TNT Hot Six Miles

Because of a UCLA football game our team moved from the Rose Bowl to a park in nearby La Cañada. Many TNTers had trouble finding parking. As a result, we didn't start running until almost 8:00 AM. Mr. Sun was well risen and the temperature was sultry. We ran on loose dirt over horse trails. Very little shade.

I went 6 miles and felt fine.

Next week is our first training run: a 5K out in Studio City.

I may try and run the whole thing without stopping, just to note my time.

On the brink of 3,000 visits to "Write Enough."

Thanks to all who stop by.

No Monsters or Water Need Apply

My wife asked me about the new direction of my foreign writing gig. I explained that the largest investors wanted to switch the show from a comedy to an action-adventure. Our young protagonists would now be placed in more peril. Target audience for this show is kids 8 - 11 (I think).

But problems have arisen.

The show is computer-generated animation — CGI. The production crew have informed the writing staff that, due to budgetary considerations, they would not generate new characters. In other words the "peril" now required in scripts cannot come from new villains, monsters, people or animals. Also, since water is difficult and time-consuming to render, we've been asked to avoid aquatic scenes. So no storms or floods or drowning in large buckets.

I have attempted one script with geological hazards (not including water or lava), and another with home-made traps. No word back on either.

Of course there is always illness, disease, accidents. However the station that will air the episodes here in the U.S. has expressed discomfort in the past when such elements were introduced — even in broad jest.

No flirting, hand-holding, or longing looks.

The above U.S. station also doesn't approve of sarcasm or name-calling which they consider "inappropriate."

Our choices narrow.

Forced to please a variety of masters, unable to drum up new peril, we may end up scripting dense psychological episodes. Think "Gaslight" for kids. Or "The Seventh Seal." If we're not careful, we could end up with the bleakest children's show ever aired.

Outside Scandinavia.

Weighting

Three days a week I hit the gym and build up my legs. Coach "Mel," in her physical therapist capacity, designed me a workout that incorporates balance, weight lifting, and regular old sweaty exercises. After a few weeks, I want the right leg to equal the left and both to be powerful pistons of muscle and tendon.

Instant gratification. It's why I get injured.

Writing has been much like living in a dryer — there are moments when everything tumbles. My foreign gig decided to redirect the show down a new avenue. In the middle of a production run this is like deciding to repaint your car while speeding down the highway. But onward we go.

The Nick job boils with political intrigue on a level several tiers above me. But the fallout filters down. I've got a rewrite due for them next week.

My agent is sending the outline for my young adult horror novel, "The Whompago," to a publisher. We'll see if they are interested.

For me, the only thing worse than overwork is underwork.

Four Miles

Ran the above distance with the team on Saturday. That's the longest I've gone since March. Felt Okay.

Blogspot has an interesting approach to trouble shooting. Their "Help" section has a list of common problems. Anything outside that and you're referred to a Google group in the same boat as you.

In other words, they won't solve the problem, but they'll send you to a support group.

Kind of like the court system after a DUI.

Something less vague would be helpful.

Firefox to the Rescue

Safari kept crashing every time I tried to upload images. Someone on a support group suggested a Firefox browser. And so I downloaded a nice free one. Lots of cool things including bold and italic controls that add all that HTML code for you.

Forward with Firefox!

And I've added an image just because it was easy to do.

Rebuilding

One more go with Team in Training. The coaches convinced me to at least train until the end of October. They feel they can restore the strength in my leg. An assistant coach, Melissa, works as a physical therapist. She crafted me a workout that builds leg strength, concentrating on the diminished right.

If nothing else, it's good to be with other runners once a week. Several guys, ala Ernesto and CJ, ran with me in Honolulu last year. Now they are mentors and captains for new team members.

Buried under work. I have three scripts in various stages for my foreign gig. Plus I picked up a script for a new Nickelodeon show. And I must rewrite the outline for "Apple Dan," the adult horror novel.

"The Whompago," my young adult horror novel outline is being read by two agents - both taking their sweet time.

Assistant coach Mark headed back to Maryland. A good guy, he doubled as team photographer. I wish him all the best.

Sometimes I feel like I'm writing a company newletter.

August 10: Another Chance

I always say a "thank you" prayer every year on this date. Back in 1972, I was badly injured while serving overseas and could've been killed. A few weeks later, a guy in my outfit died in a jeep accident. His name was Steve. He was a basketball player from Davenport, Iowa.

Steve remains 19 years-old forever. He never got life's ups and downs. He'll never know the middle-age blues as arthritis sets in and hair falls out and nothing seems as easy as it once was. But I'll bet he'd have liked the chance to find out.

Thirty-four years have passed since those August days. I think of the decades I was granted and how much time I've wasted in selfish pursuits and self-destructive behaviour. And I think of the times I rose above myself and did a good act for someone or accomplished a feat I'd always dreamed of — like the marathon last year.

I try not to waste any more days.

Broken Bone Recovery

More paying work than I've had in awhile. Two animated shows, no waiting.

Plus a new agent has agreed to look at one of my book outlines.

I ran again on Saturday. No pain in the foot. I think as part of my injury recovery plan, I'll stop bringing my watch on runs. I notice that clock watching makes me push myself and I'm just not ready for pushing.

So time stays behind. All I'll know is distance.

Who knows? I may actually pay more attention to my body.

Just Swell

My ankle's swollen. I'm taking a week off from running until it's back down to roughly normal size.

Finished my second horror novel outline.

The first outline, "Apple Dan," explores themes of appeasement and personal redemption, while the new outline, "The Whompago," deals with moral indifference and accepting responsibility.

There may not be a very wide market for these books.

But they're sure fun to work on.

Various

Team in Training Winter starts next week. A few teammates from a year ago will be back, giving Honolulu another go. My leg has been sore lately, right around the break. I've backed off running. I was only going out three times a week. Now I think I'll trim that to two until the soreness passes.

I'm almost finished with my second novel outline. I just concentrate on narrative. Chapters must fit on a single, double-spaced page. That forces me to think about "what happens next." Not much room for character growth, but it does help me focus on story.

I've been reading more horror fiction. The book I'm into now has an 80-year-old narrator who reminds you how old he is about every other page. In my own work, I should make a general note not to annoy the reader.

Hot Times

Lots of driving in 100 degree heat. Last Thursday, I headed out to Riverside County to visit my cousin. (About an hour and a half drive.) She has no air conditioning, just a swamp cooler on the roof of her apartment unit. We didn't linger long over family photos. Jump in the car and eat lunch where the air conditioning was mighty.

On Friday, I started to attend Comic-Con in San Diego. Ten years ago, my friend Paul and I drove down there in two hours, did a "Freakazoid panal," and drove back home in about the same time. Due to living in the past, I don't think I was out of Orange County in two hours. I would never arrive in time for the event I was seeking to attend. So that got scrubbed. Saturday morning I met up with TNT alumni for a run. (The coaches perscribed exercises to build up my still-atrophied right leg.) We circled the Rose Bowl at a modest pace and finished drenched in sweat. I felt like I was back in Cambodia.

On Saturday evening, my wife threw a party for her blogger friends. Even in the foothills, temperatures remained over 100. The only cool room in the house was downstairs. So that's where the party lived.

In fact, that's where I live until this heat wave passes.

More book news soon.