LJ Idol Presents:

One of the things that I liked about this week's topic http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/997016.html (beyond the obvious, that folks may remember that it was posted above the door when they first signed up) was that there are different translations of the same line.

So differences in translations is definitely one of the many ways to go that aren't as "obvious".

I'm giving you that one for free. ;)

***

I know that personally, when I sit down and write, there's definitely a part of me that "abandons hope" and doesn't come out until I'm done with whatever I'm working on, which is when the self-doubt shows up. You?

How do you deal with it?

The new topic thread is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/989342.html

So is the poll for Second Chance: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/988636.html

There is also a couple more joining the 100 Weeks club: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/988997.html

This is the start of that period where there is a lot going on.

Which is when it's always a good time to ask - How are you planning on standing out from the crowd? It's a question for every week really, because there are *always* things going!

Or, to turn this around to address you as the reader - What can the rest of the crowd be doing to get, and keep, YOUR attention?

The results for Week 8 are in: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/981177.html
The Second Chance sign-up sheet is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/981280.html
The new topic is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/981676.html

I guess that means it's time for a Work Room again!

Something that I've been picking up on is that who has "a good week" doesn't always seem completely consistent, but the general amounts of support seem pretty evenly distributed. Which makes me wonder how that is going to shake out in the coming weeks. Who is going to emerge with the most consistency? With Second Chance coming into play over the next few weeks - from a strategical standpoint, how it that going to factor in?

There are a lot of questions left to be answered - and plenty of time (for now) for things to play out.

***

For now though, where are you with the new topic and what can other people do to help get you where you need to go?

The Topic post is now up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/974915.html

We are fortunate enough to not only have a Mentor, but the winner of Season 7!

Her Idol story itself is pretty amazing - being the first returning player to win the game, after needing to drop a couple seasons in a row. She just kept coming back, and kept getting better, until that time it "clicked". After that? Well, she talks about that below... but let's just say she's been pretty unstoppable.

Definitely take advantage of having her at your disposal this week!

***
Hello, you crazy people! Long time, no read!

It's me, amenquohi, formerly known as "Seven of Nine." (But Gary wrecked that by having more than nine seasons but I'm not bitter. Much.)

I haven't hung on Idol much since winning Season 7, but that's because I've been busy. Winning the season gave me the guts to try for a blogging job with a major women's magazine, I did that for a few years, started blogging for another magazine, started my own blog, then self-pubbed a half-dozen books before finally landing a bonafide 2 book deal with a big 5 publisher. Yeah, baby.

So here's the shameless plug for my YA fantasy, TRAVELER (http://amzn.to/2k2tQDB), out on February 7th. Check it out!

And now here's the part where I impart all my writerly wisdom, right? Right.

I'm going to concentrate on something specific, because the world is full of generic writer advice and because I happen to think it's something I'm reasonably decent at: dialogue.

When I've got a scene in mind, I have a couple of techniques to work the dialogue.

First, act it out. Get up, walk around. Or sit in the car. Play all the roles. Shout, argue, snark a lot. Try out various lines and retorts and make notes while you do it. Or set your phone to voice record.

Second, remember that written dialogue should not sound like speaking in real life. Seriously. Trim out extraneous crap. Don't be redundant, unless the character does it on purpose to be annoying or to make a point. Trim the word "that' everywhere you can. Monologue when you have to, and sometimes, you have to

Third, watch your dialogue tags. Go light on the adverbs. If your characters are answering or speaking with a modifier ("he said, grimly" or "she answered cheerfully") more than 1/4 of their lines, you're doing it wrong. Don't be afraid to keep it to "he said" and "she answered" because those are transparent to the reader and don't interrupt the flow. Save those modifiers for when they can really deliver a punch.

Above all, don't have people talking just to talk. You may have a great, snarky conversation running through your head, but if it doesn't further the plot along or add to a character's development, it's useless. If you're like me and write very dialogue-heavy stories, it feels like cutting off an arm to cut your carefully crafted lines, but if it's not moving anything or anyone forward, you gotta do it. You just do.

And now I'll leave you with a great little video ( http://youtu.be/zJGX2raiafU ) imparting more advice on the subject. I hope you find it entertaining and instructive.

I'll be hanging out in the workroom this week and happy to offer any advice with the caveat that I am absolutely not an expert in this field, just some schmuck who writes stories and worked her ass off to get where she is (and still has her day job). I've written memoirs, self-help books, fantasy, romance and now YA. And blogs and fanfic. And of course, a whole bushel full of delusional LiveJournal Idol entries.

Seven of Nine, signing out.

I invited a Mentor this week, and then I completely forgot to remind her.

She *is* coming - in Part 2 of the Work Room.

For Part 1, I'll remind you that there is a Sudden Death Write-Off: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/970905.html

and that the new topic is posted: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/971359.html

***

I will also let you know about some exciting news in the Idol-verse.

Friend of Idol Jason Franks SixSmiths was picked up by Caliber Comics and they have reissued the first volume: The Sixsmiths - Volume 1

"The Sixsmiths are a family of suburban Satanists who've fallen prey to the global recession. Now their life is in turmoil: the father Ralf needs to find a new job; the twins, Cain and Lilith, need to survive the horrors of the public school system; and wife Annie needs to keep them all sane and under budget. Meanwhile, their estranged elder daughter Jezabelle is having her own crisis of faith. Will the Devil rise to smite their enemies, or will he damn them with hellfire, wrath and underwater mortgage payment? Collects issues 1-4. A light hearted comedy satire for adults. Its The Simpsons meets The Osbournes. "


and closer to home, our own fourzoas now has an excuse that she byed-out in Week 5. She had work in this book that was just released

Rhetorics of Whiteness: Postracial Hauntings in Popular Culture, Social Media, and Education

"With the election of our first black president, many Americans began to argue that we had finally ended racism, claiming that we now live in a postracial era. Yet near-daily news reports regularly invoke white as a demographic category and recount instances of racialized violence as well as an increased sensitivity to expressions of racial unrest. Clearly, American society isn’t as color-blind as people would like to believe. In Rhetorics of Whiteness: Postracial Hauntings in Popular Culture, Social Media, and Education, contributors reveal how identifications with racialized whiteness continue to manifest themselves in American culture."

One of the things that I've loved seeing, over the years, is Idol writers (and "Idol-adjacent" in the case of Jason) putting their work out there!

So please, go and support your fellow Idol writers in this, and anything else that we have in the Idol store! http://astore.amazon.com/li0cd-20 (and if there is something I've forgotten, or you want to see added - of your own, an Idol-adjacent friend, or just something you really love and you think other people should check it out too). Be sure to mention it to me!

***

While we are waiting for the Mentor post though, first thoughts on the topic?

(and don't forget, those of you who are Patrons, you have the chance to *send me topics to use this season*. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=70027 )

The new topic is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/965056.html


Most of you have taken the holidays off from Idol, but hopefully not from your own creativity.

For a lot of folks, they have though.

What is your favorite way to start shaking the dust off and getting back into a routine again?

***

What are your hopes, writing (or generally "being creative") wise for the new year?

The results from Week 2 are up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/958187.html

as is the new topic: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/958277.html

Given how busy December tends to be, I've even given you the best gift of all, more time. Use it wisely.

But that's not all. This week I'm giving you something extra in your stocking - A Mentor!

The Mentor program, for those who haven't been around in a season that has had them is where I extort threaten convince someone to come into the Work Room to give advice and be around to answer any questions people might have, and generally bounce ideas off.

This week, it's the Co-Winner of Exhibit B mini-season - and the person who was the fastest in Idol history to join the 100 Weeks Club! Give a warm welcome to your Mentor for the week - the one and only lrig_rorrim!

***

Ok. I’ve got some important advice for you intrepid Idolers. You ready? Here we go.


1. Reread your entry. Then reread it again. Read it aloud. Then have a friend read it. And then another friend. Rope as many friends into this as you can.


That’s it. That’s the big piece of advice.


Perspective is incredibly valuable. I’m not saying you should be an authorial shape-changer, shifting your style and content and presentation based upon the whims of a mercurial audience. I’m saying that writing is a kind of magic trick - we have images in our mind and we want to smush those images onto a screen in words for others to read. And what images will they have in their minds when they’ve seen the words? Is it what you were aiming for? Could it be closer? The more feedback you get from other people, the more you can perfect that magic trick.


Also, your friends will catch your typos and stray commas and awkward sentences. You’re going to miss some. Trust me on this one.


I said that was it, but really this singular piece of advice comes with two important corollaries.


1a. Learn how solicit good and useful feedback.
1b. Learn how to apply the feedback that you get.


So! Finding people to read your stuff is one thing - that’s what this space can be used for, after all! But those corollaries? Yikes!


How do you solicit good and useful feedback? So often what we get is “I liked it!” or “That was good” or “Eh, it wasn’t my thing.” Now, there’s useful information in those statements, but not a lot.


The first trick is to make sure to ask your readers good questions. It’s nice to know if they like something, but it’s way more useful to know that a sentence wasn’t at all grammatically correct, or that one of your characters is super unlikeable (especially if that wasn’t your intention!).


So, set the tone when you ask folks to read a thing. Ask for help spotting typos and awkward sentences, but also ask questions like, “What do you think happened, in your own words.” If you’re going for a specific tone, whether that’s melancholy or funny or introspective, ask how the piece made your reader feel. Did they get invested in the characters? Was there any point in the entry where their attention started to wander a little bit? I think you start to get the picture!


And what about 1b, learning how to apply the feedback you get? You don’t want to twist yourself into knots trying to make things perfect for everyone, and you’re operating on a pretty tight schedule here. Here’s the secret to revision and applying feedback: it’s not all-or-nothing. You don’t have to take every piece of advice someone gives you about improving an entry and try to apply it. You get to pick and choose. Someone may have fantastic sentence-level feedback for you but be awful about seeing the bigger picture. Maybe non-fiction memoir really isn’t their thing, and so their input on style just isn’t going to work for you this time. That’s ok! The trick is to get enough perspectives on a thing that you understand what’s generally working and what isn’t.


And how do you fix those things that aren’t working? Well, sometimes your readers will have ideas on that score - more often they won’t, or won’t have time to articulate them clearly.


Take what input you’ve got, and remember that every single word of your entry has an impact - sometimes that impact is negative, so you may need to cut a few of those words out. Remember that the things which are so clear in your head aren’t necessarily always making it to the page. If readers are unclear about something important, it might be because you haven’t actually put the words on the page yet. Add words. Reread. Take some words away. Read it aloud. And if you’ve got the time, get even more eyes on it. Creation is an iterative process.


And when that deadline rolls around and it’s time to put your link in the topic post and share it with an even wider audience, take a deep breath and congratulate yourself. And then go read! All these writers, working with the same general constraints, coming up with so many different angles on the same prompt... it’s amazing. You’re all amazing.


Go forth and be amazing. I’ll be here, to answer questions, read and offer feedback on works in progress, and do what I can to help.

The Week 1 topic is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/951685.html

I won't lie, I went back and forth on how to start this season.

Heck, I went back and forth on the deadline. At one point it was going to be Thursday (which happens to be Thanksgiving in the US) and Cynthia literally said "Don't be an asshole!" So I decided not to do that. I should, however, point out that this isn't the "regular schedule" either. It's part of the "slow start", that will even out as we progress through the season.

I landed on the topic due to a couple reasons: (1) My love for all things Beach Slang - I'll save you the Googling time and let you know that it's a lyric from one of their songs: https://beachslang.bandcamp.com/track/dirty-cigarettes and (2) a discussion about the line and how it felt like how they felt about their own writing.

So it seemed like a good fit, and the rest of the season seemed to fall into place for me after that. (more or less)

***

But it's not about where I go with it that's important - it's where you go.

I'm saying this both as a guide for newbies, but also a reminder for veterans, especially those who may not have been around in awhile - or have gotten rusty - The topic is the launching pad, not the destination.

This is your Work Room, a place to hammer out and discuss different ideas - or to just talk about writing in general. Really, it's whatever you need it to be.

At the end of every topic post, I say "Have fun", and I hope that you do!

Congratulations to the Top 4!

gratefuladdict
kathrynrose
orockthro
prog_schlock

You only have 1 choice for your topic http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/937944.html, and no more special powers left in the game. It's just 4 people - and one of them is going to win it all!

The new topics are up. http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/932438.html

What is catching your fancy and how are you going to use them to get to survive another week?