Dan Caplis is a conservative talk radio host in Denver. He's also running for office - - senate or house at the state level, something along those lines. Dan's cohost on his radio show is Craig Silverman, a former prosecutor who is marginally more liberal than Dan. And for some reason, I just find it fascinating to listen to their individual takes on the issues du jour.

After the Rockies won the league pennant, for the first time ever getting the chance to go to the World Series as something other than a spectator or hotdog salesperson, Caplis & Silverman did a show on the "spiritual" influence on the team's late-season winning streak. Dan appeared to be convinced that God was in the details of the Rockies' successful run to the World Series, and that got me thinking - - is God a Rockies fan?



Dan referenced the faith of the Rockies manager and the entire team as a factor in their win in a sporting contest - - does this mean that the Diamondbacks are faithless heathens and that God punished them? Even if the Diamondbacks ARE faithless heathens, isn't there something a tad immoral about exercising one's omnipotence on behalf of one team in a sporting contest? God'll never get into the Baseball Hall of Fame now....

I was also struck by the possibility that God was taking time out of his busy schedule to muck around with which team wins a baseball game. What, did hostilities cease in Darfur? Were the monks released in Myanmar? Did we leave Iraq? Are children across Africa no longer being infected at birth with HIV? Are teens no longer being sexually assaulted in juvenile prison?

That's not really fair, I guess. Even God should be able to take a break, grab a cold Coors Lite and root for the most righteous team. Thanks, God, for finally getting the Rockies into the World Series - - we owe you one. Like, a firstborn.

Yup, after five years or so of cogitating on writing a book, I finally did it - - thanks to the extreme deadline sport of the 3 Day Novel Contest.


3 Day Novel Contest

Here's the drill - - the contest takes place each Labor Day Weekend, starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Monday. During those 72 hours, you write a book. You can come prepared with an outline, but the entirety of the novel has to be written during those three days. It's pretty much all honor system, but the panel of judges has its ways of sussing out the three-year-novel-that-was-cut-and-pasted-over-Labor-Day-Weekend works of fiction.

Grand prize? Getting published.

Here's why I did it - - for about five years, I've had what I thought was a good story rolling around in my noggin. For five years, I've done precious little with it except for some research and an outline and an abortive first chapter that I didn't like because it didn't entertain me. What I know about myself is that I need a deadline in order to do something like this - - not a self-imposed deadline, but an other-imposed deadline. And that's what the 3 Day Novel Contest provided.

And here's how it played out:

Day One - - I got a leisurely start at about 12:30 p.m. on Saturday; it was already 12 hours into the contest, but I was.....overconfident? Blase'? Smug? Nah, I think it was mainly a case of the story being ready to be born full-growed (yes, I'm an author) from my gray matter. No outline. Little to no research done. I'm an idjit.

At the end of the first day, I had about 28 pages written and the story had been flowing well. Research on the geographic areas involved and on the quotes that I misused at the start of each chapter was taking quite a bit longer than anticipated, but I wasn't too worried with 48 hours to go. Went home and slept.

Day Two - - Second Day Second Thoughts. Got started at 9:30 a.m. and wrote about 30 more pages, but it was a slog. As I drove home that night at about 8:30 p.m., I was convinced that the thing was utter crap and that I couldn't possibly allow anyone else to ever, ever read it. It just didn't seem possible to even get close to book length, either - - although I wasn't tempted to quit, it was a bit discouraging to have entered the contest and then produced nothing but rotten derivative tripe. Went home and slept badly.

Day Three - - got in at about 9:45 a.m. and the writing was easy, natural. Cranked out 32 more pages by 8 p.m. and then did a major read-through to catch errors and inconsistencies, as well as take a look at how the story moved. I was unquestionably punchy by that time, but the story made me laugh (in the right places) and I found myself leaning forward and wondering what was going to happen next (hey, bonehead, you WROTE the thing!). The story had come out of my head just the way I'd imagined and I felt extremely satisfied. By 11 p.m., it was done and I was giddy - - singing, laughing, shouting, dancing with relief.

A couple of days later, the manuscript was mailed in to the contest organizers; we'll all hear back with the final decisions in January 2008 and I'm actually kinda hopeful. I'm not sure I'll ever do this again, but the experience taught me a lot - - that I can write fiction after all, that dialogue isn't the big scary beastie I'd been imagining, that the idea was really a book and not just a short story, that living on Chex mix and Coke and M&Ms for three days makes me feel queasy for a week.

For anyone else who is a procrastinator like me, this is a great way to get that book started - - win or lose, I have the skeleton of a crazy cannibal book that just needs some fleshing out to be ready for publication. Queasy or no, tired or no, this was totally worth it.......

Just going to avoid this forum for a while. Not feelin' the joy.



Peace out.

Vedauwoo, WY - - big piles o' sherman granite 1.4 billion years old, part of the uplift of the Laramie Mountains millions of years ago and exposed through erosion over the millenia.

Vedauwoo is pronounced "VEE-da-voo", and it just keeps on surprisin' ya - - the moment that you turn east from Tie Siding and get your first glimpse of this eruption out of the plains, you think "Holy crack climb, Batman - - where the hell did THOSE come from????"



If you avoid going on a blazing hot summer day, Vedauwoo is a hoot and the fun ranges from picnic grounds to miles of level hiking trails to nontechnical scrambles to mind-boggling rappels to multi-pitch climbs. It's part of the greater Medicine Bow National Forest system, too - - lots of wildlife and campgrounds, complete with an extra helping of Wyoming wind.

If you ever find yourself in southeastern Wyoming, be sure to say yodelaheeeeeeehooooooooooooooo to Vedauwoo - - and rock on.

This is for all the girls, whether you're 18 or eighty-teen. You're under constant bombardment, sometimes overt and sometimes covert, from folks who'll benefit from keeping you insecure and distracted and diminished. Here's a simple tip:

Don't listen.



Don't listen to:

* Messages that tell you that what happens to you defines who you are. You might be the victim of a crime or of not-so-great treatment by another person, but that doesn't mean that you are a victim forever. Your character is made up of biology and neurology and years and years of living experience - - how could a mere few minutes or hours change your essence? It doesn't.

* Entities that insist that you choose between two extremes - - either being a soft, helpless, weak-voiced and weak-willed girl to succeed in love or being a she-male to succeed in business. Your truth is somewhere in between the polarizations, so find what's real for you and stick to it like Gorilla Glue.

* People who want you to soften your voice or dilute your words. Never adopt a faux high and/or breathy voice because that will make you less intimidating; always remember whose problem it is if you're supposedly intimidating - - it's the problem of the tiny frightened people who allow themselves to be intimidated.

* Businesses that want to profit from your fears and insecurities. You know who they are - - the diet industry, the anti-aging industry, the pharmacalogical industry, the home-protection industry. Note the word industry - - these are businesses that count on you being afraid, either for your physical or psychic safety, and that will gladly make money off false promises to protect you from your worst fears. You don't need their protection - - you are your OWN protection.



* Advertisers who try to make you feel that you are less of a woman if you don't accrue enough stuff - - home decor, shoes, clothes, lotions, potions, etc. You are not your stuff.

* Advertisers who make money off of selling you the image of a fake woman - - hairless in most places except for the non-graying hair on the head portion, smelling like perfume, batting long black lashes regardless of her true coloring, pointy-toed and high-heeled. It's so hard to resist this subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle pressure, but we have to keep challenging ourselves. C'mon, surely I'm not the only one who's a bit disturbed at the whole "hairless" thing. You know who's naturally hairless? Little prepubescent girls. Is that the standard for sexual attractiveness? And if so, YIKES.

* Anyone who tries to use the emotionality of women as a reason why they shouldn't participate in certain activities (politics, war, business, whatever). The United States will be in a much, much better place when political power is shared between men and women - - our responses to domestic and international affairs will be more balanced, without a doubt. Same goes for the military and business.

* People and institutions who insist that you be small, in every sense. Be a presence physically, emotionally, intellectually - - and use your power wisely.

* Political positioning that characterizes you as irresponsible and emotional and weak. You can and do make decisions with forethought and a willingness to accept responsibility.

* Characterizations of women as overly sensitive and out of touch with what's truly important. You have the ability to discern what is actually an issue and what is merely an irritant - - you can see the difference between physical abuse (a crime) and angry words (not a crime in any sense). You know the difference between sexual harassment that really affects your work (passed over for employment because you wouldn't shag the boss) versus clumsy overtures or talk from coworkers (social retardation is not a crime). You also are aware that there's a wider world out there, beyond shopping and manicures and pedicures and hairstyling appointments. Don't let them think otherwise.

Shut them off when they start. Don't let it take hold on you at all. Find out what's real for YOU and you go, grrrrrrrrrrrl.