tough, especially since both projects are in the inception phase. I did not feel like working on the article at all, but I forced myself to do it, because I knew that if I didn't get somewhere with it today, I would fall behind in my work week.

Five hours later, I'm finished the article. I kicked it around about twice already to get it into shape. I think there's another polish before I can send the draft, but I have something I can work with.

A while ago, I wondered what the difference between an amateur writer and a professional author is. Today, I realized that the difference is that an amateur can write when he feels like it. A professional has to write especially when he doesn't feel like it. And boy, I didn't feel like working on that article today, but I'm glad I did, because now I have one less deadline weighing on my conscience.

My thanks to all the great students in the Pembina Hill School Division for all their hard work and for coming up with some great projects. I loved the Sasquatch talk show and the interviews as well as the Power Point presentation and the cool flash game.

Most of all, I loved the feedback that you gave me for A Close Shave. My next step is to go through the manuscript and clean it up, and then I'll start looking for a publisher. Keep your fingers crossed. I'll post updates here.

Aaaaggghhhh!!!! For some reason, the wonders of technology have not been so wonderful lately. I'm finding that any e-mail going to marty@martychan.com is being lost in cyber-space. If you've been trying to reach me at that address and haven't heard anything from me, my apologies. I haven't been receiving anything.

If you need to get a hold of me, please give me a shout at my other e-mail address - martychan@shaw.ca. Sorry for any inconvenience.