Work Room - Week 2

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The Week 1 results are up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/717791.html

and the new Topic is coming shortly. edit to add link: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/718214.html

I usually post the new topic first, and then the Work Room. Most weeks, you will see that formula. This week though, I’m changing it up a bit!

Why? Because I want to mention a couple things before people start posting:

(1) It’s not a race. Regardless of any gimmicks out there, you should take the time to work on your entries until you are satisfied with them. (Well, within the allotted time period!) If you can bang out something awesome - great! If you just want to do something for the sake of getting it done, well, OK. But they say that every week is someone’s first time reading you.

That’s especially true in the first couple weeks of Idol.

If you pick up a book from an author you don’t know and it’s not something you want to read, will you check out the second? Maybe. But if the second one isn’t either, I doubt you are going to give the third a glance on the shelf.

Which isn’t to say that some people can’t do great things in a short period of time. Of course they can - a glance at any given week’s Topic post has tons of great stuff on the first couple of pages. I just want to make sure that I’ve said it. Hopefully you will keep that in mind.

(2) if you have to write “the topic is” or “when I saw the topic” in order to get to where you are going, OK. But it had better be the best damn thing I’ve ever seen. Because you’ve pretty close to losing me at that point. Let the topic guide you - not handcuff you to a spot. These are your entries, in your voice, in that moment, make me forget there is a writing competition at all, and I’m just there to enjoy what you have to say.

You do that, and you’re going to be in a good position to keep me coming back for more.

(3) Have fun. Don’t let any of this get to you. Because at the end of the day, it’s about you having a good time doing something that you love.

***

What gave you the biggest problems during Week 1? How do you think you can overcome them for Week 2?

Comments

[sensitivinferno.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem was being a facetious jackass! I plan to actually provide some worthwhile content for Week 2.

[anyonesghost.livejournal.com]

^^^ This, actually. Hooray for facetious jackasses! *high-fives*

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

What gave me the biggest problem during Week 1 was resisting the urge to respond to the prompt with an LJI specific version of The Aristocrats.

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

I... still wish you had done this. But I am a bad, bad person.

[kecharasmoon.livejournal.com]

aye aye cap'n!

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I would add that there's no harm in doing some free writing on the topic before you actually whittle it down to what matters. Put all the words down as they come into your head, and then go back and remove the stuff that's filler.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

Ha, this. I removed about half of my original entry before I posted it. I assure you it was not missed. XD

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

Honestly, the biggest problem I had with week 1 was that I was dealing with a lot of emotional stuff in my personal life. I didn't feel like writing at all, and my sole idea for the prompt was something silly. Making that work, despite not really feeling silly (which is rare for me. I'm a silly critter), was hard.

I'm hoping that I'll feel a better connection to the prompt next time around. Guess we'll see...

[eska818.livejournal.com]

I had this issue also - and it become my writing topic. I'm still not sure if this is/was a good or bad thing.

[eska818.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem was freaking out about the voting... I've never really put any writing "out there" for people to accept or reject, and I've kind of been beside myself all week, wishing I'd done a better job, or written something more inspiring.

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

Try to keep in mind that people click on the ticky boxes for lots and lots of reasons ("this is my friend!" "I loved this piece!" "I recognize that name" "I'd like to see more of their stuff in the future" and zillions more) and don't click for just as many (including "didn't have time to read this one" "I didn't like it" "couldn't quite see the correlation with the topic" "I voted for x number of people in this tribe, and that's all I'm voting for" "they're not on my friend's list" and a zillion others).

Try not to correlate votes or lack thereof with flat-out acceptance or rejection, because that's not what's going on. Also, it'll help save you some sanity for later on. ;)

[witchwife.livejournal.com]

Was totally one of the offenders with posting the topic before my entry! Beginner's mistake? ;)

The biggest problem during Week 1..
I suppose like, posting the topic before my entry. It won't happen again, sir.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

Your entry was strong enough overall for me to overlook it. Although I get pickier about stuff like that depending on my mood or how long people have been playing.

[poppetawoppet.livejournal.com]

Probably spacing my time better to write my entry (and my alt entry too) and thinking of a million ways to fix it. Not reading any entries this week (many apologies as time just flew)

This week I definitely want to plan better

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

I should add no time to read this week between illness, work and RL. :(

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

This household's biggest problem was that ravenshrinkery got really, really sick, and that sort of threw everything off around here. :(

My biggest problem, personally, was a succession of ideas, none of which flowed at all when I tried to write them out even though they sounded awesome in my head.

[lrig-rorrim.livejournal.com]

Ugh, sick SUCKS. I hope everyone is feeling better now.

[tatdatcm.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem in week one, and with my writing in general, is avoiding those cliched and predictable phrases and situations.

I think I rely on them too much to bring my reader to where I want them to be. There are other, better ways to accomplish the same goals. They offer a common frame of reference because people are familiar with them, but I think using them too much makes a piece trite and gives it less power.

[witchwife.livejournal.com]

I can definitely identify with this! And then sitting there trying to think of a more unique way to describe something and getting frustrated over how clunky and awkward it sounds. I'm with ya!

[favoritebean.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem after deciding what to do was to get permission to write on my topic from others that were in the situation. Since my topic wasn't fiction, I needed to know how much I could give away before doing it.

Following that, writing the actual dialogue is always tough for me.

After that, worrying about whether the subject was too existential or otherwise. Having beta readers helps on that end.

[tatdatcm.livejournal.com]

Dialogue is tough for me too. It never sounds natural to me as I'm writing it.

(I had deleted recklessblues with no hyphen, which I used in Exhibit B)

[reckless-blues.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem was I just made this journal and I kept forgetting the damn password.

Re: (I had deleted recklessblues with no hyphen, which I used in Exhibit B)

[eska818.livejournal.com]

this made me lol. <3

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

There was a whoooole lot of #2 this week. I'm pretty sure I did it at least once in season 8, but omg it gets tiresome reading that over and over. :D

My biggest problem this week was that I'm still recovering from a huuuuuge writing slump. I was on some medications that totally screwed with my brain and it got to the point where I couldn't write anymore. I've been writing daily again since January, but I don't have the same flow and confidence I had for a while before things got all weird.

Besides that, I haven't written for a prompt or a deadline in I don't know how long, and I wasn't positive I could even come up with anything that wasn't total crap. I didn't feel like writing something funny, or inspired to do any fiction. I've been working with the same universe and characters so long that I almost don't remember how to make new ones.

Which is how I ended up with nonfiction, which is not something I generally excel at. I felt pretty good about what I wrote, and I think what I need to do for week 2 (and hopefully beyond, if I make it that far) is re-learn how to think around the prompts and find inspiration in weird places like I did in season 8. Most importantly, I need to be willing to try new things.

[dizzydog.livejournal.com]

There was a whoooole lot of #2 this week.

The four year old in me won't let me keep reading past this because he's having giggle fits :D

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I kept getting super distracted. It probably would have been funny if there wasn't a deadline, but as it was, I had the awfullest time staying focused enough to finish the piece.

[sweeny-todd.livejournal.com]

getting through the reading *shakes head*

I ended up reading everything, and commenting on half (and next week I will start with commenting on the people I didn't get to comment on this week) but I am not sure what else I can do about that...

I guess one of my biggest... I am going to call it a concern... is how out of character my writing was.

[witchwife.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the reading was a struggle for me too. Not like it wasn't enjoyable, because it was. There was just so much of it!

I'm thinking of trying to make my submission this week a bit shorter. Kicking myself for making something so drawn out in the first few weeks!

[jenandbronze.livejournal.com]

Mine was so different from the rest... mine didn't fit with the topic at all and I'm still surprised I'm still standing around all of you! I felt out of place since I felt like I totally screwed up!

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

The topic is just a starting point and I think you'll find people veer from it. Some of the best entries I've read over the seasons don't necessarily stick to the topic, but just jump start an idea.

I give myself permission for that as it seems my creative juices rev up better if I don't tie myself down to being too topical. :)

[dizzydog.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem was wrestling my awesome like an alligator until it served me instead of eating me! Or something.

Actually the biggest difficulty I had with week one was the feeling that the first idea I came up with wouldn't be big enough or "WOW" enough to do it for the first real vote, and having it sit firmly in my brain blocking any other idea from coming forward. I ended up going with it in the last hour or two and it worked, but I still feel like I need to really top it this week.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I went with my first idea, too, and I really wasn't convinced I could make anything even remotely okay out of it. It was a huge relief when I managed to write something I wasn't ashamed to post.

[x-disturbed-x.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem was trying to come up with something different from my usual style to write. I want to try something new and not do the same things over and over but I have trouble coming up with new ideas.

I'm hoping next week to do something different. Hopefully that is.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

This. I am so used to writing Cliffton that I have no idea how to come up with new ideas anymore.

[jenandbronze.livejournal.com]

Missing a stair? Are we going singular and not plural now?! LMAO! Hmmm, this one will get quite interesting... the topics are getting harder and harder, which makes the creative juices work harder!

[witchwife.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm really racking my brains with this one! Everything I've come up with so far seems like I'm just throwing the 'Missing Stair' part in there haphazardly. Need to think of a more meaningful way to incorporate it.

Have any ideas you're looking to sell? hahah

[mothermelete.livejournal.com]

So I only have very limited times to write (example: I'm *supposed* to be working on math homework. Since I'm not, I'm going to be up super late which will make me super irritable in the morning. Ugh.) so my biggest issue is going to be getting thoughts out, typing them up, and then leaving time to beta/edit/re-write. And making sure to give it a break before I post it.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

It took me a long time to get past hating the prompt. I had a couple ideas, but thought they would too easily become "lame" or "stupid" instead of funny. Then, about the time I decided to take a bye, I had the Crossroads idea.

Then the problem was deciding how to structure the story (start present then look past or start past then bring it forard). Plus, I was super afraid I would fail at writing "creepy."

Best help getting me through that - excellent (patient) writing buddies to kick things around with.

Best thing I learned this week? Try starting with a draft zero. I knew I wanted to write first person narrator, but couldn't get into his shoes right away, so I started writing a 3rd person bare bones (here's what's going to happen...) version, which helped tremendously.

Multiple drafts are your friends.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I had to do the same thing for the last first person thing I wrote. The third person draft was horrible and awkward, but it gave me a framework to build on when I was trying to create a voice later.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

My biggest week 1 problem was having too much stuff going on to start drafting early. (Luckily I can compose things in my head and then write them later and not lose much).

My biggest problem this week might be that I've got nausea from hell, am so physically exhausted that getting up from the couch to walk 15 feet to the bathroom leaves me wiped, and I can't seem to stay upright with my eyes open for very long at all. SO says that it's probably because I lost a pint or two of blood yesterday and was given some medications for which I'm not sure of the side effects.

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

Ugh, hopefully you will feel better soon. The blood loss is probably a big part of it, drink juice if you can get it past the nausea.

[p-m-cryan.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem in Week 1 was in keeping my prose lean and concise, when in fact I wanted to bleed all over the keyboard, metaphorically speaking.

We'll see, won't we, whether Week 2 will leave me wishing to bleed or howl.

[lordrexfear.livejournal.com]

How about bleed and howl?!

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

I've never used, when I saw the topic or any variation there of, but I didn't know just mentioning the topic alongside the week number is apparently a 'no-no' for some people. I've done it as a courtesy for my non-idol flisties so they can choose to read or skip based on the topic. :(

Curious how many voters feel the topic should be left off the entry entirely?

My biggest problem this week was ongoing respiratory problems that have left me without a humorous bone in my body and feeling that the serious issue I tackled required too many words for an early entry. I also didn't feel like I had a compelling first sentence to really draw the reader in. :(

[crazed_delusion]

People putting the topic don't really bother me, as I assume they are mostly putting it as a courtesy to their friends list *shrug*

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, now that the topic is posted... my first thought was creepy/horror, which I bet means it's a lot of other people's first thought. I write some pretty horrifying things, but I don't excel at writing in the horror genre.

My second thought was "something psychological." I have no idea what that means, but it intrigues me.

Brainstorms? Word vomit? Ideas? Complaints?

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

My first thought was YA mystery type thing - like Nancy Drew - so similar to you.