July 14 2009- Forgive me, it's been a while. Being a writer is tough, tough stuff, as I'm sure those of you who write know first hand and those of you who would like to write but can't, for whatever reason or reasons you might have, understand even more. I put myself into the second category..I've always just been a writing poser, more in love with the IDEA of being a writer than actually trying to fill a blank page with something substantial and..truly BEING a writer. To actually go out and be a writer..for real..well, this has been one of the hardest projects of my life. I'll be damned if I don't give it a good stab and try to finish it..but, I'll be honest with you..my perfectionistic ways are making it very difficult for me to..let it go and be happy with it. And I'm changing my mind all the damn time, about where this thing is going to end up. It's already blown outself out of proportion with length..it was never going to be as long as it's turning out to be now. But rest assured, I'm in love with the characters, I'm in love with the story, and most importantly..I'm in love with Montreal and all it entails. This might just be the project that I finish, out of love, and..despite myself. Because I just can't shake it. I do see an ending for it and yes, that's a good chunk of the battle won right there, it's just the getting there part that's tough.
Some news.
"This is Montreal" has left the kind folks who were carrying it at Sound FM in Waterloo, and now is airing as a 2009 summer series on CFRU, 93.3 FM in Guelph, Ontario..Tuesdays at midnight. Whereas with Sound FM, it was a broadcasting free for all and no one gave a shit about people swearing at the top of their lungs a la Terrence at 11 AM...at CFRU they actually care about the swearing and stuff..hence the late night start time. It's cool though, they podcast the show at their webpage (check the link section)..so between my own podcast page and theirs, ain't no way you'll miss it unless you choose to. "This is Montreal" is starting from the very beginning at CFRU, so you'll hear the first 3 episodes which originally aired on Sound FM in late 2008 and then..onto the new stuff which you haven't heard just yet. I know that some of you are really on my case about hearing the latest episode..maybe I'll oblige you and put it up at the podcast page as a sneak peek, before it's radio premiere in a few weeks..all as a thank you for sticking with me and my writer's block and self indulgence for so long. All of you are a super inspiration for me to keep going..to know you're digging it and you want more and I appreciate it, you are helping me along more than you can ever know. Many thanks to Andrew Townsend, host of CFRU's "Andrew T and the Dynamo Elite", who's babysitting the show while it's airing on the radio..you are going above and beyond the call of duty and I super de duper appreciate what you are doing here. And..thank you to Tara Michelle Ziniuk, the program director at CFRU who really, really felt strongly enough about "This is Montreal" to bend over backwards to make sure it got put on the air somewhere and somehow. Your vote of confidence means a lot to me, especially as you yourself are an author and performer. I think there's a lot I can learn from you about writing and the whole creative process because really, only now am I coming out of my shell on this one..I've been playing second bananas for too long in my life..;).. and I hope one day we can sit down for a cup of joe and just shoot the breeze about it all.
Oh yeah..Episode 2 is airing..tonight! ;)
"This is Montreal" Progress Report- Episode 4 is in the can. Episode 5 is just about written..I'm looking actually at just a bit of minor editing and the construction of one final, concluding paragraph..but I'm holding off on finishing it because I'm about to pay a visit to Montreal, first since March of 2008..and I think it might be best to play tourist and take some things in before finishing any more. Who knows what things might change story wise..with that being said, that means I hope to record Episode 5 early next week and then..Episode 6. I'm hoping I can rattle that one off quickly..finding music for it will be a challenge. The really hard writing assignment for me is going to be Episode 7- when Charlie and Lisa finally sit down for their coffee. Once again..I know how it's going to end up..it's just the "getting there" part. I want the dialogue to really sparkle and..I'm worried about wether I've got what it takes to do it and really be happy with it all. The music for that one is going to be very, very good..and I'm hoping I have a little surprise for you all in regards to that. ;)
This trip to Montreal is primarily to attend a friend's wedding reception, but it's also going to encompass a lot of research for me. A good chunk of the future action in "This is Montreal" is going to take place at the UQAM campus, a place I know zero about..so if you're in Montreal and you see this slightly lost Ontario fella shooting pictures of everything and anything with his camera, he's NOT A TERRORIST! He's just doing research for his radio novella so he can go back to Ontario and write about the place and stare at those pictures and try to get it right, as best as he can.
OK, I'm missing "Pyramide" now..
http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/pyramide/saison2/
..must run! More soon!
trev
