Tribal Council - 7
Mar. 2nd, 2021 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clauderainsrm posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
therealljidol
Come on in and have a seat.
*waits until everyone is seated*
I'll bring in the Jury... jenwithapen, bittyjane, megatronix, impoetry, n3m3sis43, minikin25, wolfden, lawchicky819, bsgsix, swirlsofpurple, eeyore_grrl, bleodswean, and the newest member, voted out last week, adoptedwriter.
*camera goes from them sitting down to the nervous contestants watching them*
Before we get started, I just want to address the elephant in the room - last week the vote was 4-1-1, which means that 2 people were on the wrong side of that vote. Obviously, one of them was adoptedwriter, who was voted out. I know the answer to this - but the jury might not - does anyone want to own up to being the other one?
Also - that means that at this point, the 4 of you who voted together are about to have to turn on each other in the next couple of rounds. Will you be surprised to find out that you were really 4th in the alliance the entire time?
murielle - You have that immunity necklace around your neck and have said that you thought your head was on the block this week. Is this a matter of you NEEDED to win in order to survive? If you weren't immune this week, do you think you'd be packing your bags right now? Is your only way to the end winning every immunity, or do you think there's a chance for you to stick around without it? gunwithoutmusic - You mentioned that you would be upset to go out 4th or 5th... I think though that it needs to be pointed out that you are the only guy left. Which means either you are Chris Daughtery, who managed to survive, and win against long odds OR the remaining women just aren't interested in following in the footsteps of Kim Spradlin and Cirie Fields (Parvati usually gets credit for it by the fans, but the players say it was all Cirie) and taking all women to the final four to start off Women's History Month. Is that something you worry about, or do you think your relationships are stronger than the urge to tick a box off on a "Survivor resume"? flipflop_diva - You played the idol last week, but didn't need to in order to survive. Were you expecting more votes or just feeling nervous? Given that this is the last week to play a hidden immunity idol, do you wish you had held onto it one more week? Does playing an idol one week make you even more of a target the following tribal council? halfshellvenus - You've mentioned how tough it is to make a decision on who to eliminate, is this week even harder knowing that whoever finishes in 5th place isn't going to get an Amazon gift card? Is there anyone here that it would be easier to *not* give that money to... I know murielle is saying she was nervous that her head was on the block, but if she wasn't immune right now - do you think people would vote her out, under those circumstances? alycewilson - I know you've mentioned this before, but what would it mean to you, personally, to make it through this vote? Murielle has immunity and there is at least one hidden immunity out there, and they expire after this week. Which means, unless someone wants to use it as a coaster back home, it's going get played. So the number of potential targets is really small. Is there anyone here who you think would be OK if they didn't get to the final 4? Is there anything someone could say to you right now to that could change the outcome of how you plan on voting? Second Round
alycewilson - I love how specific this is, and the use of poetry as narrative. With the "first two stanzas" conversation from the comments, I'm in the "keep it" column.
I've gone back and forth on it. I can see where it might not fit for some, and how others might think it would work better with a wraparound. But I think that a frame risks being too heavy handed.
IF you were going to add something, I'd put it in after the "maiden would finally fall for him" and let the ending stand. Which brings me to a question that I don't think I've asked anyone yet - when you receive contradictory editing advice, how do you process that?
flipflop_diva - This had the feel of a slow moving horror movie. You knew what was coming, but no matter how loudly you shouted at the screen, you couldn't stop it from coming.
Speaking of framing, I think you did a good job surrounding the core of the story with the everyday/how things are. The "normal", whatever that means anymore... when writing non-fiction, how do you pick which details to leave in? (I've definitely seen people in non-fiction accounts where they throw in the kitchen sink, because it's there and therefore, somehow, relevant... and others were they gloss over the details to get to a more sensational version of the story.)
gunwithoutmusic - When I declare an Open Topic, I'm always interested in seeing where people go with it. You managed to grab the two elements you've been getting comments about over the past couple months, your hiking stories and your relationship stories and make them fit together seamlessly. It was as if you'd found a way to boil the last few months done into a single entry. How many other ideas did you toss aside before focusing in on this one, or was it just what came to you when the time was right, and it just worked?
halfshellvenus - At this point, retelling myths has become an Idol staple. I like this twist on it, actually reimaging the story itself. You've covered a lot of the "whys" for the process in the comment section. So I'll ask the "how", how did you move forward once you had those opening lines, and understood that it was going to be a poem? How do you move the narrative through the form? Is it step by step, finding your footing as you go, or do you have a map of where you want to go and figure out how to fit them into the format?
murielle - 'Grandpa"... you're leaving us on "Grandpa..."? Yes, that's my question. :) This story has definitely taken some twists and turns along the way. When you go back and finish it as a single piece, which I'm sure you'll be doing - is there anything from the earlier chapters you will change? Something you wished you'd introduced earlier?
The last question is for everyone - because for one of you this WILL be your final chance to plead your case - Why should you be kept in this game?
***
OK. It's time to vote. Send the name of who you want to vote out of this game to me at clauderainsrm@gmail.com by tomorrow, Saturday March 6th at 7pm ET. If you have a hidden immunity idol, and you would like to play it for yourself, or someone else, that would be the time to let me know. Note: This is the final chance to play a hidden immunity idol. After this, they become paperweights.
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Date: 2021-03-02 05:26 pm (UTC)Will all of that said, if I end up in fifth place, I'm gonna be annoyed, and if I get fourth place again I'll be super annoyed! I think any of the five of us really has a good chance to win this, though, and it's anyone's game, so I'm wishing us all good luck coming up in this Tribal and I'll be spending my time enviously eyeing murielle's Immunity Necklace.
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Date: 2021-03-02 06:20 pm (UTC)I also know that just because you were on the 'right' side of the votes one week doesn't meant you will be the next week.
Part of me feels like I should be grateful to have gotten this far, because this is the farthest I've ever gotten (and I don't care if Gary won't count this season; I will! lol), but I will be so bummed to go home now. I love this game, and I just want to keep playing and playing and playing.
But I also know everyone probably feels that way, and it sucks we can't all make it :/ I'm definitely jealous of Murielle right now!
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 06:57 pm (UTC)It's getting a little hot in here. Gary, could you turn the heat down? Please? Pretty please with puppies and kittens and cake, oh my?
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Date: 2021-03-02 07:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 08:01 pm (UTC)And this version of the game is so much harder, where the players have to choose whom to vote out instead of letting readers decide that. At some point, we are all voting for someone we don't actually want to vote for. And it sux.
Sorry to be so late to the party again-- I'm a night owl, and I'm definitely living on the wrong coast for the current makeup of this game!
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Date: 2021-03-02 08:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 08:25 pm (UTC)Well I certainly like that most people have wanted to keep me around this long, and I certainly hope that that trend continues, preferably including that "win against long odds" thing! And while I don't think that being the only guy left as we round the corner to the finish line is particularly a detriment to me, but it always possible that the women could get together and give me the boot in a "Women's History Month Girl Power" move, especially if it is suggested to them as an idea by some hypothetical question-asker that likes to stir up trouble at Tribal Council.
Honestly, I do worry every time I go to Tribal Council, because, as I said in my previous comment, any of us really could go at any time, for any reason. And as halfshellvenus said, we're all making a choice now that we do not want to make, regardless of who goes. I could say that I think people generally like me and want to see me stick around, but I could honestly say that about any of the five of us left. *shrug* So of course I worry. But at a certain point, things are kind of out of my hands and I just have to hope I'm okay.
***
As a side note: I recently was re-watching Fans v. Favorites and, as much as I love Parvati, I don't really understand why she gets the credit for the "girls alliance" when they pretty plainly showed Cirie orchestrating it in the beginning. By the end of the season it did definitely start to feel a little more like Parvati's idea based on the editing, but I remember Cirie being the one to start all of that.
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Date: 2021-03-02 09:48 pm (UTC)It's funny, but I've never thought in terms of guys vs. girls. That's such a bizarre concept.
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:34 pm (UTC)Plus, real Survivor, I do root for the girls alliances, but that's only because so many times the guys team up to pick them off (though less in Survivor than in Big Brother, which I also watch because I am a reality show junkie). So it would not have been the same effect when you were so outnumbered in the first place!!
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Date: 2021-03-02 08:50 pm (UTC)I hadn't even thought about that part, but I think
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Date: 2021-03-02 08:53 pm (UTC)Murielle's Questions
Date: 2021-03-02 09:36 pm (UTC)I am still reeling from winning immunity. First time, ever! And honestly, I didn't expect to win this time, either, even though my numbers looked good. I was shocked to see my name next to "winner" because I was convinced that someone would get a ton of votes at the last minute. It's the way it's been since day one in this game.
Yes, I think that's fair. But it's also fair that every one of us needs to win immunity. It's getting down to the wire and we'd all like some relief from the dreaded elimination vote. I think I can safely speak for everyone, here. And every week since this game began, except for two, I have feared the chopping block.
Oh, Gary, there are no guarantees. I don't think in terms of winning. I never have. What it means to me to be here, safe for one more week, is that I get to write another chapter of my story, such as it is. That's where my mind is. That's where my heart is. I want to find out what happens next.
Everyone here has earned the win. Their writing has been absolutely stellar, they're good people, with big kind hearts. There are no bullies or slackers.
It's hard, Gary. It's just really hard.
Re: Murielle's Questions
Date: 2021-03-02 09:46 pm (UTC)Re: Murielle's Questions
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:46 pm (UTC)It would be amazing! The highest I've ever reached in LJ Idol was the Top 5 in my first season. It would be a real achievement.
Is there anyone here who you think would be OK if they didn't get to the final 4?
Well, if anyone does fit that category, they're not announcing it!
Is there anything someone could say to you right now to that could change the outcome of how you plan on voting?
Possibly someone announcing they have the immunity idol?
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-02 11:47 pm (UTC)I was feeling nervous so I definitely was expecting more votes! And not knowing how the votes had gone the week before when bleodswean had to leave made it even more nerve-wracking. Plus not writing, I was worried would give people an excuse to get me out. So, yeah, I was nervous all week.
Now of course, I wish I had held on to it! Especially because someone else now has it! But hindsight and all that.
As for being a target, I'm sure if I'm this week's target, it's for more reasons than just playing an Idol last week. I hope I'm not anyone's target, but until the votes are read, there is no way to really know.
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Date: 2021-03-03 12:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2021-03-03 08:00 pm (UTC)I hate the Open Topics because I never know where to go with it! Usually when I see the prompt, I can let the word or phrase marinate in my mind and just kind of "keep an eye out" in life for something to write about that fits. With Open Topics, it's almost too much freedom!
This particular poem was actually started a few weeks ago - I was out on a hike with my husband and best friend and we went from an area that was completely open into this magical tree tunnel, and it was just the coolest feeling. Looking at the trees, the first few lines popped into my head, so I jotted them down and then put them away.
When I saw the Open Topic, I basically thought, "What am I going to do, oh no!" and returned to those few lines I had written. I think that poem was waiting for the right time to be finished, and this week was the right time. I had been so in awe of the nature around me that I wasn't connecting it to the people around me at the time, but my husband has been going through some stuff (and by extension, therefore, I have been going through some stuff) and I kind of finished it up with him in mind. It's honestly very rare that I have one idea and abandon it in favor of another idea; I feel like I mostly just write what I need to for me at any given time, and the fact that it sometimes resonates with other people is a big bonus.
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Date: 2021-03-03 09:17 pm (UTC)The prompts are a source of comfort. They may not feature all that hugely in what I submit, but they live in my brain for the days before the deadlines, making themselves at home and puttering and just kind of sending out vibes, or tendrils, or what-have-you. I feel very insecure without them.
This was such a beautiful poem. Definitely a keeper! But yours are all keepers. :-)
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Date: 2021-03-03 09:35 pm (UTC)Speaking of framing, I think you did a good job surrounding the core of the story with the everyday/how things are. The "normal", whatever that means anymore... when writing non-fiction, how do you pick which details to leave in? (I've definitely seen people in non-fiction accounts where they throw in the kitchen sink, because it's there and therefore, somehow, relevant... and others were they gloss over the details to get to a more sensational version of the story.)
Thank you! I'm glad it worked for you!
This one was a little challenging for me. I knew what I wanted to write about, but I was worried it would end up too short and not be interesting enough for people to care about (since we didn't suffer as dramatically as a lot of people did. Which is fortunate in real life, maybe not as fortunate in writing), or be too long and be super boring.
So I tried to focus on the details that would either set the scene or the ones that would be important later, while still hitting the key events. Like the grocery store cancelling our order came into play later when the stores were empty and we could barely find food. Or in the beginning, I focused a lot on the last snow day we got, where everything was just pretty and fun and people were having a good time, because I wanted that to contrast with how bad and crappy everything got this time.
There were definitely things I left out because it was getting too long and no one needed to know what David and Ellie did to entertain themselves, but I did worry the setup was too long and the end was too fast, but there are only so many ways to talk about not having water so I was hoping it worked — and so it makes me happy that you think it did!
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Date: 2021-03-03 10:08 pm (UTC)As a reader, I was right there with you and going over in my mind, what do I have, what can I do, what would I do in that situation. The thing with these events is that they literally come out of left field, and unless you're one of those people who is ubber prepared it's going to catch you unawares.
So, your entry this week not only shared your experience but served to warn the rest of us how easily it could happen.
And...good writing! <3
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Date: 2021-03-04 02:00 am (UTC)Thanks! Truth be known, I began it as an essay but felt I was getting bogged down with too much exposition, so I selected the phrasing I felt told the story most succinctly and tangibly and turned it into a poem.
With the "first two stanzas" conversation from the comments, I'm in the "keep it" column.
I've gone back and forth on it. I can see where it might not fit for some, and how others might think it would work better with a wraparound. But I think that a frame risks being too heavy handed. IF you were going to add something, I'd put it in after the "maiden would finally fall for him" and let the ending stand.
I'm really enjoying hearing this feedback from people. I know that often we shy away from constructive criticism, because we worry about how it will be received, but I've participated in far too many poetry workshops to make the mistake of taking it personally. I will definitely look at all of those ideas when I revise it at some point.
Which brings me to a question that I don't think I've asked anyone yet - when you receive contradictory editing advice, how do you process that?
Good question! When faced with contradictory editing advice, I keep an open mind and listen to all the feedback. Then I think about what impact the different changes would have on the piece. Typically, I go with the advice that best fits my intentions for the piece. Since this poem focuses on my relationship with my mom, I could see either cutting the first two stanzas to focused best on her, or I could perhaps add more on my son to create more of a parallel between us as moms. I'd have to play around with it and see which version does a better job of highlighting the points I want to get across.
Thanks for these very insightful questions!
More Questions from Gary!
Date: 2021-03-04 08:00 pm (UTC)Yes. That's where I'm leaving you. Just you, Gary. ;-)
I would love to finish it as a single piece. This one and the "Family" one from a few years back.
Are there things I would change? Absolutely! I'd change the time placement of the story because while I thought it would make it easier it was a bit too restrictive. Summer would be good, though more...aromatic. More background, more digging, more build-up of the some-kind-of-ship between Anne and Herb. Might go into Mini a bit more. Stuff that needs more thought and research.
There are so many things I wish I'd introduced earlier. I'd like some more memories of Anne and Bev, as I really enjoyed writing about the charm bracelet. And I think Anne's mother needs more attention. I'd also like to build a better mental picture of the house and the lake.
"The last question is for everyone - because for one of you this WILL be your final chance to plead your case - Why should you be kept in this game?"
To be brutally honest, I don't know that I have much of a case to stay in the game. I'm not the most skilled, or experienced, writer here, nor am I that well-known.
Do I want to stay in the game? Absolutely!
I am not ready to leave. (But seriously, is any one of us?) I've got a story to finish, or at least move along to a point where there is a sense of resolution or completion or a plateau of some sort where "my readers" can logically take a break and not be screaming at me to know what's going to happen next. (Although that has been fantastically wonderful! Scream, scream, scream! I love it!)
Something completely unexpected, by me for sure, has happened over the months we've been playing, I've come to love this game. I thought I would hate it. I came on to support my friends and you, and at first, it was excruciating for me--you know! But as the weeks went by, I've even come to enjoy TC. Something I never thought would happen.
I love every one of my fellow survivors, and if I could, I would declare us all winners because, as I stated before, it's been earned. And no matter who wins I will be rooting for them. I will be cheering for them and giving them a well-deserved standing ovation.
And I'll be giving you one, too, Gary. Well done! Very well done!
Re: More Questions from Gary!
Date: 2021-03-04 11:35 pm (UTC)Also, I would totally read your complete short story/novella/novel/whatever it turns into!!
Re: More Questions from Gary!
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Date: 2021-03-04 11:41 pm (UTC)This is always the hardest question! Because there isn't anyone that shouldn't be kept in the game, and yet we have to vote someone out anyway.
But I'm having a wonderful time playing! It's truly been the highlight of the past couple months, and I am going to miss Tribal Council so much when this whole game ends. I don't think normal Idol Green Rooms are going to be the same thing. So I want to hold on to this a few weeks longer. I want to keep writing. I want to keep playing. I want to see how far I can make it. I want to keep hanging out with people here at Tribal.
I just am not ready for it to end. I give it my whole heart and effort every week and I will keep doing that as long as I have left.
So please don't vote for me? Thank you so much!
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Date: 2021-03-05 12:37 am (UTC)<3
Question 2
Date: 2021-03-05 01:48 am (UTC)This one was a combination of both.
Those opening lines came to me late at night, just before getting ready for bed after I'd spent most of the evening trying to work with an abandoned story idea from several years ago.
Then a few more lines and images occurred to me every few minutes while I was getting ready for bed. I had to keep going back to my laptop to jot them down, and didn't get to bed until after 3. The first half of the second stanza, and then the part that begins "The meat of him remained" all happened that night. The idea of being devoured by time rather than a monster really helped me commit to going forward with the poem.
The next day, I sketched out where I wanted that poem to go, but much of the rest of the time pieces of it would come to me in no particular order (how helpful is THAT?). They're like images, transformed into verse. The entire stanza about Ariadne weaving Theseus the golden garment, and it then being destroyed, all came while I was out on a bike ride, as did the stanza for "The Minotaur, too, was a lie" and a few isolated lines. I desperately wished I'd brought along a pen and scrap of paper, so I could stop and write things down before I forgot them, but who does that? Fortunately, I still remembered them when I got home.
Then there was more research, and figuring out which scraps and stanzas needed to go where, and what was missing. The last day was finishing the missing parts and re-reading and editing.
It's always easier if I know what the ending is ahead of time, and the last 4 stanzas were the expansion of the notes I'd sketched out the second day (including the dual 'prisons'). But a lot of effort went into this across each writing day. :O
/TMI
Why should I be kept here? Well, I think we all want and deserve to be here, and that's been true pretty much throughout this entire competition.
But I do try to stretch myself, and always try to produce quality work that I hope entertains readers-- whether it's drama, humor, heartbreak, meta, or just a good story. I was truly surprised to be writing a poem again this week, but it was definitely the bed medium for the story I wanted to tell, and this was a type of poem I hadn't written before. I hope readers thought it was worthy!
Re: Question 2
Date: 2021-03-05 02:11 am (UTC)And you do stretch yourself! And we can see that.
*Hugs*