Green Room - Week 35 - Day 4
Jul. 23rd, 2012 11:26 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
clauderainsrm.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
therealljidolEarly in the season (early in every season) I try to throw the newbies some advice. It usually involves things like:
- Don't let people drag you into their squabbles, even if it's tempting, even if they practically beg for it! ;)
- Be prepared for anything
- Write. Write. Write.
- At the end of the day, you are going to be eliminated. Everyone except one person will be - know that this isn't personal, or a flaw in the game, or anything other than that's the way the collective will of voters went in a given week.
- The closer we get to the end, the more these eliminations are going to impact the people not involved, and the harder it's going to hit those who are.
It's easier said than done - with those last bits, there are two things people always say tells them a lot about them: How you win, and how you lose. Not just Idol. But in general life experiences.
I posted this a couple days ago, in a comment thread in the Results from last week, but I was thinking more people needed to see it. It was in response to the quoted bit:
"It's Idol. It's just a game. And although it's nice to be in the game, it's still just a game."
The GREATEST GAME IN THE WORLD!
Seriously though, that's not just a tip on Idol. It's a tip on every writing experience out there. You can work really, really hard on something and it doesn't sell or you don't make the cut.
Then you look at someone else who got through and you go "Man, there's something up there! My piece is SO MUCH BETTER than that" - completely missing the point that obviously they were what that market was looking for at that moment.
It's not the end of the world. It's not a condemnation against that market either. It just wasn't what they were looking for at that moment.
It's the same with Idol. If you are able to learn that lesson, here or somewhere else, you are ahead of the game.
There is a lot of advice out there. Some of it is better than others.
But the other comment in that section that really caught my attention was the one that said that there had been an undercurrent of nastiness toward each other since the Top 25. I hope that people realize that it's the result of being in a locked room with each other for months on end, and put in direct competition with each other.
Some folks are going to react to it better than others - and when put in a position where you have to eat each other, there is always going to be the temptation to say "But that person has this irritating habit, and we can feed off them a little longer!" - where you might not always think that in any other situation.
Or, to put it in a family scenario (where, unless you are cannibals, or one of you is a zombie, you aren't going to actually *eat* each other.)- siblings are going to fight with each other. But let someone from the outside come in, and watch them circle the wagons.
Like it or not, you are now part of the Idol family. You are the Season 8 branch within that family. You can't always pick your family, and now you are stuck with each other.
Not just the people still in the competition - but every last person who showed up, who took the risk. You share something special.
The longer you are in the trenches, the more temptation there will be to find that thing that makes you justify why you lasted a little longer than the next person. Most people didn't come into this thinking they were going to win. Even if they say they did, or act like it.
Everyone has those self doubts, and a desire to be liked and appreciated.
I think as long as you can remember that, and that at the end of the day, this experience is going to be what you take from it, you should be fine.
Now enough of this hippie grap, and jump back into those trenches so I can fire some more shots over your heads! :)
The topic thread is at: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/588906.html
I'd encourage people to go and read ahead! The deadline isn't until tomorrow night, but it's always a good idea to get ahead of things so you don't end up saying "I wish we had more time to read!"
The Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/589256.html - if you need any extra help, or just want to welcome some of the Champions who have stopped by - (speaking of which - HELLO CHAMPIONS!!! If any of you are reading this!)
The Home Game is here: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/589522.html for those who aren't currently competing, but still want to join in the fun - or for those who have already read the entries posted in the main topic thread. There's always some good stuff in the Home Game, so I recommend checking it out when you can!
***
Now that all of that is out of the way - how was your weekend?
- Don't let people drag you into their squabbles, even if it's tempting, even if they practically beg for it! ;)
- Be prepared for anything
- Write. Write. Write.
- At the end of the day, you are going to be eliminated. Everyone except one person will be - know that this isn't personal, or a flaw in the game, or anything other than that's the way the collective will of voters went in a given week.
- The closer we get to the end, the more these eliminations are going to impact the people not involved, and the harder it's going to hit those who are.
It's easier said than done - with those last bits, there are two things people always say tells them a lot about them: How you win, and how you lose. Not just Idol. But in general life experiences.
I posted this a couple days ago, in a comment thread in the Results from last week, but I was thinking more people needed to see it. It was in response to the quoted bit:
"It's Idol. It's just a game. And although it's nice to be in the game, it's still just a game."
The GREATEST GAME IN THE WORLD!
Seriously though, that's not just a tip on Idol. It's a tip on every writing experience out there. You can work really, really hard on something and it doesn't sell or you don't make the cut.
Then you look at someone else who got through and you go "Man, there's something up there! My piece is SO MUCH BETTER than that" - completely missing the point that obviously they were what that market was looking for at that moment.
It's not the end of the world. It's not a condemnation against that market either. It just wasn't what they were looking for at that moment.
It's the same with Idol. If you are able to learn that lesson, here or somewhere else, you are ahead of the game.
There is a lot of advice out there. Some of it is better than others.
But the other comment in that section that really caught my attention was the one that said that there had been an undercurrent of nastiness toward each other since the Top 25. I hope that people realize that it's the result of being in a locked room with each other for months on end, and put in direct competition with each other.
Some folks are going to react to it better than others - and when put in a position where you have to eat each other, there is always going to be the temptation to say "But that person has this irritating habit, and we can feed off them a little longer!" - where you might not always think that in any other situation.
Or, to put it in a family scenario (where, unless you are cannibals, or one of you is a zombie, you aren't going to actually *eat* each other.)- siblings are going to fight with each other. But let someone from the outside come in, and watch them circle the wagons.
Like it or not, you are now part of the Idol family. You are the Season 8 branch within that family. You can't always pick your family, and now you are stuck with each other.
Not just the people still in the competition - but every last person who showed up, who took the risk. You share something special.
The longer you are in the trenches, the more temptation there will be to find that thing that makes you justify why you lasted a little longer than the next person. Most people didn't come into this thinking they were going to win. Even if they say they did, or act like it.
Everyone has those self doubts, and a desire to be liked and appreciated.
I think as long as you can remember that, and that at the end of the day, this experience is going to be what you take from it, you should be fine.
Now enough of this hippie grap, and jump back into those trenches so I can fire some more shots over your heads! :)
The topic thread is at: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/588906.html
I'd encourage people to go and read ahead! The deadline isn't until tomorrow night, but it's always a good idea to get ahead of things so you don't end up saying "I wish we had more time to read!"
The Work Room: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/589256.html - if you need any extra help, or just want to welcome some of the Champions who have stopped by - (speaking of which - HELLO CHAMPIONS!!! If any of you are reading this!)
The Home Game is here: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/589522.html for those who aren't currently competing, but still want to join in the fun - or for those who have already read the entries posted in the main topic thread. There's always some good stuff in the Home Game, so I recommend checking it out when you can!
***
Now that all of that is out of the way - how was your weekend?
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