This week, it seemed like a bunch of TV shows were wrapping up. One of the dancing shows, American Idol, and one of the few I watch - LOST. I started watching LOST because after the first season, a few writers on loop began talking about how wonderful the writing was. Curious, I rented the first season and was hooked instantly.

I questioned why I liked it so much and yes, the writing was fabulous. Not only was there the mystery of where the characters were and the question of how they would survive or be rescued, but there was an interweaving of past, present, and future that complimented each other. For instance, something in the past, revealed not only character, but gave an insight as to why something was currently happening in the island. The writing was complex and treated the viewer as a participant in the show. We were invited to form opinions. The entire plot was not spoon fed to us, and we were treated like intelligent people that could figure things out for ourselves.

My favorite thing about LOST, however was their characterization. The characters were so well developed, and had such a rich, complex histories that they were completely believable. There was a season there when they were battling the others, where they sort of lost me, and I stopped believing that these people that all needed each other would spend so much time trying to kill each other. But for the most part, the characters behaved the way most of us would in their situation. And it was fun to discover new things about them each week.

As a writer, I'm always observing how other writers structure their work, how they build emotion, tension, suspense. How they pace a story to keep interest. I figure I can always learn something new. And I learned a lot from watching LOST. I'll miss it, but will keep an eye what these writers do next.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all. And thank you to all of you in the military keeping America safe.

Julia