Green Room - Week 26 - Day 4

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

In case you missed the ground shaking last night, the results from the final Round Two came in: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/464364.html True to form, they managed to shake things up.

How much will be shaken up (or perhaps stirred, not enough things are stirred these days. Damn you Bond!) when our Top 17 take the stage? http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/462769.html Only time will tell.

***

I'm running low on time this morning - but I did want to start the ball rolling on some meta:

I "get" low self esteem. I get being humble and thinking you can do a better job. But if you are at this point - you are here for a reason.

People like your work.

When you are eliminated. That doesn't mean people have stopped liking your work either. With the sheer talent pool this season, that means someone got a few more butts in the seats for that particular entry. Which is fine, and it is how it works in the "real world" of publishing as well. Publishing, and pretty much every other aspect of life.

The number one thing is that you need to believe in yourself, and writing *for yourself*. Do you need to keep your audience in mind? Of course. Being able to find a successful fusion of those two concepts can separate someone struggling from someone successful at what they are doing. There are plenty of writers who can string together brilliant pieces and don't manage to find that level of connection that they need to have in order to get noticed, and stay noticed.

Comments

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

The votes one receives or the distance one goes in this contest (or any contest) isn't really a decent gauge of one's ability as a writer.

Indeed, one of the finest writers that I've crossed paths with online is rejeneration and she was eliminated months ago.

I'm at my best when I'm not writing for anybody - not an audience, not myself, just writing. Given the choice, I'll write for myself, but much of the time I feel like I'm just following the story where ever it wants to go.

Furthermore, I have come to the conclusion that I don't have a clue about what people want to read. I've been consistently surprised by which of my pieces get the strongest reactions and which "sure thing" piece get the weakest.

I guess my point is that I *can't* write what other people want deliberately because I have *no idea* what other people want.

Anyhow, one other thing I've discovered is that the weekly grind of LJI is sort of making me hate writing right now. Indeed, it often seems like an especially unpleasant chore. I recognize that this is part of the "marathon not a sprint" aspect, and I'm determined to run the race until I'm out, but once I am out, I'm going to take a long, long break from writing.

Its a new feeling, though, because I've never in my life hated writing. Alas!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I guess my point is that I *can't* write what other people want deliberately because I have *no idea* what other people want.

That's really what it boils down to. Which, in turn, makes writing/reading so subjective.

The best piece of advice I ever received was "Write for yourself first". The second? "Write with love. If you care about what you're writing about, it'll show, and people reading it will come to care about it too".

I still yet haven't figured out that strong/weak dichotomy...

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

Strong/Weak Dichotomy? This is something I have not heard of before.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Ah, sometimes I brain fart on my choice of words!

I was trying to comment on what you said about your being surprised by which of your pieces get the strongest reactions and what your "sure thing" piece gets the weakest.

I have yet to figure out why that happens. I've had my share of it too. It just totally mystifies me sometimes. If I'm in a particular mood, I'll then start doubting myself as in, "Is this piece as good as I think it is?" Really, I've driven myself crazy more than once thinking like that.

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

Ah, indeed.

I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about it anymore. It seems to be a futile exercise. I mean, I suppose if I knew what people wanted to read all the time, I'd already be a millionaire writer with a mansion and a yacht.

Besides, objectively, its totally fine for me to love something I wrote that nobody else loves. There's a ton of art that I like that none of my friends like. Why should my own writing be any different? :P

[comedychick.livejournal.com]

suppose if I knew what people wanted to read all the time, I'd already be a millionaire writer with a mansion and a yacht.

Dude, you just need to expand any number of your LJI pieces into a novel and have that published and I reckon you could be a millionaire writer. It's just the doing part you're missing. :P

[mstrobel.livejournal.com]

"Write with love. If you care about what you're writing about, it'll show, and people reading it will come to care about it too".

This :D

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I haven't gotten sick of writing yet. I'm not tired of it at all and so not ready to be done yet. I have felt more nervous and scares lately, causing me to second guess every idea because I know the competition has gotten rougher now that there's less people left. So that part is hard...but I'm really not ready to stop yet, regardless how hard Gary makes it on us...Heck, I'll be sad once the season is over because it's all that I do in my free time. I'll not have stuff to write, and will have to get a life *gasp* I don't want to have to do that!

I used to write what I liked, but as the competition gets stiffer, I'm finding that harder to do. I've kinda lost my way. But I'm hoping I find it quickly with three entries to write still :p

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

Now more than ever is when you should write what you like.

As I've said before, better to go out writing something you feel good about than write something you feel bad about and go out anyways, you know?

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Easier said than done for me...someone who relies so heavily on people liking me. It fogs my own ideas of myself. But fir Round Two, I tossed out a non-fiction piece I felt would go over well, but that I wasn't enjoying and wrote up my fiction piece in two hours...and I liked it though I'll admit, it was rushed. But I chose to pick it over the nearly finished non-fiction piece because I liked it more. So I did what you're saying...and I honestly have discovered a new sense of love with writing thanks to dabbling in a genre I was too scared to touch before. So that makes it a new game in my eyes since before, I felt confined to non-fiction which is getting old for me (I notice I hate my non-fiction entries more and more and it's because I'm tired of writing the same way...but now that I'm mixing it up with something new and fun, we will see if that changes).

[joeymichaels.livejournal.com]

I actively encourage you to write stuff you love. You're a great writer and you'll create even better stuff if you're excited about what you're writing!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Exactly!

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

I really like the topics this week and was planning to home game it, but honestly without a deadline I don't think I can kick my brain into gear. I think I need to take a pause for a week, before I'm ready to dive back in.