Thursday, 24 July 2003

I didn't get any writing done, but I did figure out why I was having trouble with this next scene--I had put the scene break in too early, so the next scene started with what was really transitional information. The fix is to move that transitional stuff to the previous scene and then skip right to the exciting stuff in the next scene. We can cover the transition by having him decide to go do what he's going to do next at the end of the previous scene.

So, that's the plan for tomorrow's writing. With that taken care of, I should be able to crank out some big chunks of prose over the weekend.

Kelly Link's new anthology Trampoline is out, with stories by Clarion classmates John Gonzalez, Beth Adele Long, and Susan Mosser, together with a bunch of writers who are already as famous as those guys are going to be in a couple of years. I've read at least two of those stories and they were great, so you should run right out and buy a copy.

Let's see. I took a break from running yesterday, although Jackie and I did go lift. This morning I ran, it it was a great run. My feet and ankles, which had gotten a little bit sore and tender, were all better. I ran fast right from the start, and did the run I've been calling 2.5 miles a full four minutes faster than I'd run it before. If it's really 2.5 miles, then I was running ten-and-a-half-minute miles instead of the twelve-minute miles I'm used to. I really want to get a better idea of how fast I'm running. I need to either go to a track or else run on one of the treadmills at the Fitness Center with a pace indication.

This evening I played racquetball.

I used to play a lot, but four or five years ago injured some abdominal muscles and found the bending and twisting hurt. It took a long, long time for those to get better. (I went to a couple of doctors. The second one said, "These kind of injuries are common and usually get better. If it's not better in six months, see a doctor again." Even after six months it wasn't all better, but I was seeing improvement.) I probably could have played racquetball a couple years ago, but I got out of the habit.

It felt great this evening, though. With the running, I'm in much better shape than the last couple times I was playing regularly. That's a big advantage. I could rush from point to point and I wasn't even breathing hard. I used to be able to do that, and took perverse delight in moving quickly on to the next point faster than my opponent could catch his breath.

I'm not used to the bending and twisting and especially the arm swinging. It all felt great when I was doing it, but when I came home I sat still for about an hour and a half (dinner and then a Buffy episode with commentary) and then stood up. Standing was painful. I expect it'll be worse tomorrow. It isn't bad pain, though. Just normal the normal result of using muscles in a way they're not used to.