Green Room - Week 23 - Day 9

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Up from the depths, 30 stories high, breathing fire and stomping all over your existence, the Week 23 poll is coming to a close today! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/557968.html

So make sure to get the word out about your favorites! What are the entries this week where you went "OMG, that was amazing!"? How are they currently faring in the poll?

How are you faring? Not just in the poll, but in general?

Results - Week 23

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This wasn't going to be an easy week regardless of the outcome. It certainly didn't start out easy, for most, and it's not ending that way either. These days, there really aren't any easy solutions. It's all about that long trek to the point where there is only one person left standing.

There was some talk about the special powers that are out there, and how they would impact the outcome.

This week though, they were not used.

Which means we have straight-forward results.

We are saying goodbye to some old friends this week, and that is always especially sad. Although, it does give us a little more time with some of the newer ones to help them become old faces...not even sure if that makes sense. But hopefully you follow! ;)

Goodbye to _messy and cheshire23, you will be very much missed.

Thank you so much for coming out this season, and I hope we will continue to see you in the Home Game!

Topic - Week 24

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Some topics are more difficult than others. There are going to be people who will struggle with one that others find easy - and a week later, those who struggled will find it simple.

This week though, I'm throwing something right into your wheelhouse.

In fact, it's exactly

In your wheelhouse

The deadline to link your entries back here is Monday, April 23rd at 9pm EDT.

Work Room - Week 24

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What can you bring to a story that no one else can?

Because that's the question, isn't it? Sure, you can say "It's entertaining" - but if you are telling the exact same story that anyone could walk pass and write, why are you bothering? It's not just with fiction either - "story" here is any narrative form. What is it that you are bringing to the table?

I've seen more "I don't know"s over the years than I personally feel comfortable with. It's your writing. Kick the tires. Look under the hood. See where the magic pixies go in and out of the tubes that keeps that engine running.

Looking back, one of the saddest moments in my life was realizing that I could no longer answer the fundamental questions of - why am I writining? What can I do that isn't a reflection of someone better, but actually morphs the work into something uniquely me? Why am I passionate about writing?

Those things are important, fundamentally important to your existence as a writer. You lose them, you lose your sense of self. Or, maybe that was just me...

I know there are plenty of people who "just write for fun" or have only vaguely entertained the idea of calling themselves a writer. Maybe they don't even talk much about it in their real lives, because they have gotten the impression that it's a hobby or just something to kill the time.

I have a secret for you though. If you didn't take it at least somewhat seriously, if you weren't a little bit in love with the words that come out from your fingertips as they slide across the keyboard, you wouldn't be here right now. You most definitely wouldn't be in Week 24 and prepared to go as long as you can in this crazy thing we call Idol. intr

For all of the worry and concern that you might not be good enough - you are here. For all of the needing encouragement, you believe enough in yourself to hope that others see it as well.

Hopefully, at some point, you'll realize that and figure out what about all of this invigorates you and makes you so passionate about sharing your work with others, and what you are hoping they take away from that experience.

(and yes, a lot of this has to do with my own thought process following a conversation with an old friend, and thinking about how passionate I used to be about writing and about how to get that back... but never you mind that, we're talking about you here! ;P )

Home Game - Week 24

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If you build it, they will come... that's what they say.

From my perspective, If I post it, you better use it. ;)

It's the Home Game thread!

Maybe you were eliminated before this week, or maybe you just never ended up signing up in the first place! It doesn't matter!! The Home Game is here! :)

Just link your entry here!