Green Room - Week 4 - Day 4

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Good morning.

I just responded to something from yesterday. I had something else in mind to talk about in the Green Room today, but the comment really hit me so I wanted to check in where more people would see it.

When I posted the "List of Shame" yesterday, there were some people who knew what it was about - and others who didn't.

The "List" used to be a regular thing - with everyone on the same page that the idea of "shame" was a playful, tongue-in-cheek thing. (That List part though was totally serious. It was a real list. :D)

It was my way of using the LJ tagging system to give people a "heads up" that the deadline was approaching, so it didn't blindside them.

Over the years though, "shame" started being a much more serious thing. Or rather - more to the point - people started recognizing that it was an actual serious thing.

The word became more loaded, and I started being a little uncomfortable with it. (and honestly, my assistant used to put it together and I stopped having as much time)

That lasted for awhile until Luna died. She had been the #1 advocate for bringing it back. So I brought it back, in her honor.

Seeing that did actually *demotivated* someone though - that brought the questions back up in my mind, that second guessing... because all of the evil being brought to bear (and believe me, none of the actual evil has surfaced yet this season, it's coming though!) is to get people writing and having a good time. I hope people *do* end up enjoying themselves this season, and if something *does* come up where you are impacted negatively by something that you let me know. Not saying that it will change anything - because it may just be that you're wrong. ;) But I definitely do want to know.


***
Reminder: The deadline is TONIGHT http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/965056.html

Comments

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

Hi all. I remember Luna's "list of shame" and I took it as the fun prompt that it was meant to be. Am I first?

looks like

[tijuanagringo.livejournal.com]

you were first ! CONGRATULATIONS and many many cookies come your way, may, yes.

the first thing to remember

[tijuanagringo.livejournal.com]

the first thing to remember is that we all will be eliminated, except for one writer, that is. Everyone else will be a loser. If we can take that with a spoonful of sugar, then...

maybe

we can triumph

each in our own way with words

so go ahead, have your way with me, sir, or madame, and

I will ask you was it as good for you as it is for me yes? Perhaps? Well okay then.

:-)

.

RE: the first thing to remember

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Well said! If you're only doing this to win, the odds are not in your favor.

I mainly participate for the social interactions and for kicking my writing into gear. Too easy to be distracted these days!

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

Holy cats I was first and here in training at the Seeing Eye as well. I hope all are well. I just wanted to pop in and say hi and apologize for not being able to comment as much as I would like. These next 2 weeks (ant eh previous one) are like boot camp and I don't have a whole lot of time because we are like little automatons and are shuffled from here to there to do things with our dogs. (sort of like Gary pulls the strings here but with more fur and much more love!). I'm trying to read as much as I can.
I hope all are well!
Nancy and
Yale

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

How is Yale doing? Is Yale a boy or a girl? Do you have chemistry together? Thinking of you!

[murielle.livejournal.com]

I equate the "list of shame" with the "cone of shame". Not discouraged by it at all. I am frantically trying to come up with something, anything so I don't have to use a bye this week.

Okay back to work!

[messygorgeous.livejournal.com]

LOL! Yes!

[messygorgeous.livejournal.com]

I am Catholic, so shame and guilt are just my M.O.
The "List of Shame" works really well with my world view, ha!
For me, I always found Luna's list a good motivator - especially when it was short! Then I knew I seriously needed to get cracking!

In other news, I finished my entry! Such a relief when you are struggling and inspiration just strikes you upside the head. I had that moment yesterday and simply cast everything else aside to get it down in a blur.

[murielle.livejournal.com]

Yay! I really struggled with this prompt, or maybe my brain got lazy during the break. But congratulations on posting an entry!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

I am a n00b so I was like HOLD ON THERE WAIT A SECOND because I have not even used any byes yet!

But then I did actually draft and post my piece... so it worked as intended for me. :)

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

It is a bit of an in joke here that Gary is a mean task master, when in truth he means such posts tongue in cheek.

I also don't believe he has ever actually kicked a hippie, but I could be mistaken. ;)

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

Within the LJ Idol community, we should be a bit aware of the intentions and meanings of comments like this. Because things are said and done within the structure of LJ Idol that are different from their usage in the rest of the world.

But some people find that difficult to compartmentalize. Ultimately, writers need to develop some understanding about and resistance to taking things too personally. But I do realize that not everyone is equipped.

[messygorgeous.livejournal.com]

There is a definite irreverence in Idol.

I am absolutely a hippie, but it would be silly for me to get offended at Gary's hippie kicking references. I also come from a rather sarcastic, teasing family where, if you aren't getting picked on, THAT means you aren't liked.

I agree as well, that as a writer, especially a writer in a contest, you need to have - or develop - a bit of a thick skin! We won't all get a trophy in the end, and that is ok!

[hwango.livejournal.com]

For me, it was trying to figure out if the "evil" really was all in good fun as I'd thought, or if Gary just liked screwing with us, and we were supposed to like it.

I'm fine with:

"Write until you can no longer meet the challenge!"
and
"Write until your entry is no longer good enough!"

I'm not interested in "Write until you can no longer stand the bullying and mind games!"

Fortunately, my concerns were unfounded.

[banana-galaxy.livejournal.com]

As I commented yesterday, I didn't even get an email notification that I'd been tagged in the list of shame. Then this morning I discovered that my link to my entry had not posted, so I'm glad I'd posted my entry early and I still had time to link my entry properly!

Shame is an interesting thing. I think people experience it in different ways. I had a conversation with my improv group a while back, shortly after the election, I think, where I confessed that I actually didn't feel shame for something most people would. I'm more ashamed that I don't feel shame about it, LOL. And it's only when I consider other people's perceived judgements that that even comes up.

But I did like that the GOP's sense of shame got them to drop their changes to the ethics commission bullshit they tried to pull.

Meanwhile, I'm producing my first improv show this weekend. I'm grateful that I've already sold a few tickets, but nervous I'm not going to sell enough to break even. Regardless, it'll be a fun night, and I'm looking forward to performing a longer set with my group, and just before we perform at SF Sketchfest and Hollywood!

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

Ooooh! Break a leg!!

[swirlsofblue.livejournal.com]

I completely understand the commenter's viewpoint if they haven't been familiar with Idol.

However, for me it's a kind of badge of honour. We've all got busy lives and no time to write, maybe through the week we're thinking of ideas while brushing our teeth or on the bus, waiting for a moment to write it down. Spent the week waiting for a writing window. And even if it's last minute, and we only have a sliver of time to write that we've carved from nothing, we're still going to try and see what we can create.

Having said that I'm exhausted and probably going to have a bye week this week ;).

[rswndrlst.livejournal.com]

I came by to post my entry just now and was like wait, list? there was a list?

I try to check out the LJI Comm daily even if I don't comment but I guess I missed yesterday's GR post.

So I wonder what that says about me that I didn't make said list even though I'm a chronic last minute poster.

In that respect I wouldn't mind ending up on a so called "List of Shame" because the deadlines are what really turn me on about LJI so even though public shaming is not my kink, I would take it from Gary/his minions if it was to motivate me TO WRITE. I jest but the connotations of the word shame are very real and if it's just a matter of wording, could it become the list of tardiness or somesuch?

I do second the commenter about not entering the break week challenge for fear of elimination and had never experienced a break week during LJI before. I only played in Season9 (I sacrificed out in week14). I might not have managed to write all four anyway because we ended up traveling over the holidays but I would have been more likely to try if I knew for sure there wouldn't be an elimination. At least I know for any future seasons I might participate in.

Regardless, I just posted my week4 entry and crossing fingers that I don't regret holding on to my byes because I am so down to keep writing and even though I maintain that I'm super awkward at the social aspect of this game,
it's great to have this community because I have few people offline who really understand what writing means to me.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I should have been on that list and didn't get notified, but I received a notification immediately today when tagging myself on my son's entry. Go figure.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

Man I am really out of my "normal" sync.

LJ notifications are broken. I haven't read comments in yesterday's GR yet.

My entry is up with HOURS to spare. HOURS, I say.

The LoS went up a day early. Just sayin. And I feel remiss for not including that in the FAQ, to warn the newbies.

Idol should really come with a warning label. There's very little that should be taken seriously around here.


Hours, I say.

[flipflop-diva.livejournal.com]

I work in journalism, where there are deadlines all the time. It's only shameful if you miss one. Otherwise, it's all success.

Like right now, I am going to post my entry. With 2.5 hours to spare. I consider that something to be proud of xD

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

Rock! Speaking as a former assistant editor at a daily newspaper, I concur.

What's that Douglas Adams quote? "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Essentials:

I am pleased to have my concerns addressed, though I feel bad about disrupting things. I want to make it very clear that I do not wish to "ruin it for everyone else." Everything is fine and I apologize for the misunderstanding. Also, this tagging system must depend on some sort of individualized setting, because I didn't get any kind of notification of the list, I just stumbled across it.

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Longer "What the Heck Just Happened?" Edition:

Hello! I am new to the community. When I did my initial investigation to see if I wanted to join, I concluded that this was a writing activity in which we would be issued impossibly difficult prompts, and those who could not meet the challenge would be hurled screaming into a volcano. That is, of course, an exaggeration - there would probably be no screaming.

But I did conclude that the "evil" was all in good fun, or I would not have signed up.

There have been a few little things that made me start to wonder if I'd come to the wrong conclusion, however. None of them were a big deal on their own, but in aggregate they were really starting to give me doubts. For example, the post for the Week 3 topic (brushback pitch) had this strange vibe of "this could wipe out tons of participants, but I'll do it anyway." Then there was the ambiguity over how the Break Week worked.

http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/962246.html?thread=82735302#t82735302

I never saw an official answer to this, and that left me wondering if those of us with concerns were meant to be frightened into not writing for it. That seemed mean. It also seemed slightly insane to discourage people from writing.

Finally, there was the List of Shame. On its own, I probably would have simply thought "that's not funny," and quietly gone about my business, but besides everything else it came a day after a post about how useful it can be to have beta readers, which to me was a suggestion to put in as much effort as you can to have a really polished piece to submit. But wait - now if you're still working on refining your entry, you are on the List of Shame!

And that's what finally broke me. I seriously wondered if I'd misunderstood the tone of the group.

But my concerns have been addressed, fears allayed, and everything is fine. I'm going to take a bye rather than try to salvage my entry at the last minute, but I hope to be back next week.

[kfp-rawr.livejournal.com]

http://kfp-rawr.livejournal.com/7184.html

[murielle.livejournal.com]

I equate the "list of shame" with the "cone of shame". Not discouraged by it at all. I am frantically trying to come up with something, anything so I don't have to use a bye this week.

Okay back to work!