August 2007 Archives

Okay, shameless plug for all the holdovers this weekend. You have three different venues to choose from. The Fringe (TransAlta Arts Barns), the Catalyst Theatre and the Varscona.

Fringe:

God's Eye
Power of Ignorance
Underneath the Lintel
Creation of the World
Kafka and Son
Homeless
Rainer Hersche's Victor Borge

Catalyst

Madagascar
Something Red
Strawberries in January

Varscona Theatre

Poptart
World's Wife
Matt and Ben
Headshot of Dorian Grey

If you're looking for one last summer Fringe fling, come on down. Or if you're up for some funny music, check out the Arrogant Worms on Saturday, Sept. 1. They're at Symphony Under the Sky.

I'm off to the bookstore. The blog will go silent this weekend, but check out my Edmonton Journal blog for 3 Day Novel Contest updates.

Today, the cast is getting together for a short rehearsal to try out a few script edits. I cut away some of the repetition so that the focus could be much more on Norman's objective. I think I chopped out about a page and a half, but I think it will make a world of difference for the pace.

The only thing that bothers me is that I can be at the show in person to see how the changes work. I'll be stuck in the Chapters bookstore with the 3 Day Novel Contest. If anyone sees the show this weekend, please let me know what you think. I'm still developing the script and the whole purpose of the holdover (for us) was to try out a few new things.

The show runs Friday, August 31 at 10:00 pm and Sunday, September 2 at 5:30 pm. You can book tickets at the Fringe box office.

Yergh! I'm torn in six different directions and I have to make some hard decisions. With the 3 Day Novel Contest looming, I need to start looking at my outline and getting into the groove of the story idea so that when the contest starts, I'm not sitting at my station like a drooling fool. Unfortunately, my mind is scattered right now in the aftermath of the Fringe festival, the upcoming holdovers, the Mad Science Teacher revisions, my Edmonton Journal articles, and Kids Read Edmonton.

I've just slugged in some notes to myself for the Mad Science Teacher revisions. They're pretty simple and big, but they'll remind me what's left to do. So that falls off the plate. I have two Journal articles in the bank, so I don't need to finish the dentist one until after the contest. My director can take care of the Fringe holdovers and the Edmonton Public Library folks can live without me for next few days.

Grr. I hate leaving things unfinished before I start another project, but I just need the time to do some reading and get into the right head space for the 3 Day Novel Contest.

By the by, if you're looking for updates about the competition, I've written an article for the Edmonton Journal, and I'll be blogging on their website. Watch tomorrow's paper for the details.

I received this announcement yesterday.

"I can't remember a time when I didn't make up stories. For a long time, these stories remained in my head, but I could always pull one out and tell it to myself if I was waiting in an airport or doctor's office."

Linda Smith, 1949 – 2007
The Writers Guild of Alberta sends its condolences to the family and friends of active WGA member and long-time Grande Prairie resident Linda Smith, who passed away suddenly over the weekend. Linda was a beloved writer of youth fiction, the organizer of the Wordspinner Writer’s festival, a candidate for GP/Smoky, a tireless activist, and a wonderfully optimistic and charming woman. She cared deeply about her world as an activist in Karios, 10,000 Villages, the United Church, and various social movements. Linda was a central figure in the Grande Prairie literary community and will be very sadly missed.

Linda’s novels include the Freyan Trilogy – Wind Shifter (1995), Sea Change (1999), and Turning Time (2001); children’s books Sir Cassie to the Rescue (2003) and Kelly’s Cabin (2006); and the popular The Tales of Three Lands Trilogy – The Minstrel’s Daughter (2004), Talisa’s Song (2005), and her most recent novel, Weathermage (2006).

Linda was a friend to many writers in Alberta, and her passing is a very sad loss to the writing community. We will try to pass along memorial service information.

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I had the pleasure of meeting Linda when she invited me to be a presenter at Wordspinner. She was energetic, positive and generous. She made me feel welcome even though she could have easily spent all her time with the high-profile authors. I'm saddened by her passing and I'm glad to have experienced her generosity.

Great news! The Book Television website has a new update for the 3 Day Novel Contest.

The producers have put together a montage of this year's contestants, complete with taglines. They've also started up a online poll for people to vote for the author they are cheering for. Basically, this is for all the authors' famiily and friends to show support.

But it's more than just a popularity poll. The top vote getter wins the opportunity to pick their own bunk bed (yes, we have to sleep in the Chapters bookstore during the 72 hour writing marathon). I'm hoping that folks reading this blog will pop on the book television site and vote for me.

Also, I convinced the Culture editor at the Edmonton Journal to let me blog about the marathon. My Journal blog should go up in the next few days, so you can check out the udpates there. I think they'll also be running my article about the event this Wednesday or Thursday. Please keep an eye out for it.

I'm going into the 3 Day Novel Contest knowing that winning isn't the goal. Finishing the manuscript is the goal. Once I have the story down, it's up to the judges to decide which is the best book, and I have no control over that process. I figure if I keep that in the forefront of my mind, I won't get too neurotic. The thing that I want to embrace is the fact that this is probably the only time I'll get to be on a reality TV show, and I want to enjoy every moment of it, even if I make a complete fool of myself... I figure that part's a given.

Anyway, if you have time to vote, please do. I'd be in your debt. Thanks.

It's the last day of the Edmonton Fringe Festival, Live and Let Fringe 2007. I guess I'll join the bandwagon of folks using cheesie Bond metaphors to describe this year's Fringe experience. It was certainly shaken, not stirred.

The big change, of course, was the ticketing system. The Fringe hired Q and went completely online with ticket sales. No longer could patrons rush up to the venue at the last minute and nab the few remaining tickets to a hit show. Instead, they had to click on the website. Oh the horrors. The poor fingers that must have cramped up from clicking the mouse button to find out if a show still had tickets available. When I was a kid, we'd stand in the hot sun for 3 hours to get tickets to similar shows. I'm sure that there are many people who still appreciate the romance of being in lineups, but I also recognize something is changing in society. Time is becoming a commodity, which people aren't willing to trade. I personally think the concept of 100 percent of Fringe tickets being available online is a reality.

But that doesn't mean I have to like it. My reservations about the ticketing system is not so much the philosophy behind it, but the execution and adaptation. By its very nature, the Fringe is a chaotic festival driven by a healthy combination of artistic risk, free enterprise and pure chutzpah. The old system, which reserved 25 percent of ticket sales at the door, allowed artists and audiences to experiment with shows. It also allowed for artists to hawk their shows on site at the last minute to get as many butts in the seat. Walking around the Fringe site, I saw fewer people gathered around show boards or looking for help to find a show. Instead, I saw lots of people walking with purpose to a venue to see a show and then walking off the site. I saw nearly empty beer tents with people who had only come to drink or kill 10 minutes before the next show. I saw disgruntled artists on Saturday morning venting their anger and frustration at glitches in the system which resulted in potentially lost revenue.

But I also saw a few really exciting things. The play One was visually stunning and deftly performed. Stylistically, I had never seen anything like this at the Fringe. Maybe at Catalyst Theatre during the mainstage season. The script still needs work, but this thing has huge potential and it struck me that the Fringe needs more people like playwright/director/actor, Jason Carnew, than policies about ticket sales. Earlier in the day, I saw True Grid, a play by newcomer Linda Wood Edwards. This was the usual Fringe comedy with lots of laughs, but she had a unique voice and take on subject matter. Rather than do the traditional romantic comedies, she tackled a subject I hadn't seen at the Fringe either: Edmonton Eskimo fans and their superstitions. Again, there's a little quibble about the overlong resolution, but there were folks in the audience who I bet never set foot in a theatre before, but I'll bet they knew every inch of the turf at Commonwealth Stadium.

The reason why I bring this up is that the apparent claim by Fringe organizers is that the online ticket system was supposed to make life easier for audience members and bring more people into theatres to see shows. In their latest press release, they mentioned that ticket sales were down 3,300 from the same time last year (the last Friday). Given that they started selling tickets a week earlier than last festival, I'm wondering what happened. The festival claimed they had a record number of sell out shows this festival, as if the new system and policy were responsible for this amazing success.

Meanwhile, artists are yelling that they are being treated as second-class citizens in the festival that they helped to build. There's talk from folks who don't plan on coming back (albeit, I'm sure that's a knee-jerk reaction). There are people complaining about how the audiences now have to pay a $2 surcharge on every ticket and have no chance to line up for the day of sales. There are people who rightly claim that the system may have lost them revenue. The focus this festival, sadly, has been on the glitches in the system. On both sides, we have people digging their heels in, from the festival organizers who claim the system works to the artists and audiences who want to go back to the old ways of reserving tickets for day of sales and eliminating the $2 surcharge for same day tickets.

What's forgotten in this heated debate is the fact that it's not a ticketing system that drives ticket sales at the Fringe. What drives ticket sales are brave artists who try to express themselves in unique ways. While there is a large segment of Fringe goers who come to the festival to find the established artists or the 5-star new shows, there's also an X-factor, where a playwright or a group comes from out of nowhere and delivers something that audiences have never seen before and create such a buzz that people who normally don't see theatre flock into a sweatbox of a venue to see these gems.

Here's the thing. An online ticketing system may make it easier for audiences to get to those sleeper hits, but it does not create those sleeper hits. I think people would calm down a lot more if the Fringe stopped taking the responsibility or the blame for the overall festival attendance records. I wished the organizers would come out with a party line that states that as an unjuried festival, they have no control over content or quality, and that it's all about the artists taking chances and doing something they believe in. Some years, there will be a great mix of shows, which will result in higher sales. Other years, there may not be the same mix and ticket sales will go down.

Instead of claiming that the ticketing system will break through the ticket sales plateau, maybe organizers should just admit that the system is a way to make things easier for the administration, volunteer needs and audience members. They should also listen to the artists about the glitches and make sure that these problems are not repeated in next year's festival, because I would rather the artists and audience members get into heated debates over the shows rather than over the tickets to the show. That's my two cents. No surcharge will be added.

Yesterday, Vue came out with the final review of God's Eye, and it really was a case of saving the best for last. This weekly magazine is always last out of the gate because the issue runs on Thursday, but this year I give them five stars for their rating system. Rather than going with the traditional star system, they rated shows by their favourite actor who played James Bond, in keeping with the espionage theme of Live and Let Fringe 2007.

*** Correction *** With apologies to SEE, they came out first with the Bond rating system.

You may disagree with their rankings system, depending on which Bond you liked best, but they laid out their ratings as follows:

Sean Connery (gold standard)
Daniel Craig
Roger Moore
Pierce Brosnan
Timothy Dalton
George Lazenby

Of course, you might say that I'm a bit biased, because the VUE reviewer gave God's Eye a... get ready... a Sean Connery! She raved about the show. Here's here review in it's entirety.

"God’s Eye (9)

While Marty Chan’s latest calls for two actors, it is basically a one-hander. Anne-Marie Felicitas plays Norman, a middle-school boy who is trying to make sense of the world around him after his father has a debilitating stroke. That isn’t to say that Mich Cheladyn, who plays the father, isn’t compelling to watch as he sits silently in his wheelchair. With the slightest of movements, he conveys the pain and shame of a father who can’t be there for his growing son. But it is Felicitas who carries the action, finding that place that captures the naïveté of youth without playing down to it, without insulting it. As she flits around the stage, you can see director Wayne Paquette’s hand in the full realization of this play. As Norman takes this journey—how illness forces us question our belief systems—the audience goes along for the moving ride. From start to finish, God’s Eye is a joy to be a part of. CN"

I'm also thrilled to announce this piece of breaking news. At noon today, the Fringe Festival will announce their holdovers and start selling tickets for the Labour Day weekend holdovers.

God's Eye made the list of holdovers! We're running Friday, Aug. 31 at 10:00 pm and Sunday, Sept. 2 at 5:30 pm. Tickets will be available through the Fringe.

The great news is that I can try out a few cuts and trim away some of the unnecessary exposition in the piece to see how the audiences react to the streamlined version of the play. Yay!

But the sad news is that I'll be stuck in the South Point Chapters bookstore that weekend and I won't be able to see the shows. I might beg the producers to let me disappear for an hour on Friday night since the official start of the contest isn't until 12:01 am.

My Facebook article ran in today's Life section which, in addition to the Fringe and 3 Day Novel contest coverage, officially makes me a media slut.

I had a great time at the photo shoot, and I'm glad that the photo editor used my Bruce Lee imitation. The sad thing is that the article looks like I'm biting the hand that is feeding me Scrabulous moves and pokes. I still like Facebook a lot, but just as in real life I've run out of gas to socialize with everyone. Now I just play Scrabulous with the few folks who love to rearrange letter tiles.

Well, to be more exact, Scrabulous is killing me. I'm playing Scrabble when I should be revising Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher. Argh. Curse the makers of Scrabulous and Facebook for making it so easy to distract me.

I'm going to go insane at the 3 Day Novel Contest with limited access to the internet. What am I going to do with myself? Oh yeah, I guess I could write the novel.

We have a performance of God's Eye tonight and if I revised enough pages, I'm going to walk to the Fringe. Yes, I'm going to walk. It'll take an hour and I hope it doesn't rain, but I need to get some exercise time.

Back to Scrabul... er... back to work. Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

Oh, and this blog entry is a shameless plug for my Edmonton Journal life article, which runs in tomorrow's paper. The article is about Facebook.

There are three performances left for God's Eye. The word of mouth has been pretty solid. I'm impressed that the audiences are really enjoying the show. There are only 3 performances left: Thursday (9:30 pm), Saturday (12:15 pm), and Sunday (2:15 pm). I really hope people can come to see the remaining few shows.

One of the most heartbreaking comments I received was from one audience member who said the show was so close too home that if she had known what the play was going to do, she probably would not have come to see it because it struck too powerful an emotional note in her own life. I took this as the greatest compliment; to know that the play worked for the audiences who knew firsthand what living with a stroke victim felt like.

If you're unable to attend the show this weekend, fear not. I can't say anything officially yet, but you might have another chance to see the show. I'll make the official announcement on Friday.

Phew! I cycled through 50 pages of revisions yesterday. I'm feeling like I'm picking up momentum as the story is starting to creep back into my bones. The next 50 pages of revisions should be a little more challenging as I have to start spinning out new story to accommodate a major note. The editor is missing Remi in the story, so I have to make sure he stays alive in the adventure. Part of the charm of the first two books is the partnership between the two main characters.

The great thing about dealing with the notes is that this simulates the kind of work that I'll have to do during the 3 Day Novel Contest. If I can blast through the revisions in 3 days (150 pages), I should be able to create 100 pages of a novel in 72 hours. Well, that's in theory.

I'm a little sad that because of the manuscript work and the 3 Day Novel Contest prep, I have to avoid the Fringe this week. I'm really proud of God's Eye. I know I still have work to do on the script, but it's more in the area of trimming and cutting rather than adding, which is a great place to be in the development process. I've been thinking about the play over the last day or so and I think I know what I want to cut now. In the trial scene, I have a character, St. Aquinas, argue for the existence of God, but the game that Norman has been playing is to try to provoke his dad. Somehow, this balanced argument flies in the face of the character's objective. If I pare away the Aquinas character and try to seed the key points from his dialogue into other sections, I think the trial scene will be much clear and flow faster. It might shave about 5 minutes off the running time, but it'll keep everything on point.

Oh, the crimes we commit in the name of PR. Tonight, City TV aired a celebrity chef segment featuring the director and lead actress from my Fringe play, God's Eye. We served up beer can chicken and watermelon salad, but we were mostly pimping the show. It was great fun to shoot the segment, and I was amazed that the producer could boil 4 hours worth of footage into a 5-minute segment. We had tons of fun.

On the God's Eye front, I got the best review ever from CBC Radio today. The reviewer, Gilbert Bouchard, could barely contain his hatred of the play. I believe he referred to the play as pedantic. Awesome! I wish I had a link to the review, but I'm not sure if CBC Radio posts their reviews online. Anyway, I love extreme reactions, because it means I've pushed a button somewhere. Good or bad, I don't care. As long as I get some kind of reaction, I'm happy.

The producer sent the big e-mail detailing what we can expect. New host is Rachel Harry instead of Kim Clarke Champniss. Apparently, we're going to play musical computers through the weekend so that no one person is stuck at a bad station. The 13th Machine seems to be under wraps and may be something different. I'm very afraid that the e-mail noted that most of our novels would be written on computer. Where is my old Viking typewriter. Maybe I'd better practise a little.

I'm going to start blogging for the Edmonton Journal for the 3 Day Novel Contest fairly soon. The blog title is 3 Days of Hell. So on Labour Day weekend, if you don't see any updates here, go to the Edmonton Journal site. I don't think I'll have enough time to blog twice.

On the God's Eye front, we got a decent review from the Edmonton Journal this morning. Again, there was a criticism about length.

I'm really curious to hear anyone else's reaction to the show. If you see it in the next few performances, please post a comment. Because this is a workshop production, I'm still developing the script. I'd like to pinpoint exactly where the audience feels the heaviness/pace of the show. I'm hoping that eventually this play can get to mainstage, but I can only do that if I can figure out what works for an audience and what doesn't. Any feedback would be great.

Another good review. This time from Graham Hicks at the Edmonton Sun. I'm curious that people have enjoyed the show, but felt it was a little long. The play runs around 65 minutes, so I don't think the issue is length. I'm going to have to pay attention to see if there's any repetition or unnecessary exposition when I work on the script after the festival. The great thing about treating the experience as a workshop reading is that I don't have to get all bound up in knots over reviews and feedback. I can actually use it to improve the script. Right now, I'm seeing that if I wanted to expand the play beyond the 65 minutes, I'd have to figure out a subplot to take us away from the action with Dad and Norman. I have to be careful though because by going away from the two, I could lose some of the heart. It's a tricky decision I have to make. Either trim what I have to excise any fat from the script or build in more dramatic momentum. The easy fix is to cut, but I'm still wondering what else I can explore with the script.

I always knew that the experience was going to be exacting of the audience, even more so for a Fringe audience. So far, I'm pleased to hear the feedback that the audiences have been responding well to the show. Now I just have to figure out how to make sure it moves smoothly and doesn't bog down. All in a day's work for a playwright developing a new script. I've got a small cut in mind which won't necessarily cut down a lot of time, but it will make a direct line between two points in the play and might give some momentum to the piece.

The audience really is the final piece of the puzzle and this part of the workshop is where the script starts to really gel. I'm excited about the possibilities.

Yay! I just received my editor's notes on the manuscript. There's a big note for the novel, which involves trying to work Trina and Remi back into the story. The current draft has the three friends falling out over a misunderstanding, which basically means Marty is stuck on his own to solve everything. I'm always amazed at how one outsider's perspective can clarify exactly what the manuscript needs. Something was niggling at the back of my brain when I sent the manuscript off, and now I know what's not working. To me, having someone point out the flaw is all I need. Now I can actually solve the problem.

In my opinion, notes are a tool to help the writer make their draft better. Some writers choose to fight the notes, thinking that what they've created is precious and perfect. Other writers might blame the note-giver for not understanding. My take is that if the manuscript doesn't answer the editor's questions, then it's my job to make sure the next draft has the answers. I'm not going to be standing over the shoulder of every reader to explain what I mean when I wrote the thing.

This is my opportunity to take the manuscript to the next level. I went through the process on Graffiti Ghoul and that novel was nominated for four awards. I figure if I dismiss the process, I'm just setting myself up for a world of hurt. Now if only I can figure out how to get to the Fringe for God's Eye, prep for a talk tomorrow and start reading my editor's notes in the next 12 hours. Where's my time machine again?

The Edmonton Sun had a nice review of God's Eye in this morning's edition.

The last sentence of the review really struck me. I always hope that a play lingers in the minds of the people who see it. I'm glad that this one had sticking power.

Today, we have a 4:15 pm performance. I'm debating whether or not I want to see it. I guess it all depends on how much work I get done on my articles. Sigh. It's so tough to work on anything outside the Fringe during the festival. I really should declare Fringe festival week a holiday.

Nothing like opening a show and then having the day off to come down from the adrenalin rush. I'm feeling a bit down in the dumps with nothing to do on a rainy day except get ready for the 3 Day Novel Contest and revise the 3 articles I promised to deliver to the Edmonton Journal. But instead, I'm just visiting Facebook umpteen times to see if it's my turn to make a Scrabble move. Sigh.

I generally feel this doldrum at the end of the Fringe festival, but for some reason it's come early. Maybe it's because of the Vancouver-like misting of rain yesterday, but I get the distinct feeling that summer is officially over.

Update: Feeling a bit perkier after a nap and my first fan review. Found this review on the Edmonton Journal website.

I'm back home after the show opened. Wow. Our actors really stepped up their game and delivered a fantastic show. The only glitch was the actress forgot a big section in the climax, but she held the audience from start to finish. I don't care about reviews now, because I saw the workshop performance that I needed to see to confirm what I had hoped would work. The show has enough heart to hold an audience through the philosophical debate, and I think I can expand the text to an 80 minute show. There are a couple of places where I think I can trim, but the general concept worked.

My director and stage manager reported many tears in the audience. My director sat beside one woman who was just sobbing. From my vantage point, I saw many folks wiping away tears. The coolest thing that happened after the show was one friend came up and had no words, just tears and hugs. Another Fringe fan saw the play and paid me a compliment that I'll probably carry to my grave. He said that God's Eye was not a usual Marty Chan play. He was surprised by what he saw. When someone else referred to the Bone House, the discussion that switched to the slow realization that my work is unpredictable, which is exactly what I had hoped people would start seeing in my plays.

Training under way. Must write faster. Maintain energy for longer. No more procrastination. Ah,who's kidding who? I'm destined to be the guy who falls flat on his face. The reason why I say that is that I've already built in several distractions for myself on the weekend of the event. I pitched the Edmonton Journal about blogging from the Chapters bookstore about what it was like to be in a writing marathon. So, to take a break from writing the novel, I'll be writing a blog.

In addition, I may have made some promises to the producers that will turn around and bite me in the butt. I might have said that if the producers brought in a barbecue, I would cook something on it. I may have also promised that if someone could make my toy helicopter fly, I'd take their shift on the 13th Machine.

The great thing about the contest is that we're allowed a 2 page outline. I'm producing a beat sheet that maps out the major sections (not necessarily chapters) of the novel, so that I can break the writing into chunks. With all the distractions, I think coming back to a writing chunk is going to be way easier than coming back to writing an entire novel. I doubt that I'll be able to keep the entire story in my head for the entire weekend, so I'll just think about the story in 15 pieces; only concentrating on one piece at a time.

Oh, and today God's Eye opens at the Fringe. Today's performance is sold out, but if you want to see the show, please come Wednesday. The 12:30 show still has lots of tickets. You can order them online at Fringe.

It's about 7:30 am and I'm wired. Got up at six and cleaned up my office to burn off the pre-opening night jitters. I can't believe that after 17 years of doing shows, I'm still nervous. Every year I do a Fringe show, I can't sleep during the entire week because I'm so keyed up about the show and so worried about what people will think of the play.

I sat in on a runthru yesterday, and I was totally blown away by what the actors did. They made a quantum leap from the tech rehearsal run. My wife, who is stage manager on the show, started crying at the climax, and she's been watching the play for about a month and a half. I have to admit I got a lump in my throat as well. This is not your typical Fringe fare. A drama swimming upstream against the comedies and musicals. I just hope people take the time to see it.

The weird thing is that I'm already thinking about what to do with the script after the Fringe is over. While I think the spine of the structure is intact and there is definitely a heart that beats at the centre of the play, I think I can open the world up a little more. Right now, the play is running about 62 minutes, and I'd love to add some material to get it up to an 85 - 90 minute show in the future. I see a couple of openings that would allow me to get into deeper discussions about how society uses faith and religion to further their personal goals. But that's stuff for a future workshop. I'll probably apply to the Playwrights Colony at the Banff Centre with the play so that I can do more work on it, hopefully with my director and cast.

And just so that I don't forget that there's life outside the Fringe, I have to start training for the 3 Day Novel Contest. At first, I thought the trick was to build up stamina. After doing my video profile and talking with the producer, I realized that stamina is important, but not as important as the abilty to switch tracks from challenges and interruptions back to writing the manuscript.

What better way to train for that than to sandwich in writing between all my commitments during Fringe week. I pitched 3 articles to the Edmonton Journal, and I'm going to try to write them between media calls, seeing shows and running errands. So far, so good. I finished the first drafts of 2 columns over the last two days. Now I have to revise them and get cracking on the third article, which funnily enough is about the 3 Day Novel Contest.

Okay, now I have to get to the gym and burn off more of this adrenalin. I'm going to be such a basket case tomorrow.

Final note to future Fringe producers. If your show opens later on the first weekend, be sure that you create a buffer zone of comps. I promised 6 comps to the Glenrose Hospital staff for their help in researching the play, but I realized that media reviewers would want to see the Saturday show. D'oh! What I had to do was order 3 tickets online to make sure I had a buffer zone in case there were more media requests than comps available. Sigh. I thought all I had to worry about was writing the show...

The V.I.P. party last night kicked off the festival in fine form. On the eve of the festival, the Fringe organizers always invite their corporate sponsors and key folks in the festival and theatre community to celebrate the start of another Fringe. The event is a great place to catch up with friends who are doing shows and to talk to people about what is new at the festival.

The big thing, however, is that everyone gets drunk and plays name tag tag, a game where people swap name tags in search of local celebrities. By the end of the night, the game devolves into a drunken attempt to slap people on the chest. It's all in good fun and it has the chaotic, free-wheeling feel of what a Fringe festival is supposed to be like.

Here's the good news. According to the festival organizers, advance ticket sales are way up this year over last. Part of the reason is that they started selling tickets 1 week earlier. The other reason has to do with the fact that all the tickets are being sold online 24/7, which means there is no downtime for anyone trying to get the tickets they want. I'm thrilled to hear this. I've never had a problem with the concept of online ticket sales. My bigger concern has to do with the administration of the sales during the festival, when 500,000 bodies are cramming the festival site and umpteen visitors are logging on to the system. I sure hope that the computer techs are standing by the servers 24/7 to handle any problems that might come up. My advice to anyone wanting to see a show is to book today before the on-site kiosks spring into action. Fingers crossed.

The sad news is that I found out that editor of the Edmonton Sun is no longer there. Apparently, the head office decided to save money by cutting away their staff and local coverage. I'm not sure how much coverage the sun will be able to give with reduced staff, but I wish them all the best.

Also, I woke up this morning to see Liz Nicholls' preview piece in the Edmonton Journal. Now the Fringe is now officially underway and I'm excited to see the first performance of God's Eye. I can't wait until Saturday gets here.

Last night was the tech rehearsal for God's Eye. Nothing like the pressure of trying to put up a set, light the thing and then get the lighting and sound technicians up to speed in 3.5 hours. On top of it all, the BookTelevision crew was filming everything for my profile piece on the 3 Day Novel Contest.

When you have a good team and a generous cast and crew, things can go very smoothly, provided people are ready to be flexible. The tech run went very well. We even got in a run, albeit a rough one. I think our actor lost a bit of the heart as she had to manage a new space and a bunch of tech elements, but I don't expect a full-on run with all the stuff that's thrown at actors at a Fringe tech run.

Today, we had some media stuff for the show. My cast landed a segment on CTV evening news. We had to be ready to react quickly. The call came in from the reporter at 11:00 am and we were on at 2:00 pm. If I wasn't near a phone, we would have missed the chance.

Also, my director and I got on CBC Radio (Edmonton AM) to chat about how the Fringe has changed. I carted out the idea that over the years the experimental shows have started to fade off in favour for middle-of-the-road safe comedies and musicals. While comedies always were a main staple at the Fringe, there seemed to be a larger contigent of artists willing to take some chances and do things that might not necessarily be commercial. Because of the economics of producing a show, it has now become to expensive and risky to, well, to take risks at the festival. As such, a lot of the experimental shows have fallen away and more of the commercial pieces have filled in the gap.

While I'll be the first to argue that commercial shows are needed, I do think that there can be too much of a good thing. For the last five years, the mantra at the festival has been how to increase ticket sales. I note that it was probably over the last five years that I noticed the dearth of risky plays. A connection, maybe? Maybe not.

The Fringe organizers don't have the right (nor should they) to jury the festival, but I think that if the festival is going to survive as the monster festival of the summer, more people are going to have to take artistic chances and create the kind of buzz that makes the festival great.

Still haven't heard about the car, but I did get a very timely call from an artistic director today. I don't want to jinx anything by saying exactly what happened, but I also can't shut up about this. There is some very big news about a project that I've been working on for the last six years. All I can say is that 2008 is going to be a very good year. I'll blog more when I sign contracts.

My hands are still shaking. I'm still in shock over the news. Wow!

After a great start, Monday went downhill fast. My car's starter went whir, whir, kaput. I foolishly drove the vehicle to a playwrights circle I was teaching and all the way through the session I kept wondering if I was going to be able to start the car again. Thankfully, there was one last start left in the car, and I dropped it off for repairs. Except now I'm without transportation and I have a ton of things to do for the Fringe and the 3 Day Novel Contest. Argh.

There are three meetings over the next two days. Thankfully, they're all downtown, so I can walk there and back. Please don't rain, please don't rain.

God's Eye is going well. I missed the runthru last night, but I heard a week off didn't hurt our actors very much. We go into tech rehearsal tonight, which basically means in three hours we try to set up lights, sound and set with technicians who have about 8 other Fringe shows floating in their brains. My wife is stage managing the show and the director is a stage manager as well. Between the two of them, I'm confident the rehearsal will go well.

This morning, we went to tape segments for God's Eye and Madagascar (my director's other play) for Global Television. Every year, Judy Unwin reviews plays at the Fringe, and she records some B-roll to run while she's talking about the plays. She can't guarantee the footage will be used, but better to have something than nothing. I hope she comes to see God's Eye. The reviewer game at the Fringe is one that can cause premature grey hairs. You know that saying about a watched kettle never boils. Same thing at the Fringe. The more you want your review to come out, the less likely it will run when you need it to run. With the first performance of God's Eye being Saturday at 6:30 pm, I'm betting the reviews won't come out until Monday or Tuesday, because of the backlog of reviews that pile up from Thursday and Friday.

Oh well, I can't control when the reviews will come out and I definitely can't control what the reviewers will say, so the best thing to do is forget about them and just have fun. I can say that now because God's Eye hasn't opened. I'll be singing a different tune on Sunday when I'm running to the newspaper box to grab a copies of the dailies.

I should know better. One of my earliest bad reviews came on the heels of a play that I directed. It was called The Mauve Bat. Someone from the Edmonton Journal saw the play and hated it. Desperate to find anything positive, I reread the review three times and I kept stumbling over a reference to claque. I thought claque had to be good... until I looked it up in the dictionary and discovered that claque meant a group of hired supporters, paid to applaud at a show. Claque, bad. Claque, very bad.

Maybe I'll just do the crossword puzzle on Sunday.

Normally, I can't stand the start of a week, mainly because I never have a real weekend and I'm cranky that I don't get time off like regular folks who have nine to five jobs.

BUT this Monday has been way better than any Monday. Today, the artist who drew the artwork for my second book cover (The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul) dropped by to show me sketches for the third book and the artwork for the rebranding of the first book. My publisher agreed to re-do the first cover so that it was more in line with the second book and could be sold as a series.

I was so thrilled with The Mystery of the Frozen Brains artwork. It's all in blue with the Marty character looking at three brains in a freezer. Very cool and grabbed my attention right off the bat. I love it!!!!

The sketch for the Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher was just a pencil sketch, so it was harder to imagine what the artist was going for, but she explained that she wanted each book cover to show more and more of the character's face as we got to know him better. The third book would put his face in the foreground. Her initial concept was to have the Mad Science Teacher behind him, but I nixed the idea because I was a bit worried about the perception on the cover. I proposed that she create a lab behind the character so that we see the environment and not the person. She said the colour of choice for the third cover would be green. I love green for science stuff. Very cool.

Well, that was pretty much the highlight of the day. The other cool news is that I pitched the Edmonton Journal an idea where I'd write an article from the inside of the 3 Day Novel Contest to basically give readers an idea what it's like to be on a reality show. The Culture editor liked the idea and is talking about me writing 2 articles and doing a blog. My only concern now is when to write all this. Yikes!

Let all Mondays start off this well!

I just came back from delivering a keynote address to the CCWA, which has been around for 20 years. What an amazing symposium. This two day event gathers together writers, scholars and critics of Chinese language literature both in China and abroad to discuss the trends of Chinese literature. For the first time, the CCWA invited a writer of Chinese descent who writes in English. That would be me.

Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting many of the delegates at a banquet celebrating the 20th anniversary of the CCWA. Even though I couldn't understand the Mandarin that was being spoken throughout the evening, I felt so welcomed and part of a community... a community devoted to Chinese literature. Considering my parents dim view of my early writing career, I was so enthusiastic to see that there is a community which does support Chinese artists. I hope that in the future, there will be more opportunities for Canadian Chinese writers working in English to network with the CCWA.

This morning, I was freaking out over my keynote because I worried that the Mandarin speakers would outnumber the bilingual speakers and my jokes would fall flat, despite the fact that the speech was translated into everyone's symposium booklets. I even flubbed my introduction, trying to launch into my speech before I was formally introduced. Thankfully, the first few jokes were greeted with laughter instead of silence. I think when I have time I'm going to try to learn Mandarin again. Well, it'd also be nice to brush up on my Cantonese.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time and I look forward to the open forum later this afternoon. Hopefully, I won't get too many questions.

Update: Late, late at night. On my break, I met with the editor of The Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher and had a nice lunch. We've never met in person, having done all our work over e-mail. Now I can put a face to the notes. After the meeting, I headed to the forum to answer a few questions. I guess I missed some fireworks earlier in the day when a Canadian said the environment in Canada was better for Chinese literature than in America. It sparked a few comments.

The coolest thing about the day was a plaque presentation for all the speakers, and a great dinner at the Shanghai Bistro. Spicy food makes me very happy. Now I'm kicking myself for not staying an extra day, but I have to get back to finalize all the Fringe PR stuff and to see the runthru of God's Eye on Monday.

The Edmonton Journal Life section ran my hair article this morning. Between this article and my upcoming weight one, I'm starting to think that I'm building a career out of making a fool of myself. Check out the second page. The editor put up a photo of Shaun Cassidy. Thankfully, we weren't side by side.

Off to Vancouver today to deliver a keynote at the Chinese Canadian Writers Association symposium. I plan on meeting a couple of folks about remounting The Bone House. And if our schedules work out, I'll meet with my editor for the Mystery of the Mad Science Teacher. Hopefully, I'll be able to get her general notes face to face. My big hope is that there won't be a lot of notes.

Today, my director and I went to the Edmonton Journal for a photo shoot to promote God's Eye and my director's other show, Madagascar. The lesson I learned was that you can't serve two masters at once. We had no way to connect the two shows together other than the fact that the director was working on both. Instead, we just focussed on making the photo visual and connected it to God's Eye. I had two pieces of dowel and yarn that we wrapped around ourselves. Not the greatest of ideas, but certainly better than a generic shot of two guys staring listlessly into space.

Before the photo shoot, I worked with the same photographer on another shoot for two more Journal Life articles; one about Facebook and one about my weight. The Facebook shots were fun, but I felt self-consious about my weight. I foolishly said I would go topless for the shot and my belly muffin top was hanging out for all to see. All I can hope is that the photo editor is kind to me.

On a positive note, the Fringe artists' packages came out today. Now the festival seems real. I have my artist's button (that gets me a few perks like free bus rides after 6 pm and free entry into Die-Nasty). Now begins the vigilant watch on ticket sales. This year, with the online system, I can check my sales from my computer. Very cool. The Fringe has truly gone techno.

I just came back from delivering the keynote address for the Pacific Northwest Library Association Conference. Boy that was a mouthful. Anyway, I think the talk went over well. I was a bit worried about whether or not the dance floor gap between the podium and the first row of the audience was going to make things hard, but the audience seemed to connect with my stories.

I always wonder how to set the tone for an evening keynote. Everyone's tired from work or travelling, and I think the last thing they want is a dry talk, but at the same time the keynote kicks off the conference proceedings and I think the participants want something to inspire them to attend the sessions. I'm hoping my talk worked.

I met lots of folks. Some librarians from Edmonton, Vegreville and St. Albert. And I met folks from Oregon, Idaho and Washington. I was really impressed that so many people came to Edmonton for the conference. I hope the weather turns better for the conference so that folks can get out and see some of the city.

Also, I heard a lot of people were looking for my play. I might drop by the conference tomorrow and drop copies with United Library Services to sell. I'll touch base with them in the morning and if they're up for the idea, I'll drop off copies in the afternoon.

Update: Oops. I woke up this morning and realized that I had promised to bring copies of the play to sell at the CCWA Symposium this weekend. Sorry, folks. You can get copies on Amazon. If you have trouble locating any copies, give me a shout and I'll try to help.

Woo-hoo! I finally can let the cat out of the bag. I'm officially in the televised 3 Day Novel Contest, which will be taking place at the South Point Chapters on Calgary Trail. The marathon takes place over the Labour Day Weekend and pits 12 authors from across Canada. In 72 hours, I have to start and finish a first draft of a novel (about 100 pages double-spaced).

The other day, I met some of the Edmonton participants at a photo shoot, and they seemed nice and nervous. I knew one fellow from my theatre days, Paul. He’s most likely going to win the contest. He’s way smarter than me and he’s the editor of SEE magazine. The other two contestants are also pretty high calibre. Jennifer writes for national magazines, and our by-lines might have crossed the same page. She wrote pieces for Alberta Venture, the magazine where I used to work. Rebecca works for the federal government responding to ministerial requests in the communications department. She is totally used to working under pressure.

The photo shoot was nerve-wracking. I had done a photo shoot with photographer before, so I should have been more relaxed, but I was still feeling stiff. It only took like 15 shots and the publicist had the three different looks she wanted. I know they were running late, so I’m worried that I’ll look like a total schmeeb. Oh well, nothing like looking like an idiot in front of a national audience.

I’ll keep posting about the experience. This is more for me to remember the experience, but if you were ever interested in applying, this might be a good primer for what to do and what not to do.

The first thing that I plan to do is start training for the competition. I’m going to do some running to get my cardio going and my energy levels up. Writing over 72 hours is going to be tough enough without energy, especially since I don’t drink coffee or pop.

For me, writing a first draft of anything is hard, so I'm taking full advantage of the fact that we are allowed 2 pages of outline. I'm going to come up with a very detailed outline and print in 6 point fonts so that I can fit everything on the page. I'm cycling through a draft of the outline now just to get the major beats clear in my head. We're not allowed to start writing the novel until the 12:01 AM on Saturday, September 1, but we can plot out the story. I hope to have all the major chapters mapped out with loglines by the time I get to the competition.

On a good day, I can write about 8 pages (double-spaced) of a first draft. If I need 100 pages by the end of the marathon, I only need to write for about 13 hours to hit the page count. If I want an okay first draft, I'll probably need about 30 hours. If I want a good draft, I'll need the rest of the year. As long as I can overcome my fear of the first blank page, I'll be fine.

Yay! If you're around on Labour Day Weekend, please come to the South Point Chapters and cheer me on. Or better yet, come to the bookstore and distract my competition so they can't write.

Here's the media release with the other participants.

BookTelevision Announces Finalists in
“3-Day Novel Contest”

Live television event returns for second year

Attention Editors:
Photo Gallery at www.booktelevision.com/media
Extended Bios and Video Profiles at www.booktelevision.com/3Day.aspx

(Edmonton & Toronto) August 8th, 2007 – Twelve writers begin training today for the most grueling marathon of their careers as BookTelevision announces the finalists in the second “3-Day Novel Contest.”

On August 31st, 2007 at the stroke of midnight these 12 writers will sit down in the middle of Edmonton's biggest Chapters bookstore – cameras and customers following their every keystroke – and try to write a novel on live television in just three days. The finalists will also face diabolically challenging contests and turns at "The Thirteenth Machine" as they compete to capture the $5000 cash prize and become Canada’s next literary superstar.

The Finalists:

GAYLEEN FROESE
Day Job: Corporate communications editor and writer
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Writing/Publications: Published novel (Touch); humour columnist for The Session (Saskatchewan Recording Industry Association newsletter); three CDs of original music (Obituary, Chimera, and Sacrifice)

GORDON KIRKLAND
Day Job: Humour writer
Hometown: Pitt Meadows, BC
Writing/Publications: Published five books of short humour (Justice Is Blind - And Her Dog Just Peed In My Cornflakes, Never Stand Behind A Loaded Horse, When My Mind Wanders It Brings Back Souvenirs, I Think I'm Having One Of Those Decades, and I May Be Big But I Didn't Cause That Solar Eclipse); syndicated newspaper columnist (Gordon Kirkland At Large)

JAMES BURNS
Day Job: Freelance writer/journalist
Hometown: Orr Lake, ON
Writing/Publications: Three unpublished novels; eight full-length screenplays; weekly humour column (An Alien in Orr Lake)

JENNIFER ISAAC
Day Job: Communications consultant/freelance journalist
Hometown: Westward Ho, AB
Writing/Publications: Two unpublished short story collections (Prosaic Period and Coffee Stories); published in numerous magazines, including: Elle Canada, Today’s Parent, and Alberta Venture

JOE GOODWILL
Day Job: Writer, researcher, and ESL consultant
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Writing/Publications: Creative non-fiction piece “From Africa to Canada: A Lesbian Family in Search of Home” printed in the literary anthology When your Voice Tastes Like Home: Immigrant Women Write; wrote a Junior Multilingual Dictionary for Oxford University Press; short story “Tail in Two Cities” to be printed in Best Lesbian Love Stories: Summer Flings this fall

LORNA SLOUKJI
Day Job: Copywriter
Hometown: Mississauga, ON
Writing/Publications: One published non-fiction book (The Daddy in All of Them); a variety of unpublished screenplays, poems, and short stories

MARTY CHAN
Day Job: Writer
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Writing/Publications: Two published children’s books (The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul and The Mystery of the Frozen Brains); humour columns in Alberta Venture and the Edmonton Journal; several plays, including Mom, Dad, I’m Living with a White Girl and God’s Eye

MATTHEW J. TRAFFORD
Day Job: Student/transcriptionist/book reviewer
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Writing/Publications: Poems published in The Dalhousie Review, Pottersfield Portfolio, and echolocation; short story, “Past Perfect,” to be published in fall 2007; dramas, including “The People and the Stones” and “The Toyshop Extinction”

NANCY BELGUE
Day Job: Library assistant
Hometown: Kingsville, ON
Writing/Publications: Published four juvenile and young adult novels (Soames On The Range, Casey Little: Yo-Yo Queen, Summer On The Run, and The Scream of the Hawk); articles published in Northwest Palate Magazine and Focus on Women Magazine

PAUL MATWYCHUK
Day Job: Entertainment Editor, SEE Magazine
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Writing/Publications: Published play (The Key to Violet's Apartment); articles for newspapers and magazines, including Vue Weekly, Key West Magazine, and SEE Magazine; several plays including Bloodhound and The Play I Did at Last Year’s Fringe

REBECCA SHUTTLEWORTH
Day Job: Communications consultant for the federal government
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Writing/Publications: Consummate blogger

TRACY THOMPSON
Day Job: Web editor
Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Writing/Publications: One unpublished novel; publication in The Signature Collection and the New York Historic Press

About the “3-Day Novel Contest’:
12 Writers,12 Novels in 72 Hours
In conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of the International 3-Day Novel Contest, BookTelevision will again give 12 writers an opportunity to write a novel in just 72 hours on national TV. Part literary marathon, part reality show, part behind-the-scenes look at the writing process, the “3-Day Novel Contest” sees the would-be novelists face utter exhaustion, diabolically challenging contests, and the dreaded “Thirteenth Machine,” as they compete to capture a $5000 cash prize en route to becoming Canada’s next literary superstar. BookTelevision will broadcast live updates throughout the Labour Day long weekend (August 31st - September 3rd) and produce a reality series to air at a later date.

BookTelevision is: heroes, heroines, villains, settings, stories, fact, fiction, writers, and icons. BookTelevision is Canada’s only television channel devoted to the writing that propels our daily lives, spoken, written or wired. Daily themes – Mystery, True-Crime, Romance, Classics, Non-Fiction, and Cinema – as well as profiles of both established and up-and-coming authors offer programs for readers and viewers of all tastes. For more information, log on to www.booktelevision.com. BookTelevision is a division of CTV Limited, and wholly owned by CTVglobemedia.

No rehearsal this week, but a lot of publicity chasing. I'm trying to line up TV spots now, but the competition for air time is fierce and it's hard to be heard above the roar of 100 other producers. Already, I'm sensing that the Fringe I remembered from 3 years ago (when I last produced a show) is much different than the Fringe now.

For example, there are a few people who are steaming mad about the new online ticketing system. This year is the first time ever in the first Fringe festival ever that NO tickets will be available at the door. Everything will be sold on line, over the phone, at the main box office or at several satellite stations during the festival. In fact, I just heard that one person is boycotting the festival because of the online system.

I'm willing to give the online system the benefit of the doubt, but I also recognize that festival goers in Edmonton are notorious last-minute decision makers. I hope the online system doesn't stop these folks from going to see a show. I guess all will be clear at the end of the festival. If you want to book tickets, you can go here.

Also, I'm curious. Anyone have strong opinions one way or the other about the ticketing system.

This Friday's Edmonton Journal Life section (August 10) will feature an article about my thinning hair. The article was about 15 years in the making (when I first noticed the hair in my bathtub). If you're around on Friday, pick up the paper and give the article a read. I have two more articles in the mix for the Journal, but I don't know when they'll run yet. I'll keep you posted.

Popped into the last run thru before our lead actress takes a week-long break for work. It was a good run, but something was missing. We were speculating that the move from our rehearsal space at the Catalyst to the Multi-Purpose room at the Citadel was too weird for everyone. We went from a theatre space to a rehearsal hall with carpet, which threw the energy of the performance out of whack. The moments are still in the play, but the pace was too quick. Thankfully, the actors recognized that the run was a bit off. I'm hoping the week off will give the actors some rest and some ability to focus on the lines and blocking so that when we're back for the last week of rehearsal, it's all about getting up to speed.

This Fringe experience has been very different from previous years. I'm treating this very much as a workshop production, where I'm thinking more about what the script needs rather than whether or not the play will be a commercial success. Already, I'm looking at scenes I want to add after the festival is done. I think what we have will work very well as a Fringe show, but if I want this play to be mainstage worthy, I have to find another 20 minutes of relevant story to add. I already have some ideas, but I'm curious to hear some audience feedback before I commit to the changes. If anyone has comments, please post them here. I'm interested in hearing what you got from the play.

I'm officially calling it quits for the day. Yesterday, I polished Fulcrum of Evil and Buddy and Max. I also packaged A Close Shave and God's Eye for submission, as well as put together the content for the God's Eye program and went out for a photo shoot and helped transport the set. I'm officially brain dead. It didn't help that I tossed and turned all night and got next to no sleep, which made me a basket case for today's interview with the Edmonton Journal. Thankfully, my director was also at the interview and was able to keep the conversation going when I stared off into the distance.

Still have a lot of work to do, but I'm not going to do any more today. I had written a synopsis last night for A Close Shave, and now I'm regretting tossing it in the envelope. I think I'm going to rip open the submission and rewrite the synopsis before I send it off. No point in sending off anything that isn't my best foot forward. I'd rather wreck an envelope than ruin my first impression.

Okay, so I'm shutting down for the day and seeing Bourne Ultimatum. Hopefully, I'll be able to relax a bit this afternoon and then try to sleep tonight. I know I'm tired because I don't even feel guilty about taking today off.

Last night, I sat through a run thru of the play. Wow. I'm totally floored by how much work the cast and crew have done. I started to tear up about a third of the way through the play, and by the end I had a huge lump in my throat from the climax of the play. Whew. This is going to be a hard play on some folks, because of the emotions involved.

Now that the play is up to speed, I can actually see what's working in the script and what isn't. The climax is so powerful that the script actually gets in the way of the black moment. I cut three lines out of the script to get out of the way of the performance. I think my director and actors were relieved at the cut, because they had mentioned it was tough to make those lines work. I didn't see anything else that needed to be cut, but I'll sit in on another run through this weekend and keep my eye on the script.

After being away from the festival for three years, I forgot how much time the play consumes. I have to deal with publicity right now and after the long weekend, I have to dive into marketing. It's a 24/7 job to produce the play, and i'm not even involved with rehearsals. Still, I'm having a ton of fun, thanks to a very solid and generous cast and crew. It's not easy to do a play about strokes, faith and God, and I'm so glad everyone has really committed to the play. I don't know how audiences at the Fringe will react, but I'm happy with what we've accomplished so far.

The tickets are now available online. I don't know how the system will work, but if anyone is interested in seeing the show, please go to the Fringe website.

I'm having a rough start today, thanks to some very late-night pizza and poor sleep. I'm going to try to write for a couple of hours, but if all falls apart, I think I might just use the afternoon to nap. I think my body is telling me that I'm pushing too hard, and I'd better start listening to it, because next week is even busier than this week. Ugh. I hate it when I lose a day of work.

Update: Later in the afternoon. No writing done, but I did get some books from Amazon. Instead of writing, I've been following up media for God's Eye. So far, so good. Got some interviews lined up. The key to the whole thing is to hit the media folk just before the Fringe does it's free-for-all media launch. After tomorrow's media event, it's going to be white noise for the media on anything Fringe related.

Also, just heard that God's Eye has a run through tonight, so I'll go to that. This will make me feel like I had a productive day, even though I haven't done a scrap of writing. Oh, the guilt is weighing on me. Screw it. I've got to do some kind of writing. A writer's greatest motivation: guilt!

Final update: Okay, that was just painful. I spent most of the afternoon waiting for media folks to call back, but what I tried to in the meantime was write a cheesie sitcomesque dittie for Fulcrum of Evil. I never pretended to be a lyricist, and I still claim no aspirations. That was the hardest three verses I've ever had to write. Ouch.