Green Room - Week 8 - Day 3
Hey, what's this? It's some sort of box. Kind of smells like detergent. I wonder who left it here?
Hmmm, maybe I should step up on it and say a word or two.
Wait, first I have the usual business to take care of - you should always take care of the important stuff first.
The Topic for main competition is http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/409009.html
The Second Chance Idol sign ups are http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/408328.html and let's go ahead and make it official - the deadline for sign up is Friday Jan 7th at 7pm EST - so if you are dragging your feet/know someone who is, are anxious about the polls and want to jump over for whatever reason, that's all the time you have to make up your mind.
There is also the Work Room, which is a place where writers can come together and bounce off ideas and just plain feel free to talk about writing in general. It can be a great research tool, for people who decide to utilize it.
***
"People who decide to utilize it". Aha. I knew that I put that thought somewhere!!
I'm not going to stand up on this box. But I will stand next to it.
A couple comments caught my attention over the past few days. Mostly because they kind of made me turn my head to one side like a dog watching the space shuttle.
One was the idea that people aren't interacting/commenting this season as much as they have in previous seasons.
Another was the folks didn't feel like they had gotten much of an opportunity to meet some of the other contestants.
The reason that I heard the most was how competitive it was from the get-go this time around. So people didn't feel like they really got a chance to breathe and stretch.
What interested me about this, is that if you asked the vast majority of current contestants (and most of them have volunteered this information at one point or another) the one thing you would have heard about their motivations for being here was to write and maybe make some new friends.
Which means "how are you are doing in the polls" is a secondary concern. At least that's how I read it. Obviously no one wants to go home.
But as has been said time and time again - eventually, everyone does. In the end, there's only one person left standing.
There is no "proper order" and someone out "before their time" means there is a greater chance that someone that you aren't paying attention to, but should be, might just have a chance at catching your eye.
The fact that only one person can come out on top means that for everyone else, you are playing for the experience.
The question being - what kind of experience do you want to have?
Do you want to have more interaction with your fellow contestants on a casual basis? Don't hold back - engage them. I see a lot of the same faces talking to people they already know.
The best way to meet new people - is to actually meet them.
For the newbies this does mean coming out to the Green Room, or even the Work Room and saying a few words now and again. It can be intimidating. But if it's something you want, that's part of how you get it.
For the veterans - you have to provide the example by stepping up to that plate and *engaging* the newbies when you see one take that step. You have been there. You know how hard it was to post that first time. You know how you felt when a veteran responded to you - when you "got" the first in-joke. Those veterans stepped up to the plate and made you feel welcome. (or you and a bunch of your newbie friends made yourself at home in spite of them! Either way, a move was made!) If you want interaction, part of that is showing what the community spirit is all about.
Do you want comments on your entries? There is one way that I have seen that works season after season. The best way to get responses - is to respond to other people's work. They appreciate it. The same way you do. Most of them will turn around and read your work (if they aren't already).
There are a lot of entries to get through in a week. With Second Chance, there are even more coming in. Putting that best foot forward, and engaging other people the way you want to be engaged is a way to stand out from the crowd, as well as getting that back and forth that you want from other writers.
It sounds really straight forward and pretty darn simple.
That's because it is.
It's "the fun" that some people find themselves missing.
Right there.
All for the investment of just a little bit of time and effort toward people you haven't met yet. Maybe even friends you haven't met yet.
I've met almost all of the contestants at this point in at least one email exchange. Even the ones who haven't really communicated - I've read all of their entries since we started. This is an amazing group of people and writers. A lot of them not getting anywhere near the attention that their work deserves.
It would be a shame if you were too busy focusing on "not being last" that you missed out on the real victory of Idol , forming new friendships with some of them.
Who is going to be the first to step forward and extend their hand?
The Second Chance folks are all about "re-introductions" right now. But it seems to me that the main competition could use a little of that spirit as well.
*picks the box up and puts it in storage, just in case he needs it at some other point*
Hmmm, maybe I should step up on it and say a word or two.
Wait, first I have the usual business to take care of - you should always take care of the important stuff first.
The Topic for main competition is http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/409009.html
The Second Chance Idol sign ups are http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/408328.html and let's go ahead and make it official - the deadline for sign up is Friday Jan 7th at 7pm EST - so if you are dragging your feet/know someone who is, are anxious about the polls and want to jump over for whatever reason, that's all the time you have to make up your mind.
There is also the Work Room, which is a place where writers can come together and bounce off ideas and just plain feel free to talk about writing in general. It can be a great research tool, for people who decide to utilize it.
***
"People who decide to utilize it". Aha. I knew that I put that thought somewhere!!
I'm not going to stand up on this box. But I will stand next to it.
A couple comments caught my attention over the past few days. Mostly because they kind of made me turn my head to one side like a dog watching the space shuttle.
One was the idea that people aren't interacting/commenting this season as much as they have in previous seasons.
Another was the folks didn't feel like they had gotten much of an opportunity to meet some of the other contestants.
The reason that I heard the most was how competitive it was from the get-go this time around. So people didn't feel like they really got a chance to breathe and stretch.
What interested me about this, is that if you asked the vast majority of current contestants (and most of them have volunteered this information at one point or another) the one thing you would have heard about their motivations for being here was to write and maybe make some new friends.
Which means "how are you are doing in the polls" is a secondary concern. At least that's how I read it. Obviously no one wants to go home.
But as has been said time and time again - eventually, everyone does. In the end, there's only one person left standing.
There is no "proper order" and someone out "before their time" means there is a greater chance that someone that you aren't paying attention to, but should be, might just have a chance at catching your eye.
The fact that only one person can come out on top means that for everyone else, you are playing for the experience.
The question being - what kind of experience do you want to have?
Do you want to have more interaction with your fellow contestants on a casual basis? Don't hold back - engage them. I see a lot of the same faces talking to people they already know.
The best way to meet new people - is to actually meet them.
For the newbies this does mean coming out to the Green Room, or even the Work Room and saying a few words now and again. It can be intimidating. But if it's something you want, that's part of how you get it.
For the veterans - you have to provide the example by stepping up to that plate and *engaging* the newbies when you see one take that step. You have been there. You know how hard it was to post that first time. You know how you felt when a veteran responded to you - when you "got" the first in-joke. Those veterans stepped up to the plate and made you feel welcome. (or you and a bunch of your newbie friends made yourself at home in spite of them! Either way, a move was made!) If you want interaction, part of that is showing what the community spirit is all about.
Do you want comments on your entries? There is one way that I have seen that works season after season. The best way to get responses - is to respond to other people's work. They appreciate it. The same way you do. Most of them will turn around and read your work (if they aren't already).
There are a lot of entries to get through in a week. With Second Chance, there are even more coming in. Putting that best foot forward, and engaging other people the way you want to be engaged is a way to stand out from the crowd, as well as getting that back and forth that you want from other writers.
It sounds really straight forward and pretty darn simple.
That's because it is.
It's "the fun" that some people find themselves missing.
Right there.
All for the investment of just a little bit of time and effort toward people you haven't met yet. Maybe even friends you haven't met yet.
I've met almost all of the contestants at this point in at least one email exchange. Even the ones who haven't really communicated - I've read all of their entries since we started. This is an amazing group of people and writers. A lot of them not getting anywhere near the attention that their work deserves.
It would be a shame if you were too busy focusing on "not being last" that you missed out on the real victory of Idol , forming new friendships with some of them.
Who is going to be the first to step forward and extend their hand?
The Second Chance folks are all about "re-introductions" right now. But it seems to me that the main competition could use a little of that spirit as well.
*picks the box up and puts it in storage, just in case he needs it at some other point*