therealljidol | Green Room - Sign Up Week

Apparently, the Cubs did something last night.

My guess is that they stole a picnic basket, or perhaps were filmed cuddling a kitten. Maybe they pretended to maul someone.

Those cubs are just adorable.

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Speaking of adorable, I got to hold my new niece last night!

She was born on Tuesday, but shhhh!! There's a social media blackout until her Mom is ready to post pictures. So pretend I didn't say anything. But come on - it was pretty awesome.

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What I *can* talk about though is that Sign-ups are still happening at http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/945807.html

So please spread the word.

We will have a topic on Sunday. Yes, I'm actually letting you know when there will be a topic post! Isn't that unique and maybe a little scary?

The door will be open for awhile, but make sure folks know not to delay! The sooner they get here, the more they can be involved with!

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There was a comment that I saw yesterday about the difference between a "competition" and a "contest", and how that individual sees Idol.

I point this out, because it's the perfect thing for newbies to see, and I hope that they did.

Even the definition of "what is this thing called Idol" is something that changes every season. YOU get to take part in that. This is your Green Room. This is YOUR SEASON. It doesn't matter if you've been here 10 years or you showed up yesterday.

Which is something that always gets me excited at the start of every season. Because I have a plan. I have a template. But so much of what is about to happen is going to play out between all of you, and is going to shape what Season 10 is all about. I'm really looking forward to that!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I feel you on this. I don't consider myself a serious writer, even if there are times I am pretty serious about craft and whatnot -- on my own time. While I enjoy the challenge of writing for an audience, the level of "srs riter" in season 9 sucked a lot of the fun out of it for me, too.

Exactly :nodding:

This is fascinating. (Sorry for butting in, bad habbit.) There are so many levels and skill sets on LJI, from amateurs like myself, to professional writers, and it is something I truly love about Idol. Look, I am always saying it because it's true, my main motivation for coming into Idol was to learn, and hopefully grow as a writer, a reader, a person. What I discovered shortly after I started was that it's practically impossible not to grow while Idol-ing, because everyone is so encouraging and kind, and it's also pretty impossible not to have fun and feel elated watching other contestants blossoming.

There is such a fabulous spirit of good will here, and last year you were all so kind to me, supporting my first foray into this kind of writing, that my fears were worn away by your generosity. I've read so many people who have parlayed their Idol entries into professional submissions and that's a wonderful thing, not just for them, but for

therealljidol, and Gary--and all of us!

I have this little fantasy that plays something like this: I'm watching Charlie Rose. He's interviewing a writer who's a rising star, and he asked, "So how did you get started, what was your first big break?" And they say, "Therealljidol! That's where it all began for me!"

(Sighs and toasts you all with a glass of iced tea.)

Edited 2016-11-03 16:32 (UTC)

"What I discovered shortly after I started was that it's practically impossible not to grow while Idol-ing, because
everyone is so encouraging and kind, and it's also pretty impossible not to have fun and feel elated watching other contestants blossoming."

Well said! I know I've grown as a writer while participating here--even in seasons where I only lasted a few weeks--and that's the magic in Idol for me. Of course, I get where Kizzy's coming from too, anything, if taken too far, can ruin a good time.

Honestly, there are times when Gary refers to something that "happened" in the GR, and my immediate thought is, "Yup, so glad I missed that!" That's the thing about attracting so many diverse personalities though, reading all the ways a prompt can be interpreted is a joyful experience, but social interactions can be... tricky? Especially when someone who's writing just to have fun or relieve stress rubs up against a person with the "Publish or perish" mindset.

Dan

Oh no! I didn't mean to contradict

xo_kizzy_xo! (Kizzy if that's how my response came off I apologize.) Sometimes I hit the Pollyanna Juice a little hard.

I guess I haven't encountered anyone who is, as you say, of the "publish or perish mindset." Or I've missed the posts they made that would reveal that incentive. I'm not going to lie, I indulge in a little "published author" fantasy myself, but since I have only ever sent off one short submission decades ago, and cherish my rejection slip, you can see I'm not highly motivated.

Again Kizzy, my apologies. I meant only to share my perspective, not challenge you.

And thank you, Dan. Clearly I need to work on making my intentions more...clear!

I obviously can't speak for

xo_kizzy_xo, but I didn't view your comment as a challenge. For my part, I was interested in discussing the different ways in which we view Idol.

LOL Did I just prove my above statement about social interactions being tricky? If so, I'm probably the one who should read more and post less. :)

Dan

You're fine! But what you say about the social side of Idol being tricky is the truth. And for people like myself who more than often become overwhelmed by overwhelming enthusiasm, combinded with size twenty-four clown shoes, stepping on the soles of the unsuspecting is practically impossible. :-(

But I strive to do better. I do. We creator-y folks are a sensitive group, and even the toughest among us cradles a tender trembling little creature within their soul that yerns and burns for value and approval. I know this because I have a little critter like that within me too, and I am just not special enough to be rhe only one.

Anyway Murielle, shut up now! :-)

murielle, no offence taken! As Dan said, I never, ever took your comment as a challenge, so please don't worry, OK?

As others have said, the beauty of Idol is that we all have our own visions of Idol and what we wish to take away from it.

Being an "older" vet, my viewpoint may seem lean toward the cynical only because I'm part of the group who played during LJ's heyday. Idol was a different place then in many ways, the biggest being "community". You may not have noticed that as you're a newly-minted vet :) IMO we lost that community spirit (or whatever one wishes to call it) the last couple of seasons. I hope we reclaim it this season, that's all :)

I'm so relieved, thank you. :-)

"You may not have noticed that as you're a newly-minted vet :) IMO we lost that community spirit (or whatever one wishes to call it) the last couple of seasons. I hope we reclaim it this season, that's all :)"

It must have been an amazing thing in the beginning, unimaginable for those of us who have joined recently, because it's pretty fantastic now. But I can relate. I was part of alt.books.absk when it was such a close and accepting newsgroup outsiders wrote about it. Then it changed. We got some folks who decided the highlight of their day was bullying newbies and for those of us who had been there when it was a good place to be it was heartbreaking. So, my heart goes out to you, because it's doubtful that it will ever go back to what it was, but perhaps if we all pull together we can make it better. I'm am all about that. :-)

Butting in on myself!

What might be some of the ways, or things we can bring to Idol, that might help make today's Idol, better for you and our other veterans? How can we help?

Edited 2016-11-03 23:56 (UTC)

So far I think it's going pretty well. :)

I relate to everything you say here, both growing as a writer and sometimes being glad I missed interactions in the Green Room.

The best part for me is making myself write, write to the best of my ability, the pace not being brutal enough for burn out*, and reading some amazing stories along the way.

*Learned this summer that I cannot seriously write every day after I did the "30 days of blog posts" challenge. I managed all 30 entries but felt sucked dry for 10 days straight afterward.

"*Learned this summer that I cannot seriously write every day after I did the "30 days of blog posts" challenge. I managed all 30 entries but felt sucked dry for 10 days straight afterward."

I believe it! :)

Dan

+1
Especially - "There is such a fabulous spirit of good will here, and last year you were all so kind to me, supporting my first foray into this kind of writing, that my fears were worn away by your generosity."

That is exactly how I felt as a newbie here and actually was raving about it to my near and dear ones at that time :) (I still do that :P)

Yes!

When we find something like this where we feel welcomed and supported by good people we have to talk about it. It just bubbles out of me. :-))

Green Room - Sign Up Week - Day 3

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