The Cause for Delay

Publisher Comments on Distractions, Elements From One Fulfilling Summer

Wow. When I quit something, I quit. I stopped blogging because it was really dominating my time. I got annoyed with myself and decided a change was needed. I took The Blogadier General down for a while. Breaks are healthy, I figure. I've enjoyed one healthy break. That break will continue for now. Alas, fifty-post months might not happen for the rest of the year, if ever.

That is a shame, because I like to look back on things I have accomplished. Blogs are great because they record all of one's writing on one site. Writers can look back and see just how much production they injected into the blogosphere, even if they didn't get paid for it!

Since I quit blogging daily, I've focused on running, taking on my first 5K on the advice of a co-worker. I didn't expect much, but I am happy to report that I finished Little Rock's Fourth of July Firecracker Fast 5K in 23:12:55. I did not expect to run that fast! I run nine minute miles on a treadmill at my gym where the weather is air-conditioned and the terrain is smooth rubber without any hills.

My goal for the Firecracker was to run harder than normal from front to back. That's exactly what I did, and I never expected to finish so quickly. My body felt sore for three days, but I got over it.

Now I have to refocus on my writing. Running has distracted me from my real business. I'm doing a novel set in the television industry, and I hope to have a mistake-free manuscript by the end of the year. If I write 2,000 words a day for 50 days (yeah, right) I can have 100,000 words. That's plenty long enough to publish as a novel.

However, writing isn't so easy without direction. Like all writers, I have experienced issues with plot, character development and what not. Such issues are pretty serious distractions. I have had to stop and map out the rest of my story, and I still haven't figured out how to arrive at an ending. I have a lot of work to do, and that is a massive understatement!

So far though, the first 20,000 words look solid. They will need rewrites, but I am optimistic that the changes will stay minimal.

Viva le Tour!

I am also enjoying the Tour de France this summer. I can't wait for the mountains. Bring on the Pyrenees and the Alps! I am ready for the bedlam, the unpredictability. I want to know which of the top GC riders fall off pace and which ones do not.

On Film

As for movies, I haven't seen one since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I really need to get out more. Honestly though, except for the X-Files, I don't see anything out there that I feel is a must-see event. Not even Batman captures my imagination. It is my opinion that whatever Heath Ledger has done with the Joker, it will not surpass Cesar Romero's portrayal nor Jack Nicholson's. As far as Jack Nicholson goes, he's Jack Nicholson. Ledger certainly won't top him. Arguments end there. Call me biased, but that's how I feel.

And furthermore, this darker, grittier Batman concept is so stale. I've seen it ever since Frank Miller's Dark Knight graphic novel series, which was truly groundbreaking, truly historic. It is definitive in it's own way. But that dropped in 1986. So, for 22 years, people have been fascinated by a darker, edgier Batman.

In fact, the 1989 movie was supposed to be darker and edgier. It was when compared to the original television series, which was made in the 1960s. In the television series' defense, it was made for small children. It was supposed to be campy.

I wish someone in Hollywood had the temerity to do a Batman movie in broad daylight and camp it up like things used to be in the old days. That might prove more interesting than yet another Batman movie where all of the good stuff happens on a dark overcast night. Like we haven't seen this four or five times already. I should probably watch this new one, but when?

Bright Shiny Morning, Stephenie Meyer

I am also happy to report that I finished reading Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. Frey is a fabulous writer with many hits in his future. That's a fairly safe prediction, right? I'm also in the middle of another John Grisham novel. The Chamber deals with the death penalty. So far, so good, I say.

I also discovered Stephenie Meyer this past week. Barnes & Noble is holding a book release party for her new novel. Breaking Dawn is the fourth installment of Meyer's Twilight series. The Twilight series is targeted to female teens, but Meyer has also written and published The Host, which is intended for adult readers. The Host is about a soul, or consciousness, that is inserted into the body of a young girl. The concept is similar to the trill characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The first ten pages of The Host prove that Meyer is quite a writer and a really good storyteller. Anyone wishing to experience a fresh new writer should check out Meyer's work.