therealljidol | Green Room - Week 24

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Green Room - Week 24 - Day 6

There is still a poll out there, http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/458636.html , to determine who will be moving on. People have been pointing out just how much fiction there is this week. Hopefully that's just how people decided to go with the topic rather than a general direction of the overall season/competition. I guess we will see how things shake out in the coming weeks.

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I am currently reading the Bryson book "A Walk in the Woods" and just reached his visit to Centralia, Pennsylvania. More precisely, when he talks about the mine fire that started in 1962 and is still burning today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

If I didn't have to wait a season, I would make that a topic in and of itself, it's so interesting.

But since I have you here - what do *you* have burning, deep down inside? ;)

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As I said to you in IM, for me, writing fiction or non-fiction really depends on the topic and what ideas immediately spring to mind for it. I definitely feel I have more freedom and options with fiction, as I'm sure everyone does, but there have only been a few topics where I've decided straight off that I want to write fiction for that week; normally, I'll think about the topic, jot down some ideas, and then figure out whether it'd be better as a non-fic piece or not. I wrote non-fic in the beginning, but, as I also said to you, I am a boring loner (by choice!), so I don't feel I have a huge non-fic well to draw from, which is why I've written more fic than non. Plus, I tend to get a lot of random ideas for different stories/situations that I like to write down/explore.

As for reading - I'm definitely happy to read both since I know both can be written really, really well. I have no preference.

I wonder if that's a theme for others, too? Thinking they don't really have enough interesting non-fic to write about. Whereas I may be "only" 27, but I've done a heck of a lot in my life and can almost always think of something non-fic to write about. I do tend to write more non-fic, but I like to dabble in a bit of fiction, too. Last season the only fiction I wrote were screenplays so it's been fun to branch out a bit further than that this season.

I don't have a preference in terms of reading, either. I care more about how engaging, creative and well written a piece is. I like entries I can connect with and that evoke some sort of emotion, be it laughter, disgust, joy, anything really.

I think I probably experienced a lot for a young kid (having moved countries, changed states and schools, driven across Australia twice), but a lot of that I no longer have vivid memories of, and I can't say I've done a whole lot as an adult, so yeah, not much RL experiences to use as inspiration, unfortunately. But you know, I could always just ~~steal~~ borrow other people's (e.g., family members) stories if I felt like writing non-fic >.>

I agree. I like being able to connect or relate to a piece in some way.

The thing about non-fic though is that it doesn't have to just be memories of things you've done. It can be your opinions on things, rants, pieces about people who mean something to you. There's A LOT of different things you can do to mix up non-fic. I mean, one week I inserted some of my memories into a piece in screenplay format, but not the whole thing was a screenplay, and it was all non-fic.

Edited 2011-05-06 13:27 (UTC)

Oh, I know. Non-fic pieces can be tricky, though. Rants don't always come out the way you want them to, and opinions on things can sometimes get you in trouble and/or cause dramarama (and I don't generally like to give my opinion on something unless I'm somewhat familiar with it). But you're right; there are different ways in which one can write it. Maybe next week, if I'm still around, I'll venture back into non-fic :D

Edited 2011-05-06 13:35 (UTC)

Yeah, I do know those rants and opinion pieces can be difficult to write without it blowing up into drama, but if you look at

basric and

imafarmgirl's entries this week, for example, I think they've managed to work their opinions in well without making people want to explode it into drama. It just takes a bit of extra thought than you might ordinarily put in when your audience is public rather than friends only.

Opinions can be presented in other ways, too. This might seem a silly example since I'm talking about a fiction entry I wrote, but my round two fiction entry was also full of me stating an opinion on judging situations/one-sidedness/getting the full story/etc. There's a lot that can be experimented with, anyway.

True, but their opinions originated from RL happenings. They had a reason for those opinions; had experience with it, you know? So, it's not just about the drama it can cause; that's just one aspect.

I don't really see your round two entry as being opinion; more... reflection on something that happened, since the person in that piece asks a lot of questions of themselves and what was happening. But that's my interpretation.

Well, this is true, sharing opinions and how it relates to RL experiences might be the best way to share your opinions, but I still feel like that's different from a straight memory, I guess.

I think it's a bit of both. It is much what you say, but I also wouldn't have written it the way I did if I had a different opinion about the matter, I guess.

No, I agree, it's completely different. If I were to write non-fic, my first instinct would be to seek something out from my memory that would work for the topic, which is why I mentioned the whole memory thing in the first place. Then, I'd probably go on to things I could rant about or give my opinion on or something else. The latter two just need more attention given to them, as you mentioned, and I could very well come across as a douche if I don't take the time to give them that attention (and sometimes, I'm rushed for time, so fiction seems like the better way to go).

But, in terms of

basric's entry this week - because she's had experiences with mentally ill people (I'm assuming, anyway, based on something she said in the entry), her opinion on what should happen to mentally ill people like the guy in her entry this week, is more valid than me simply stating the same opinion, in general since I've never had any experiences with mentally ill people, because of second-hand stories I've heard/read about from people I know and/or the media.

That's the difference I was trying to point out in terms of her entry, specifically, but I do know that there are a multitude of things I could give my opinion on that don't necessarily have to stem from me having personal experience with it.

Heh, yeah, very few people likely want to come across as sounding like a douche! I understand the rushed for time stuff. Funnily enough, I think I need more time than usual to write fiction, especially when it's a screenplay!

Oh, sure. That's just one example, though. And with a subject like that perhaps it is better to share an opinion with an example from RL. If it's a less controversial topic, though, I don't think it's as necessary to have a RL example.

Lol, I'm the opposite. I often need more time for non-fiction pieces, though it does depend on the topic.

Agreed!

lol... I thought my rants (mostly of a political stripe) last season did pretty well overall. I tried one earlier this season and it almost got me booted. And I've also noticed that my non-fic hasn't done nearly as well as my fic this season too. *shrug*

I adore your rants! Maybe earlier in the season it was more people not having enough time to read everything rather than the content itself that meant you were almost booted.

And hey now, your "Hoff" piece has been one of my favourite entries of yours ever. And that was non-fic from this season!

lol... you and

pixie117 might be the only ones who do! :-p

I don't know why it did so poorly... maybe it was just written poorly? I dunno! I always thought that rants were one of my strengths. But after that near-disaster, I got a little gunshy about them.

lol... oh the "Hoff" piece... it cracks me up just remembering that whole scene. lol... Freaking

tigrkittn found that episode and texted me a screenshot from it and threatened to release it to the Idolverse. I almost soiled myself!!! lol... As for the entry itself, I honestly don't remember how it did. I think it ended up fairly middle of the pack.

I really suspect it had a lot more to do with people not reading everything. I probably voted for it without reading it because I don't remember it :P (But I rarely had time to read anything early on with all the stuff I had going on).

OMG! I need to PM her and ask her for the picture. I want to see it! That whole piece still cracks me up, too.

At this stage of the game though, I'm so terrified to try it again... because maybe it *wasn't* more to do with people not reading. lol...

No you so do not! I look very decidedly... unhappy... in that picture. lol...

Pfffffft. It would not take you out of the game. Besides, if it looks like that's the direction the votes are going, you can always pimp yourself! Or hope someone else pimps you! The game is more fun when you take risks and write for yourself than it is when you're writing just because you want mass appeal. Not saying you're doing this, but it does seem somewhat implied by what you said :P

Teehee. You just make me want to see it more. You may as well just send it to me directly if you still have it ;) Has Pixie seen it?

I like reading both fic and non-fic, it just depends on how it is approached. I also find that I really enjoy fiction that comes across as non-fiction, because sometimes you just don't know for sure until you get to the end!

I am also rather boring, and after competing in Idol for 4 seasons my wellspring is running dry. It's doubtful whether I'll bother competing next season (although admittedly I wasn't sure I'd compete this season, so there ya go).

Oh you better come back!!!

We'll always have Green Rooms! (and Facebook)

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! *sniffles*

I agree about fiction that comes across as non-fic. Sometimes it's cool (and maybe trippy) to be left thinking whether it's true or not.

I have to wait to see how busy I'll be before deciding whether or not to come back. If I do, I might try and make more of a conscious effort to write non-fic.

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Green Room - Week 24 - Day 6

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