Green Room - Week 9 - Day 6

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

People always ask for “more time” – sometimes to write, other times to read. And then, toward the end of a season, they say that folks are exhausted because it went on for “too long”. ;)

It’s a balancing act. You have a window and just hope that the pieces end up fitting right more often than they don’t!

I’m just hoping that these last couple sections of Exhibit B – and yes, we are in what I consider to be squarely in the second half, headed toward the “end game” – can fit into that window that will end things before I need to start getting things ready for Season 9. Otherwise, the start may have to be pushed back. It’s one thing to have two mini-seasons on top of each other, but I want to be able to generate some excitement about the FINAL IDOL SEASON without people falling over going “Again???”

I’ll admit, I’ve really liked these mini-seasons. There *is* definitely a temptation to do something like it sometime in the future. Heck, there’s a temptation that has been pulling at me for years to have an All Star. But I’d need to make sure that I was doing it the right way, and for the right reasons. (Trying you guys crazy *is* a “right reason” in my book!) Over the years, I think I’ve had to develop the character of “Gary From Idol” into something bigger than the actual guy – and while I still definitely play with that quite a bit, I also like the idea of being able to pull that back a bit from time to time without worrying that it will be exploited, or that someone will mistake it for weakness. But, I digress…

So, just a peak behind the curtain at my thought process going into this last bit. I want to make sure that you have the best possible experience – while still getting us in under that rapidly approaching wire… I like to think we’re going to be able to pull that off.

It’s also why you see me stressing about “telling people about Idol” – because telling them NOW, getting them excited about what YOU are doing is the best way to recruit them for next season! It’s how the vast majority of folks came into Idol, and how things are kept fresh, year after year!

Speaking of “telling people”, there is a poll going on: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/676691.html

As well as a Community Chest, which has a LOT more things in it than it did yesterday! http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/676576.html

We’re not that far away from when people are going to be eligible to pick something from it! Which is awesome.

Comments

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Morning! First again? AW

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

You're FRIST!

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

Congrats on being First!

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Yeehaw! :)

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Frist? Second?

I'm leaving for work in a few minutes.

:blows kisses:

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Have a good one! AW

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

*blows kisses back*

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

I love this game, really. It takes a serious amount of time to do everything - writing, reading, voting, and a fair amount of social interaction in the GR to get one's name out there (although I'd like to think that after all these years, my name is already "out there" to some degree or another, even if it's just as The Lady of The Icons, LOL). But I've been very pleased with what I've accomplished in my time here, and I'm grateful to you Gary for putting all the time and effort into this community!

Really, I don't know what I'll do with all my "free time" once Idol is over!

In other news, my tattoo came out REALLY CUTE! You can see a photo in my journal HERE (http://roina-arwen.livejournal.com/1630384.html). =)

I foresee another icon in the near future, LOL.

[joyfulfeather.livejournal.com]

Eeee, that's adorable!

[theun4givables.livejournal.com]

I'm debating on whether to do season 9. Life being as it is right now, it's hard for me to keep up with Exhibit B and get my entry in and read everyone else's. But then again, Idol was a thing I started doing for me. I need to keep doing things that are for me, as much as I can do things for me...

So we'll see what happens, I guess. :)

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Oh, come on--it's the last one! Doooo eeeet!

:-D

Fortunately, you don't have to decide just yet. :-D

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

Posting from the airport and about to start boarding, so gotta make this quick, but...

*tacklehugs* (Ha, no kicking me for that either, you broke character!)

Idol is totally badass, and you're a total badass too for a wide variety of reasons, including the fact that you haven't killed us all yet. Literally or metaphorically.

Shit, want to say more but I can't, flight's boarding. So! In conclusion, you rock, you've given something amazing to everyone here, and fuck anyone who wants to be a dick and lob grenades through the curtain when you pull it back.

Water balloons, however, are totally fair game. ♥

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Safe flight!!

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

I was just reading the Idol feed and saw a couple posts in the row that made me pause.

I didn't know mountain_hiker but I do know that his passing has affected a lot of people close to Idol.

Here is a post about where to donate in his name:

http://redqueenofevil.livejournal.com/590724.html

Even if you didn't know him, he was an LJer - and that's a special thing.

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. :(

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Second half! Woot woot!

Was just saying elsewhere how proud I am of the writing I've done during this mini-season and Idol in general. So grateful for all the time I've had here. Gonna see if I can wrangle a few of my non-Idol friends into writing in S9!

[anyonesghost.livejournal.com]

I know I've appreciated the mini-seasons. Not that I don't follow along (usually in lurker mode) for the regular ones ... but time makes a huge difference. ;-) This is containable. A full season, not so much for me. I already know I won't be throwing my hat into the ring for Season 9, so this willwould end up being my only shot at the actual competitor experience (ETA: unless maybe more mini-seasons were to happen).

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

The mini-season does feel much more doable than a regular season--it also feels to me, at least in this particular mini-season, like the decks aren't stacked against hoi polloi by the enormous presence of top-ranking veteran players. I love reading what many of those highly successful veteran players write, but it's nice to see others step into the limelight, too. Makes the game a little less predictable and a little more interesting. :)

[joyfulfeather.livejournal.com]

I'm glad a few other people have offered up things for the community chest that aren't writing related. I would feel dumb for offering a physical thing if no one else did. Also, though... I think it's awesome that a lot of writers are offering up their stories/ebooks - obviously this is idol and we've got a ton of awesome writers! But honestly, if by some miracle I were to stay in the game long enough to get something from the community chest, an already-written story wouldn't be my first choice unless I *knew* it was something I had a good chance of liking. I don't like reading things without knowing what sort of story it is, no more than I like eating something without knowing what's in it. Some people are adventitious and will read anything. Some of us aren't. So I'm glad there are a few other options for people like me!

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Cookies weren't an option, so my "thing" idea went out the window. ;) I'm really thrilled to see so many non-writing options in addition to the writing ones--variety is a happy thing!

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

Bwahaha, airplane wi-fi gives me magic intarwebz powers!

I totally forgot what else I was gonna say though. Bah, it's prob'ly just my brain rebelling since I skipped that whole "sleep" thing last night and stayed up packing. Brain's on strike until I agree to give it better, safer working conditions and start treating it in a reasonably humane fashion. #occupymyskull

Aaaaanyways. I am majorly digging the mini seasons. They're long enough to get me mentally and emotionally invested, but not long enough for complete insanity to set in. It seems like sheer endurance is less of a factor, which definitely shakes things up. Something else I've loved about the mini seasons is that they're (IMHO anyways) a much better (read: safer) place to experiment, branch out, and try shit you wouldn't normally try in a long season. You fuck up and fall on your ass in a mini season...okay, it sucks, but it's not like the main seasons, where it can be an entire year of work blowing up in your face due to one weak post, or you try something new, it flops, and you're out for the long-term as opposed to just a month or two before it's time to get back in the saddle with a clean slate. Falling off the curb vs falling off the roof, ya know? But, let's face it, the roof is generally a more exciting place to be than the curb, and nothing really compares to the intense, soul-consuming insanity (I mean that in a good way) of the regular seasons. tl;dr - The long and short seasons are different experiences, and both are extremely good experiences. Just different! And personally, I'd love to see more mini seasons, because this game is fun and addictive and really friggen helpful in a huge variety of ways, no matter which form it takes.

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

"The long and short seasons are different experiences, and both are extremely good experiences. Just different! And personally, I'd love to see more mini seasons, because this game is fun and addictive and really friggen helpful in a huge variety of ways, no matter which form it takes." <-- This. And I'd even pay another five bucks to do it. ;)

[oxymoron67.livejournal.com]

I just made reservations to visit my family in Pittsburgh next month.

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

Yay! How long will you visit? (If you have a little time, I really would encourage you to head out to Cleveland--CMA would make your heart go pitter-patter.)

[oxymoron67.livejournal.com]

I'm really enjoying this mini-season. I competed for the first time in Season 8, and I felt like I got a little lost in all the entries there.

I feel here that I've had more of a chance to shine (I also think I've written stronger pieces this time) and that I've gotten to know my competitors better.

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

"I feel here that I've had more of a chance to shine (I also think I've written stronger pieces this time) and that I've gotten to know my competitors better." Same here. S8 was rather unwieldy, even though I enjoyed my part in it. It's hard to savor 300 entries (or 200 entries, or even 100 entries).

I've enjoyed all your pieces this mini-season. So glad you decided to jump in. :)

[kajel.livejournal.com]

I have finished reading all the entries and now I just have to get my votes in! I usually do this pretty quick after the poll goes up, but this week has just been less conducive to getting things done in a timely manner! And now, instead of deciding what to make for dinner, I shall go sort and purge toys.

[michikatinski.livejournal.com]

I can relate to not getting stuff done in a timely manner, especially with kiddos around. :-D

[talon.livejournal.com]

Idol All-Stars would be super interesting. I'm quite tempted to go back in time and read entries from before when I joined (Season 6) to see who I missed. I remember hearing about a time before fiction was well received (gasp!) and when the cats and dogs slept together.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

You definitely should. There are a TON of great writers to be found.

Our Exhibit A winner was someone who came back from a pre-6 season. Which meant that a lot of folks didn't know/remember her. But she was someone who has *long* been on my "must have" for an All Star event.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

The thing I wonder about an All-Star season, is how to get people to participate as far as reading and voting.

I mean, there's a few of us seasoned bench-sitters who hang out in the Green Room anyway, and who are at least pretty good about reading and voting even when we're not competing. But let's face it, we're a small group (and probably some of them would be the potential All Stars). Most of the 200-300 people who start a season have drifted off by the end.

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

It's true. The *hope* is that out of the - for arguments sake - 100 people that would be selected that most of them would be people that other folks would be excited about seeing as well.

So they would come out and vote - plus the folks that *they* mention it to during the season.

It's still one of those "wouldn't it be neat" things that has been popping up in my head since, oh Season 3... but it's stronger right now than it has been in awhile.

[dreamsreflected.livejournal.com]

The mini-seasons have been the BEST thing that's happened to me this year second only to getting engaged this past Tuesday. I'd never have had to confidence to sign up for a "real" season, despite having lurked for the entirety of season 8. Somehow even surviving one week in Exhibit A gave me enough confidence to actually keep going, and for me that's crucial, because I never put myself out there with the stuff that matters to me, and having even a small amount of success writing for an audience here has made a major impact on my self worth and given me the confidence to tackle some major life projects (one that I've been putting off for 13 years due to extreme fear of failure - learning to drive) that were long overdue.

So yeah, thanks man, you rock and stuff.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

Best wishes on the engagement!

[x-disturbed-x.livejournal.com]

This is my first time doing idol so I was really nervous. :P I didn't think I'd make it past the first week but here I still am! It's been really fun and given me a chance to write things I wouldn't normally write. :)

[favoritebean.livejournal.com]

Me too- but it's been fun, and you write so well.

[favoritebean.livejournal.com]

If you are doing a regular season for 9, I would totally be in for that. I regret that I came to Idol so late in the game. It's totally been worth it for me though. Reading so many thought provoking pieces, making friends, writing on demand- it's been fun.


I would give something to the Community Chest too, although my main craft is music. Would anyone be interested in that?

[x-disturbed-x.livejournal.com]

I hope you do season 9. :) I'm considering it!

I would be. I think that would be pretty cool. :P

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

We think they might be going to finally hire one of our two and a part-timer open positions!!! :D