Work Room - Week 29

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The new topics are up. http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/571850.html

Which one are you going to choose? Why? What do you think you will be able to do with it that you don't think you can with the others?

***
One of the biggest surprises for me (other than the storm) last week was in saying "Bring Your A-Game" some people seemed upset that they had to "bring their A-game" yet ANOTHER week, as if they shoudn't be doing their best every single week. Everyone has bad/tough weeks. But doing your best work every week should be the norm, not a special event!

Another head scratcher was that, it felt like people reverted to bad habits we haven't seen since early in the competition. The main one being trying to fit the words in the topic into the piece. Trust me, if you can deliver on the piece you want, people are smart enough to figure out the connection. If they can't, without resorting to beating them over the head with it, chances are you need to get a second look at the piece, stare at it from the side and see what it is that you need to change.

I believe that every one in this competition has the chance to shine. But not if you trip over your own heels. I know what pressure can do to a person. But hopefully those surprise days off to rest will come in handy, to recharge you for the march to the finish!

Comments

[noodledays.livejournal.com]

happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a good weekend, be it a long one or elsewise. :D

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

WOOT, you're FIRST!!!!!!!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Levithan would be interesting. Naturally the first thing I thought of was a great white shark...

[noodledays.livejournal.com]

yipee!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

For those wondering, I still do not have internet access at home. I'm using wifi somewhere else.

They promised to be out between 4-6 today. I got home at 4, to find out they came out just before 3!!

It's the first time I've ever had someone come *early*, so of course that is why they did... they are coming back out tomorrow after work.

[alien-infinity.livejournal.com]

My brain wouldn't LET me have the weekend off; I think it didn't want my writing muscles to atrophy. Instead of relaxing, I wrote on a "fake" Idol topic given to me by another Idoler.

Here (http://alien-infinity.livejournal.com/226879.html) is the piece, if anybody wants to read it. It's a continuation of Gemma's story.

[basric.livejournal.com]

So is the hammer of doom dropping. We all choose a word, and X amount of bottom votes from each list -- axed. May be a bloody game this week. I feel a bulls-eye between my eyes. SIGH

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

Hurray! Gotta love contractors who are so diligent that they come early, so they get out of actually doing the job they're supposed to do. Hope you didn't lose any pay for getting home early.

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

I feel drawn towards "disappear" but I strongly suspect that there are going to be a lot of obvious interpretations - invisible because nobody really sees YOU, disappearing through kidnap/murder, that kind of thing and I hate to do obvious. So unless I can come up with an angle that isn't obvious to me (despite the fact that things that I've thought were obvious in the past with my alt apparently weren't to anyone else), I'm going with something else. I've always loved the word gobsmacked.

[alien-infinity.livejournal.com]

My first thought on "disappear" was someone who WANTS to disappear for whatever reason, which is probably another obvious interpretation.

[medleymisty.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about you - I know I'd be going crazy without internet.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

My first thought was an old Cris Williamson song.

::waits for entire workroom to stop and ponder, "Cris, who?"::

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

To address what Gary brought up -- my own opinion, of course.

1) I honestly think this break was indeed an Act of God in that most -- if not all of us -- are indeed a bit weary. Idol's a marathon, and naturally each one of us will have our own tough weeks. I think the pressure we put on ourselves, coupled with Gary's "Bring Your A Game" just adds to it. I'm not saying either/both is good nor bad; it's just my own observation.

Using myself as an example -- I tend to put enormous pressure on myself as par for the course, whether it's Idol or at work or whatever. Sometimes it works in my favor. Sometimes it doesn't. But I never let my guard down.

2) I think "slipping back into old habits" ties in with the weariness/pressure factor. If you're tired, you won't be at your best in anything unless you push past it. How you get to the point where you can push past it, I can't answer because I'm not you. Only you can answer that.

:steps off soapbox:

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

The fact that I, an American, use "gobsmacked" in everyday conversation naturally points to my affinity for it while those around my scratch their heads ;)

I don't like being obvious either. I'm still contemplating levithan just because I know there's something there..

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

How about a story about being gobsmacked at the news that Congress has appropriated funds to save some nearly extinct whale species.

It'd be fiction, of course.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I know the name but not the music.

Does that count?

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Today is Memorial Day, which is awesome because I could come home from Cynthia's early. Which sucked. But didn't cost me any money.

TOMORROW will cost me money.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

LOLOL!!!

The fact that you mentioned whales now makes me think of Animal Planet's "Whale Wars". Hmmm...

[beldar.livejournal.com]

As if we needed more stress in this competition, it occurs to me that it is possible (I don't know for sure, just a guess) that we will be divided into four "tribes" in the poll, based on which topic we write on. That means if you write on a less-popular topic, your odds of elimination could go up.

But while I did have this thought, it's not going to really effect what topic I go with, because going with something when the idea/inspiration isn't there is more of a guarantee of doom than a shorter poll list.

I'm still giving this some thought -- maybe write something tomorrow.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised they'd come out on a holiday :boggle: If the same thing happened to me, I'd be lucky if they came out tomorrow!

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Good point re the tribes ;)

Of course now that you mentioned it, Gary will probably dream up something even more evil...

[alien-infinity.livejournal.com]

Now I'm wondering if my decision to write a pseudo-Idol post over the weekend was a bad idea. My brain saw empty space where Idol was supposed to go and was having none of it, but I hope I didn't overtax myself and thus render myself unable to write well NOW.

Hmm...as to actual IDEAS, I no haz. :/

My brain likes "disappear" the best of all the topics, but I feel that is a very obvious choice that will lead to a very obvious post. Maybe I could make it work, though.

[medleymisty.livejournal.com]

Process of elimination - appropriation is right out, because I can't see a way to get a story out of it and also I play life on easy, if you guys read John Scalzi's blog post about privilege. Leviathan is too close to what sonophax and I wrote for our intersection, with the Lovecraftian horror. So that leaves gobsmacked and disappear. Disappear certainly plays to my strengths, imagery and metaphor and weird psychological stuff and all.

I might could get nonfiction out of gobsmacked, and I know a fair few people prefer nonfiction, but really...I can do nonfiction fairly well, but generally not Idol type nonfiction. The last time I did nonfiction my poll results scared me. If you're LJ friends with me, you know my nonfiction tends to be long personal essays that explore concepts like class and ego development and the psychological effects of losing a parent in early childhood and things like that. Not really Idol fare. Nonfiction gobsmacked....

I don't know, I just googled it and I don't really identify with that emotion. I was thinking maybe something like - like how my brain lights up with colors and sparkles and joy when I see the sunlight on just mowed grass, or green trees against a blue sky...I did find a site that said it can just mean that you're so amazed that you're speechless, but yeah. The beauty of the world constantly amazes me, but I constantly write about it. No speechlessness here.

So yeah. Fictional disappearing it is. Although I've been meaning to write one of my usual style LJ posts tonight, so all the new people I've friended the last few days can see my usual style. So I'll go start on that, and we'll see how it turns out. If I think it can be used for gobsmacked or disappear, I'll just use it as my Idol entry this week. If not, then I've already got a faint inkling for fiction using disappear. There may be a character named Lovesy involved. ;)

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Best of luck getting it restored!

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Speaking as someone who's chronically sleep-deprived, I wholeheartedly agree with you on the need for rest.

Of course, I am a victim of migraines, so in a cruel twist of fate, if I *oversleep*, I get a headache.