How do they do what they do?

I watched the Victoria's Secret fashion show the other night, and I was a bit mystified. I've worn stilettos, 6" bad boys. They're comfortable for about 5 minutes, and then I feel like I'm going to snap the teeny little spike heel right off. And lets not talk about my stagger when I'm in my cups.

Normal heels, 3-4" I'm okay, heck, I've been known to sprint to catch a cab, metro, swinging bathroom door. But higher then that, it feels like I'm walking a tight rope. There's no easy hip sway, there's no saunter or swagger. I'm bouncing off walls and have my arms out to keep my balance.

Anyway - watching the show, these models are trotting down the runway, full of attitude, a saucy bounce, and bizarre contraptions weighing them down, possibly throwing them off balance. And they aren't teetering around, they're making some serious time.

How the heck do they do that in those heels? The world may never know.

Of course, if that was my job, to be skinny and wear impossibly high heels, I could probably figure it out.

During the show - they had a Pick the Next Angel contest - and this clip right here is why I wanted Kylie to win. She worked hard. The trainer saw her work hard, and commented to the camera.
That's it, one tiny phrase from a trainer, immediately put me SOLIDLY in her corner. So if that's all it takes in a quick clip, what does it take in a book to make the reader care about the Characters?

I want you to want me.

I've been looking over my recent reading list, and I feel like something is lacking. Nothing recently has bowled me over, or even made me feel connected to a book. Looking at my ratings, I've ranked everything right around the middle.

And many books I've read lately have been wonderfully written, excellent books. There's nothing wrong with the BOOK, its just not hitting me. Nothing is making me excited.

I think I first realized it when I read Twilight. I wasn't whipped into a frenzy of emotional angst over it. I credited that to not being able to shake the movie from my head. I already knew the plot, I already knew what would happen. I was never able to sink in and immerse myself in the story.
Which confused me, because when I Poo Pooed the movie, so many people said Oh, the Book is much better.

I'm not trying to start any sort of riot here, or get my Twilighty friends worked up. It just simply didn't GRAB me, like it did some people.
Bella irritated me. Edward irritated me.
No fear - Twi-hards. I'm reading New Moon now. I want to give this a chance, and maybe reading it before seeing the movie will do it for me.

But this made me think, what SPECIFICALLY is it about a book that makes me suck in a breath at the emotions? What makes me flip the pages so fast I can't keep up, dying to know what happens next?

And how can I write like that. How can I rip emotions from people like that?

Have you read anything spectacular lately?

Crossed the Finish Line!

Well, Old Chap, I have finished my Brewmaster story, printed it out in its entirety, and am mailing it off today to the Publisher. DONE and DONE.

At this point its been polished, buffed and re-written so many times, I am ready to put it aside. I feel like I've put a lot of energy and effort into this, and I've finished stronger then I started.

Hopefully I will get to work on it again, but right now, after a full year, I can put it aside and say I did the best I could with the tools and skills I have.

When it comes down to it, I do feel stronger about this next book I'm working on. But there was a lot of growth in Brewmaster. And I'd like to thank all the critique partners who pushed me to better it, to grow and to learn.

I truly hope my next book is cleaner and has a better start out the gate.

I haz hot dog

Running away.

What if... you had to flee, and people were hunting you? I'm not talking about fictional YOU - the Ninja who would just beat them all down and be able to do superhuman physical feats. And not sweat a drop, and manage to disappear into the night with Locked Boxes all around the world full of alternate identities and cash.

I'm talking about you... right now. The you who has $14 in your pocket.

In today's technical world, how would you survive?
You can't use your ATM, or credit cards. You can't use your cell phone, or heck, your computer. You can't use your Drivers license to check into hotels, or get on a plane.
You can't even take your car, because that can be traced pretty easy if you cross a toll booth.

Also - you can't quick google a city and find hotels or hostels. Because guess what? All your Internet activity will be tracked, and they will easily figure that out.

A Wired writer took the challenge

His thoughts are interesting. Of course, he had 2 months to prepare.

In my imagination, I'm not running FROM something like the law, because I'm not really the kind of gal to ditch out on my responsibilities.
(Again, in my imagination, I'm a freakin Ninja. Who never sweats. And I WOULD have those locked boxes all around the world full of cash and alternate IDs - ala Jason Bourne. Hey, its my imagination, I do what I want.)

Lets be honest, how many people do you know who would be accidentally accused of something heinous?

But... its a really interesting thought. Would you have the fore site to do what this author did, and squirrel away cash? Set up a false Internet links with inexpensive computers to re-route all your Internet exchanges? Change your habits? How long would you be able to keep it up?

My habits aren't too incriminating, but it would be easy enough to figure out I'd be at a Jimmy Buffett concert.
I'd probably be at a book store a few times.
I do crave human interaction though, I'd have a hard time being isolated that long. So I'd end up at a few bars or music venues. And I'm pretty sure I'd be lost without contacting my friends. So..

I'm caught. Because I can't stand to be alone.

I'd also like to say, its awesome being a writer, and digging deeper into these types of ideas, letting my mind wander.

Murphys Law

Any time you're printing out important information, you WILL run out of printer ink, or paper. Or you'll lose the cord for the USB, or something.

And it's never when you're printing out a humorous cartoon to decorate your office, or to share with your co-workers.

It's always something important.
And at 10:30 at night.
And you're already in your jammies.

Son of a biscuit.

Ideas Worth Spreading

This weekend I watched The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED. The documentary is from the 2006 Ted meeting, but the message is as relevant today as it was then.

It's sad and scary how little things have changed.

Ted stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It's a meeting of the minds.
Once a year, this group meets to hear speakers give the 'talk of their lives.' The presenters are industry heads from all different walks of life, challenged in 18 minutes, to present their ideas. To make changes, to really truly look at what needs work, and to DO the work. They seek a deeper understanding of the world, and they hope to turn that understanding into a better future for us all.

From the movie - the most moving speakers were Al Gore, giving his brief presentation that soon become A Simple Truth. There were tons of speakers not shown that could make you laugh, make you think, make you nod your head and understand. And, they're all on video on the TED website. You can go and watch the speech, for free.

Some of it was smarty-pants jargon I couldn't follow, but some of it was heart breakingly simple. And all of it essential.

I immediately wanted to go to next years Ted - but a)it's sold out over a year in advance, and B) its a pretty penny. Back in 2006 it was $4400. Yes, $4400. Imagine what it is today?

The basic message I came away with is, we all have something to offer. Something from our specific set of skills, that we can use to make a change for the better. None of us are special.
But all of us have something spectacular to give, to use and to work with. Maybe its time. Energy. Maybe just a connection between two people who need to connect, to move themselves to the next level. We don't have to do something huge, but we have to do something.