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therealljidolI have *a lot* of goodbyes from the previous weeks to write and post.
I did warn people ahead of time that there were no promises that I would be able to keep them up all season. But having started them, I would like to see the process through. Even if it takes me awhile!
So, I have some backlog and am going to be tackling it the only way that I know how - randomly!!! :)
So here is the first installment. More, at some point. Hopefully soon.
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adpaz (Week 14) - Aha, might as well get back on this particular horse of writing the comments with an easy one!! Also a short one, which is appropriate, because I am writing this about YOU! :p
Your writing reminds me of home.
Not a specific time or place, but a feeling. The love for the people in your life comes through in your words. You are incredible lucky to have them.
Oh, yeah - your writing. . . um. . . yeah, it's gotten better over the years! I can't wait to see where it is next season! (hint hint!)
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poppetawoppet (week 13) - How do zombies say goodbye?
Yes. Another zombie reference. The characters really did endear themselves to a lot of people, and I think that was when you "appeared on the radar" for quite a few readers. With the size of the starting pack, that isn't all that surprising.
I think though that with the run off and Home Game entry, that you have proven just how much more that you have to offer.
As a former fan fic writer myself, I really appreciated the insights you had in the Trip Trapping entry particularly. I remember some of my first comments about my stuff online, both positive and not so positive. :) It's an experience that definitely sticks with you. I hope Idol was able to give you another experience, more avenues to pursue in your writing, and ultimately more readers!
***
Week 18
You came back into the game, which I wasn't expecting. I'll be honest here. No reason not to be. But you did and I was excited because I saw a lot of things you were doing with your home game entries, and I thought that you were really breaking free of that "chick who writes about zombies" label. Too often people become that person who "does something specific" and while it can help identify them early on and make them stand out from the crowd, it can also turn into a crutch. So I was glad that you were moving away from it.
The re-telling of Cinderella http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/28526.html was particularly inspired. So was the sestina http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/29675.html - even if you had to bend it a little. ;)
It seemed like when you came back in, it was with a "I was eliminated once already - what's one more time!!!" approach and really did seem to be experimenting more and going outside that "safe place", which was nice to see.
sdaisyk (Week 19) - I read *a lot* of entries over the course of a season of Idol. So figure in 6 seasons of Idol I am going to develop a sense of radar about who "should" make it far. Granted, real life gets in the way and sometimes someone makes the wrong move at the wrong time. I don't want to call the covering your job interview the "wrong move", because it was important to you - but it just happened at the worst possible week for you to do it!!!
I try to go back through the entries to see what it is that struck me about the person and if there is one thing that I can pull out of it that really helps me put a finger on what it is that enjoyed about them. With you, I was struggling to find the words that described why it was so personally heart breaking to lose you from the competition. (and yes, it was.I had you pegged to go quite a ways further. I definitely think you had the potential, but it seems like real life had other ideas)
"Who you are" is all right there in your Introduction: http://sdaisyk.livejournal.com/477907.html a fitting place for it to be! ;)
You tell these straight forward, simple stories, but there is a feeling of becoming in them. A feeling of being on that crossroads and figuring things out in your words. Even the fiction pieces you threw into the mix had this sense of narrative progression that I really think would have continued to translate well the smaller the pack got and the larger your potential audience.
It's all right there in Week 2's entry, which oddly enough had you figuring that you might not last very long! http://sdaisyk.livejournal.com/482126.html - it's there in "The Place That Can Not Be" http://sdaisyk.livejournal.com/503914.html and Breaking the Fast and. . . you get the picture. . . hopefully other people do as well. Because if they missed out on you the first time around, they need to treat themselves and go back and read it all.
comedychick (Week 21)- Calling someone an "unique voice" or saying that they brought their own special perspective to the competition is pretty cliched. I'll do it anyway. What the hell!! If it's true then it's true - But it's still cliched. So I will try to avoid saying that.
What I will say is that you stood out very early on as someone that I thought deserved watching. You were living somewhere no one else was living, and doing things that no one else was doing.
Sure, lots of people can say that. But in this case it really did stand out to me in the first couple of weeks that "Hey, this is someone coming from a different perspective than your average Idoler". Week 6 - Sunrise - drove that home for me and put you on the "She is going to be around for a VERY long time" map: http://comedychick.livejournal.com/412415.html
It's partially a shift in generational sensibilities and part just being able to fully be a part of a culture that seems worlds away from the average existence.
From screenplays to videos you continued on that bent. There were times when I worried that maybe you were trying a little too hard to do something in a different way. ;) But overall I think you were able to make it work for you and really developed a following that I hope continues to keep an eye on you. You definitely have a lot to say that, and a way of continuing to make people think of their own lives and the ideas that they may be taking for granted and might benefit from taking another look at them.
You seemed to lose some steam toward the end, with that pesky real life and commitments, but you still managed to pull out some solid work. Now though you have time for everything else!
viagra (Week 21) - Writing about how awesome you are would be like writing about why kittymichaels deserved his win. You are better at it than anyone else was going to be, so there really isn't much of a point to it! :)
So in instead I'll start with the statement that you do meta exceptionally well. I've heard variations on this from several people over the course of the season. Some of it is hyperbole, but there is also a lot of truth to it as far as I'm concerned. And let's face it, when you are talking "LJ Idol Meta" you are talking about something that I know a little bit about. ;)
I'll freely admit, the vast majority of what is considered "meta" I don't like. It's either filled with factual inaccuracies or veiled (and not so veiled) slams on people. Neither one of these things is something that makes me smile, because there is always someone who has to clean up the mess during and after- and that someone is me. It's basically a way of saying "Hey Gary, you don't need to sleep".
So finding someone who is opinionated, but basically has a "this should be FUN" approach to it, that's always nice to see, and you are quite good at making it *fun*. If you are going to write something with an agenda, there are far worse ones out there than making someone smile.
That said, "meta" isn't where you excel. Where you excel is in those "real" moments, when you pull people in and you just flat out *write*: http://viagra.livejournal.com/115661.html
is a good recent example of this. There are also those "holy shit moments" like in http://viagra.livejournal.com/111959.html
People tend to identify you with the your informational series on the dangers of vagina dentata or the choose your own adventure, or even just the meta - you're the "fun guy". But I think that folks tend to forget that you really are quite versatile, honestly, I might be off on this, but I've gotten the impression that you might forget that as well at times, and THAT is the reason why you are actually awesome. Not just the individual components.
I did warn people ahead of time that there were no promises that I would be able to keep them up all season. But having started them, I would like to see the process through. Even if it takes me awhile!
So, I have some backlog and am going to be tackling it the only way that I know how - randomly!!! :)
So here is the first installment. More, at some point. Hopefully soon.
adpaz (Week 14) - Aha, might as well get back on this particular horse of writing the comments with an easy one!! Also a short one, which is appropriate, because I am writing this about YOU! :pYour writing reminds me of home.
Not a specific time or place, but a feeling. The love for the people in your life comes through in your words. You are incredible lucky to have them.
Oh, yeah - your writing. . . um. . . yeah, it's gotten better over the years! I can't wait to see where it is next season! (hint hint!)
poppetawoppet (week 13) - How do zombies say goodbye? Yes. Another zombie reference. The characters really did endear themselves to a lot of people, and I think that was when you "appeared on the radar" for quite a few readers. With the size of the starting pack, that isn't all that surprising.
I think though that with the run off and Home Game entry, that you have proven just how much more that you have to offer.
As a former fan fic writer myself, I really appreciated the insights you had in the Trip Trapping entry particularly. I remember some of my first comments about my stuff online, both positive and not so positive. :) It's an experience that definitely sticks with you. I hope Idol was able to give you another experience, more avenues to pursue in your writing, and ultimately more readers!
***
Week 18
You came back into the game, which I wasn't expecting. I'll be honest here. No reason not to be. But you did and I was excited because I saw a lot of things you were doing with your home game entries, and I thought that you were really breaking free of that "chick who writes about zombies" label. Too often people become that person who "does something specific" and while it can help identify them early on and make them stand out from the crowd, it can also turn into a crutch. So I was glad that you were moving away from it.
The re-telling of Cinderella http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/28526.html was particularly inspired. So was the sestina http://poppetawoppet.livejournal.com/29675.html - even if you had to bend it a little. ;)
It seemed like when you came back in, it was with a "I was eliminated once already - what's one more time!!!" approach and really did seem to be experimenting more and going outside that "safe place", which was nice to see.
sdaisyk (Week 19) - I read *a lot* of entries over the course of a season of Idol. So figure in 6 seasons of Idol I am going to develop a sense of radar about who "should" make it far. Granted, real life gets in the way and sometimes someone makes the wrong move at the wrong time. I don't want to call the covering your job interview the "wrong move", because it was important to you - but it just happened at the worst possible week for you to do it!!!I try to go back through the entries to see what it is that struck me about the person and if there is one thing that I can pull out of it that really helps me put a finger on what it is that enjoyed about them. With you, I was struggling to find the words that described why it was so personally heart breaking to lose you from the competition. (and yes, it was.I had you pegged to go quite a ways further. I definitely think you had the potential, but it seems like real life had other ideas)
"Who you are" is all right there in your Introduction: http://sdaisyk.livejournal.com/477907.html a fitting place for it to be! ;)
You tell these straight forward, simple stories, but there is a feeling of becoming in them. A feeling of being on that crossroads and figuring things out in your words. Even the fiction pieces you threw into the mix had this sense of narrative progression that I really think would have continued to translate well the smaller the pack got and the larger your potential audience.
It's all right there in Week 2's entry, which oddly enough had you figuring that you might not last very long! http://sdaisyk.livejournal.com/482126.html - it's there in "The Place That Can Not Be" http://sdaisyk.livejournal.com/503914.html and Breaking the Fast and. . . you get the picture. . . hopefully other people do as well. Because if they missed out on you the first time around, they need to treat themselves and go back and read it all.
comedychick (Week 21)- Calling someone an "unique voice" or saying that they brought their own special perspective to the competition is pretty cliched. I'll do it anyway. What the hell!! If it's true then it's true - But it's still cliched. So I will try to avoid saying that.What I will say is that you stood out very early on as someone that I thought deserved watching. You were living somewhere no one else was living, and doing things that no one else was doing.
Sure, lots of people can say that. But in this case it really did stand out to me in the first couple of weeks that "Hey, this is someone coming from a different perspective than your average Idoler". Week 6 - Sunrise - drove that home for me and put you on the "She is going to be around for a VERY long time" map: http://comedychick.livejournal.com/412415.html
It's partially a shift in generational sensibilities and part just being able to fully be a part of a culture that seems worlds away from the average existence.
From screenplays to videos you continued on that bent. There were times when I worried that maybe you were trying a little too hard to do something in a different way. ;) But overall I think you were able to make it work for you and really developed a following that I hope continues to keep an eye on you. You definitely have a lot to say that, and a way of continuing to make people think of their own lives and the ideas that they may be taking for granted and might benefit from taking another look at them.
You seemed to lose some steam toward the end, with that pesky real life and commitments, but you still managed to pull out some solid work. Now though you have time for everything else!
viagra (Week 21) - Writing about how awesome you are would be like writing about why kittymichaels deserved his win. You are better at it than anyone else was going to be, so there really isn't much of a point to it! :)So in instead I'll start with the statement that you do meta exceptionally well. I've heard variations on this from several people over the course of the season. Some of it is hyperbole, but there is also a lot of truth to it as far as I'm concerned. And let's face it, when you are talking "LJ Idol Meta" you are talking about something that I know a little bit about. ;)
I'll freely admit, the vast majority of what is considered "meta" I don't like. It's either filled with factual inaccuracies or veiled (and not so veiled) slams on people. Neither one of these things is something that makes me smile, because there is always someone who has to clean up the mess during and after- and that someone is me. It's basically a way of saying "Hey Gary, you don't need to sleep".
So finding someone who is opinionated, but basically has a "this should be FUN" approach to it, that's always nice to see, and you are quite good at making it *fun*. If you are going to write something with an agenda, there are far worse ones out there than making someone smile.
That said, "meta" isn't where you excel. Where you excel is in those "real" moments, when you pull people in and you just flat out *write*: http://viagra.livejournal.com/115661.html
is a good recent example of this. There are also those "holy shit moments" like in http://viagra.livejournal.com/111959.html
People tend to identify you with the your informational series on the dangers of vagina dentata or the choose your own adventure, or even just the meta - you're the "fun guy". But I think that folks tend to forget that you really are quite versatile, honestly, I might be off on this, but I've gotten the impression that you might forget that as well at times, and THAT is the reason why you are actually awesome. Not just the individual components.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 04:32 am (UTC)Gary, I love the insight you bring to these!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 05:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 05:11 am (UTC)There were times when I worried that maybe you were trying a little too hard to do something in a different way. ;)
haha, I would have to agree with this. And yeah, I agree that I was kind of fizzling toward the end, especially with RL stuff.
Thank you for your kind words, Gary!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 12:32 pm (UTC)Definitely hope to see more from you via Home Game! :D
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 12:46 pm (UTC)We'll see how I go for time :)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 01:45 pm (UTC)Yeah I'm going to try to get an entry in this week, too. I got lazy this past week. Oopsie.. >.>
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 08:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 10:02 am (UTC)Also, I do have an ending to the zombie story. I'm just waiting for a topic to squeeze it into.
Lastly: you highlighted two of my favorite entries! I love retelling fairy tales, it's one of my favorite writing exercises. (this would be the second time I've written Cinderella). And the sestina, to be quite honest, I dashed off in ten minutes: maybe I should write more like that.
tl;dr I miss you all and hope to be around more soon.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 12:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 11:21 am (UTC)Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 12:25 pm (UTC)Hugs to everyone mentioned here. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 03:43 pm (UTC)And I hope people have nice things to say when I leave as well :)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 03:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 03:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-16 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 04:53 pm (UTC)But...but...viagra. *sniff*
While everyone is awesome and rocks all sorts of socks, he is one who I wished I could see to the end. You forgot to mention, Gary, that he even has a basset hound! :)
no subject
Date: 2010-04-17 05:56 pm (UTC)I did try to do a bunch of different stuff throughout, and I'm glad that you recognized it. Toward the end, I was kind of feeling pressure (from myself, not from anyone else) to be "the fun one" or "the meta one" and, while it's nice to have a niche to play to and a comfortable space to go to that you know will be successful, it kind of sucks at the same time. I was getting a little tired of my schtick, and I'm glad to be in the Home Game now where I can just do whatever and not worry about it.
Of course, it means less exposure to my entries since people are too busy reading those in the competition to pay attention to the Home Game, but whatevs.
I told myself I wouldn't do this again next season unless I was just doing the Home Game, but I've had a lot of fun with it, and who knows? Now that I know I can get as far as I did, maybe I'll be able to come back with more of a "fuck it" attitude and just do what I want, when I want.