Work Room - Week 1

[clauderainsrm]

Hello there, and welcome to your first "Work Room".

For those who are new - or generally missed it in the FAQs - the Work Room is a space to bounce ideas and talk about writing. Yours. Other peoples. Give and take advice.

It's your space. I'm sure you can come up with something to do with it.

Every once in awhile, I'll bring in a "Mentor" to Tim

Comments

[phoenixejc]

Ay! what to do? Fiction? Or non? I have lots of experience with church-going in my past, so I have lots to draw from that could be creatively express in either manner.

[teaberryblue]

I think, for this week, even though the topic ISN'T "Introductions," it's important to remember that your entry WILL serve as your introduction to everyone else. You want to write something that will introduce them to what they can expect from you this season.

So, think about what you want to achieve in Idol this season as a writer. What are your goals? And then write something that will help other people understand who you are and where you're coming from in this season of Idol. I think answering that will help you decide what type of writing will suit this entry best!

[phoenixejc]

Great point! I honestly expected the topic to be some synonym of "Introduction." That's what I get for trying to predict something in Idol, eh? Thanks, Tea!!

[teaberryblue]

Well, it could be a synonym for introduction if you turn it around in the light. :-D

[teaberryblue]

Gary!! We have some wonky formatting stuff goin' on here!!

[clauderainsrm]

Fixed it. Sorry about that!

[teaberryblue]

Hooray!!!

[xreesex]

pssst, it still looks wonky on my end.

[honeybeewriter]

Hmmm I'm honestly not sure what direction I want to take with this one....

[malruniel11]

Go left. Everyone else is either going right or straight on, and a few have turned around and high-tailed it. You should go left. You will stand out. <3

[honeybeewriter]

Maybe I'll go in a squiggle ;)

[malruniel11]

Ooh! YES! *giggle*

[i_love_freddie]

Ah... nothing is immediately coming to mind with this topic, which isn't a very encouraging way to start.

Maybe doing some boring stuff will help me to think.

[teaberryblue]

Sometimes when nothing comes to mind, I google the topic, and go to Wikipedia and search for things that remind me of the topic. Sometimes I take the words and run them through a thesaurus.

Definitely don't just stress yourself out by focusing totally on the topic! Give yourself a break and time to let things come to you!

[drjeff]

Perfectly put. Topics are hardest for me when I think them straight on. Googlin' is good, taking a walk is even better. Waiting a day after Googlin' and walking is best. It's in there, we just have to give it a chance to appear.

[monkeysugarmama]

I like to digest it, but I also fear waiting TOO long and disappearing into the masses here in the early weeks!

[rhetoricians]

Tea! I know you! *frantic Kindergarten wave*

I think I know the direction I want to take. I just don't know how long to make it. Not too short but not so long you don't want to read it ...

[cacophonesque]

That's another thing I sometimes forget about--in the early weeks, especially, length is an important consideration. Too short and people think you're lazy. Too long and people may skip over it when there are 225+ entries to read. It's a Goldilocks conundrum!

[teaberryblue]

HI PATRICIA!

I think for the first week, something between 500 and 1000 words is good. I have read and voted for shorter and longer entries, but I feel like something in that ballpark range will give you enough to play with.

It also depends on the nature of your entry. Some people have written poetry or done photoessays or things like that-- I drew comics one year. So I think my introductory post the first year had maybe 40 words in it, total? If fewer words works for your angle on the contest, fewer can't hurt.

[serpentpixie]

I'm just jumping in here to say that "too long" and "too short" aren't the point - it'll be the length it needs to be. If your writing is compelling then people will read it. Last season when I was playing I could often tell within the first two or three lines of a piece whether I wanted to vote for it or not, and it didn't have anything to do with the overall length. Some of my favourite pieces throughout the season were very short or very long.
/probably not helpful at all.