Rocking out with the muse

I had a best friend in high school who taught me a lot about Rock and Roll - or more accurately, she taught me the proper way to attend a concert. We went to hundreds back in the day, pretty much spending every spare penny on rock. Or metal. Or glam.

Or Bon Jovi.

Actually, *I* spent a lot on Bon Jovi - she was never really a hard core fan. Over the years, I've probably been to a half dozen Bon Jovi concerts, a far cry from the 80 Def Leppard gigs she's attended across the world. I don't go to a lot of concerts anymore - they're expensive and I don't have the same patience to wait in line for tickets or to fight with Ticketmaster.

But, I'd probably still stand in line for Bon Jovi tickets.

Bon Jovi isn't the same band I fell in love with in the 80's. Jon's poofed and hairsprayed coif is tamed, the music has changed (at one point, the band even dabbled in country), and save some cover-up, I bet there's very little make-up to be found.

Some things remain consistent, though.

Bon Jovi puts on one hell of a show. No seriously, Jon knows how to work the stage, and for those of us in the nosebleed seats watching on the big screen TV, he understands how to play to the camera. I always feel satisfied after the show, even if I wasn't  front row. Which is pretty much how I feel after an Aerosmith concert - but Jon Bon Jovi is immeasurably better looking than Stephen Tyler. Just saying.

There's a meme going around Facebook showing how some of the 80's rockers have aged over the years. Jon has always been gorgeous, even with his wild hair and tight Spandex. These days, he's a tamer, more traditional hottie who has traded in his Spandex for jeans. Tight fitting jeans, mind you. But I'm okay with that.

There's a whole bunch of reasons Jon stands out for me. Loyalty to his high school wife (unless I am completely snowed by the tabloids), excellent performance skills, fabulous voice, great smile, and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing world.

It's these same characteristics that make Jon Bon Jovi the ideal muse avatar. As I plow through the final scenes of Killer's Instinct, which I am co-writing with the awesome Judith Graves, there's a few things I need to keep in mind - a few lessons I could learn from Jon, you might say.

1. Loyalty. Not to my spouse - that's easy. But to the readers. Making sure to deliver a product that is something they will be proud of, and conforms to the PR we've been pushing out about this fabulous monster book.

2. Performance. Writing the best fiction I can. Choosing words, sentences, paragraphs that flow together and create emotion. Telling the best story possible.

3. Great voice. Ensuring authenticity in the voice, keeping in mind our audience expectations, the beauty of a collaborative effort.

4. Great smile. Remembering that I am one of the lucky people who gets to do what I love - write. Sometimes in the thick of writer's block, it's easy to forget to smile. Writing is what I do. Writing is what I love. That's something to smile about.

5. Adaptability. This book has evolved so much since the initial inception and I suspect that will continue through to the final edits and the eventual release. Our ability to adapt will ensure this book's success. Change is good, donkey.

It's interesting sometimes to see how life circumstances can somehow parallel writing lessons. What rocker - or rapper, opera singer, dancer, etc - fuels your inspiration and why?

While you're thinking about that, I'm getting back to writing. Excuse me while I shuffle my iPod through some Bon Jovi.

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: Scarlet, Melissa Meyer

2013 Resolutions Stats

Total words last week: 2,757 (CLEARLY lower than my expectations, BUT, I am in final stages of Killer Instinct and It's a Blast, which means more time spent on edits/revisions than new words. April will be a better month...)
Total words to date for 2013: 57,762

Total pounds lost for week: 21 (Barely - the Easter chocolate during revisions is killing me! My new home gym is set up and ready for use)
Total pounds lost to date for 2013: 26

Books read last week: 0 (but started Scarlet and am DYING to finish it - still. Have I mentioned how excited I am for April?)
Total books read to date for 2013: 6

Movies watched last week: 0
Movies watched to date in 2013: 4