LJ Idol Presents:

 The deadline for this week's prompt is Thursday. Hopefully that gives everyone time to get their entry in!  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1161260.html


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I'm currently reading a book called "Cue the Sun" about the creation of reality television.  LJ Idol hasn't been mentioned yet. But I just started the chapters on Survivor. So I'm sure there's a whole section on us as well.  :) 

It starts all the way back with Candid Microphone (the precursor of Candid Camera)  and works its way up to modern times, weaving in the ways each new incarnation impacted the society around us. 

One that I thought was especially interesting was the show "Fact or Fiction", which was part of the same FOX show runner that gave us "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire" and all of the "World's Most Dangerous (fill in a blank here).  The Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction version is cited as being so successful that it helped propel the network to integrate other "entertainment over facts" programs in the FOX properties - which were already very popular on the radio - and spread out to all the other "news networks". 

But that's not MY major complaint about that show.  Not mentioned is that in order for it to be picked up, another fledgling show had to be cancelled. In this case, it was the show that interested me enough to get online and join a "Net forum" and interact with other fans for the first time!  It was a show called ROAR and if you haven't seen it, I don't know... maybe you shouldn't. I'm not sure it holds up. I'm not sure it held up at the time either.  :D 
But it DID star an actor who was making his US debut - Heath Ledger. So if you like Heath, check it out...

OMG, I just went to YouTube to see if there were any videos and someone uploaded the whole series! (well, at least the episodes that aired)  www.youtube.com/watch    I guess I know what I'll be doing... or not, maybe I don't want to ruin my memory of it.  :D 

 Work is starting to pick up, which is why I had to decline becoming the VP pick. This is the second time over the last couple months when I've had to tell a Presidential candidate that I wouldn't be able to serve as their VP.  Offering me a job is apparently a bipartisan goal. 

Which is extremely flattering. But I'm needed here at Idol. SOMEONE has to keep you people in line!! 

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Speaking of which, the results of the Write Off are in: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1151876.html

and we have a couple more days left to get entries in for the Week 5 prompt: therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1151017.html

Only a few entries are currently in, which means there is going to be a rush in the next two days. 

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How is your week going? 

The New York Times released their full list of Best Books of the 21st Century list   www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html

and I'm honored to say that 99 of them were my Idol posts!! I'm not sure how these qualify as "books", but I'm just grateful for the acknowledgement. I'm sure they are busy with all of the editorials about advocating for both Trump AND Biden to drop out of the Presidential race.  I'm glad they haven't asked ME to drop out yet.  Probably because I haven't officially thrown my hat in.... because I only have a couple hats and can't really afford to just be throwing them into rings to get stomped on or lost. 

Perhaps they are busy writing an editorial to advocate for getting me a new hat that I can then throw in... or maybe a used one that's already beaten up so I wouldn't care if it got damaged. That might be better. 

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I've substituted the Idol posts originally listed with other books in the above link, with other books by up-and-comers that I felt deserved some attention. How many of the 100 have you read? Which ones are now on your "I should check that out!" list based on the descriptions? 

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Remember that your own deadline is coming up soon - Sunday at noon ET. Still a LOT of people haven't posted yet, so this is going to be a busy couple of days!  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1143356.html

(or, I guess a massive bye-fest... I guess we will see how that shakes out...) 

 Last night I finished the novel "64" by Hideo Yokoyama.  Maybe it's just the mood that I'm in - but you know how sometimes the right book finds you at just the right moment? Yeah. This was that book and that was the moment.   The ratings seem to be all over the place on Goodreads, but I really loved it, which is the only important thing that you need to know. 

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What are some of the books that YOU have loved where other people had an "uh, it was OK..." or even "that was awful" reaction?  

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Something that NO ONE will have a negative reaction to is that the new prompt was posted - therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1109440.html

I'm pretty sure this is going to be the next to last prompt for this event. So if you've been waiting around... now would be the time to start writing! 

 I've been asked when Idol is going to start back up again.  My estimate is early January. Maybe I'll put the sign up sheet up (over at LJ) on New Years Eve again.  That seemed popular in the past, to start the year off with a goal of writing more in 2022! 

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We're still in Idol Minor+ though - so in the spirit of the thing: 

Who were some of the first people to encourage your writing? A parent? Teacher? Friends? Who did you that early encouragement of "This is something I should be doing?" 

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the new prompt is available at  therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1107400.html

 It's Wednesday, but it feels like Tuesday since I was off. :) 

Then again, tonight is Survivor and Tough as Nails, so I guess it really is Wednesday...

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The second prompt is feeling lonely, so go make friends with it!  https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1104538.html

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How are you doing today? 

We have reached our goal! Thank you to everyone who has donated for this mini season! It's definitely surpassed what I thought we were going to have for our Final Four!

(As long as nothing goes wrong with the Matching funds - and it shouldn't, since I recently verified) - that means if you make it to those last four spots, you are walking out of here with $125 each!

And one of you is walking out with the title of Winner, which is worth even more than that. Right??? I said, RIGHT??!!!

I've also been talking to a SECOND benefactor who wants to do something special for you guys as well. (NOT the finalists - this has a lot of potential, but I'm still working out the details)

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The new topic is available at https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1056795.html

So get to work and actually earn this money! :)

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Anyone have any good weekend plans?

Due to the national emergency, I will be seizing all of your money to pay for a wall around this week's topic: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1042725.html You will have to get a ladder to post your entries. Or tunnel under. Or come through the official port of entry with contraband hidden. And by contraband, I of course mean the entries themselves! ;)


Also there will be a wall around my lawn to keep you damn kids off of it!

The topic post is still very lonely: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1037999.html So start up a firepit in the middle of your home to thaw out and get moving on it!

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It's funny because yesterday I was reminded of how I never recall how old anyone is. Sure, it's because online you all look alike to me. (Also in person) How do you look? Like damn kids that need to get off my lawn!


Part of it is that I'm just bad at guessing ages. (I always assume that everyone is "about my age" unless I knew them when they were kids. In which case then it becomes a reminder of just how young I was back then. :D)

As the social media marker moves the "LJ model" further from the norm, the older the Idol demographic has become. I think we still end up with a pretty good mixture of ages and backgrounds. But I was also reminded that those 20-somethings that I saw coming in a few years back and mostly 30-somethings now!
(and so on)

There is a Second Chance poll going on, with the highest stakes yet! https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1033408.html

There is a deadline for the main competition tonight: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1032678.html

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There is also a question. It's one that I've been asked a few times over the years, and was recently asked it again a couple days ago.

It's an important question.

"Should I try to get my writing published?"

If you are at the point in your writing that you are asking that question - not "I'm awesome and I'm going to be the most famous writer EVER!" or "I just like writing for myself", then there is only one answer to that.

Yes.

Yes, you should be trying to get your work published.

You know it too, otherwise you probably wouldn't be asking the question. Maybe your work won't be right for the market you are trying/not what they are looking to publish. Maybe it'll be the wrong time.

But if you have that itch, you should try to scratch it.

Find someone who you trust to give you honest feedback, and who is a good enough writer that you think they have something to offer. Ask them to read and edit your work. (Even better - pay them to do it!) Talk about how to make it stronger.

Research your markets. Where do you want to be published. Is this something they are likely to be interested in? If not, can it be with a few tweaks? If not, is there something else you have that's better suited?

Keep banging your head against that wall. Persistence is a huge part of getting published. Persistence and a whole lot of luck. Talent keeps you in the conversation once you get in, but those two will help you get in the door.

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There of course is a bigger conversation involved in this - which is "Do I have something to say?" Because if you aren't saying anything that's uniquely you - if someone can read a ton of other writers doing the exact same thing, with the exact same perspective, then why would they bother? It's the same in Idol as it is in the broader publishing world. You need for people to *care* about what you writing about, and part of that is writing a story that only you can give them.