LJ Idol Exhibit B: Week 13 Voting Recs

[alycewilson]

Now that I'm no longer in the competition, I feel comfortable sharing my recommended reading/voting list for the Top 10. They are all, of course, awesome in their own way, but my personal favorites were:'

favoritebean, who used the same topic as I did for my home-game entry, "Glitter Afternoon Post" and turned it into a compelling fantasy story with strong

Comments

This inspired my own mini rant. Forgive me.

[author_by_night]

The second to last post reminds me of so many people I've known, both in fandom and IRL, though Iago (my name for people like that)) took it further than these people did. I even had people on my flist who'd turn completely innocent posts into horrible shit that I had the nerve to say. For a while half my posts were "I'm so sorry, I can't believe I said it that way, I know I'm terrible", to the point where my other friends basically had to explain to me that I hadn't done anything wrong. Looking back, I have no idea why it took me so long to just weed people like that out. And I also was in a group of online friends where we had not one but two Iagos, one of whom I'm convinced helped push my friend over the edge. I don't think that was all of it, a LOT of crap went down in her life all at once, but Iago definitely played a part

Re: This inspired my own mini rant. Forgive me.

[alycewilson]

Exactly! My whole attitude towards how I deal with interpersonal relationships was shaped partly by a yoga instructor I had about a decade ago. He taught us that there was no shame in walking away from negative people. I've taken that further to reach the point where, if a certain relationship causes me grief (and you're not a family member or someone to whom I'm inextricably tied), I just walk away from that relationship.

I like the term "Iago" to describe those "griefers." It speaks remarkably well to their practices and motivations. They tend to be people seeking power, and the way they gain personal power if through manipulating friends and confidants.

[halfshellvenus]

Thanks so much for the rec!

[alycewilson]

You're welcome. You deserve it. I can't fathom why you're not getting more votes.

[halfshellvenus]

Thank you!

I wonder if people don't realize how challenging it is to write solid humor? It takes actual work, but is often overlooked. :(

[kathrynrose]

Thanks for the rec!

[alycewilson]

You're welcome! I really enjoyed reading it.

[porn_this_way]

Thank you so much for the rec, and for the encouraging words. (Encouraging me is usually a dangerous thing, but you knew that already :P )

[alycewilson]

LOL That's OK. I'll take the risk; it's worth it for the results. You get major props from me by going for comedy nearly every week and still writing some of the most insightful, probing and downright DEEP entries in this competition. In a contest that more and more favors fiction, I tip my hat to you!

[favoritebean]

I was without electricity today (yay, exploding transformers on a hot summer day), so I just now saw this.

Thank you for the recommendation. I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you enjoyed the piece.

[alycewilson]

You're welcome. I hope it makes a difference. I'll try to share the link again tomorrow when people are paying more attention to teh Internets.