LJ Idol Recommendation Post

[teaberryblue]

The poll for this week's round of LJ Idol closes at 9 EST tonight, and I haven't done a round-up of my favorite posts yet.

The theme this week was "Run, don't walk." It is a nice observation to note that I feel like at this point in the competition, most of the "dead wood" has been shorn away (although quite a few good entrants have left as well), and I would say a good 90% of the posts were at least interesting in some way, even if they didn't appeal to me. I really enjoyed reading this week, and I felt like some of this week's entries were people's strongest overall.

I have few recommendations for entries you may want to read. I'm sticking to talking about entries by people who weren't my lj friends before LJ Idol-- it seems like a good way to narrow it down.

I'm going to start with two that are close to the bottom of the polls and really don't deserve to be.

The first is fourzoas' post about what it means to be a leader. I really liked a lot of the personal observations fourzoas made in this post; I felt like it was very relatable and a solidly structured piece of writing. Read it here

The second is unlikekudzu's post about being polite to strangers. It is a simple sentiment and a short piece but there are some lovely language choices while still sticking to a very colloquial voice. Read it here

I don't think either of these entrants deserve to go home this week, and unlike the last time I pimped someone's post because I wanted to see them stick around in the competition, I have no personal ties to either of these entrants.

My other favorites of the week:

beautyofgrey wrote a lovely series on vignettes on the theme of motherhood. Read it here

kenakeri wrote a modern-day retelling of the classic selkie legend. Read it here

oberonia wrote a touching story about a young girl learning to push her limits. Read it here

oneonthefence retold a memory from her childhood that was both chilling and poignant. Read it here

tamaraland recalled a memory as well-- hers of a tiny bit of calm in a sea of devastation. Read it here

My entry is here if you missed it!

Links to all the entries, plus the poll to vote for the ones you like, is behind the cut!


[Poll #1515584]


ALSO--

After this past week's discussion of concrit, and since it's the first week in a while that I managed to read every entry, I would like to open up the floor to requests. I can't promise I will get to everything, but if anyone wants to know what I thought of your piece, go for it.

Comments

[beautyofgrey.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the mention!

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Of course! I really consistently enjoy your stuff and I really did like the way you organized your entry this week. It made it stand out a lot.

[fourzoas.livejournal.com]

I came over to read your comic for this week and found this lovely mention; thank you so much!

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I really liked your post a lot! I think you made a lot of perceptive observations about yourself that went beyond the kind of heart-pouring-out sort of observations that people often talk about in Idol.

[tamaraland.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pimping. I'm not doing so well this week!

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure why, I thought your post was really well-written and effective. I know I already said that, but I was surprised by your standings compared to other weeks, too!

[jack-batelin.livejournal.com]

I'd love to know what you thought of my entry.

I realize that I'm all outside of the LJ Idol box what with doing different chapters in fiction (especially knowing from last season that fiction doesn't typically do well.)

I've never said, but I have loved your posts and respected your Green Room comments. So, I'd really appreciate any thoughts that could help me become a better writer.

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks so much for the kind words!

Okay!

I think your tone is really strong. I love the clipped phrases, the sparsity of language you use, because when you do add more detail, it makes it more important, and it also creates a nice pace. I don't get lost mid-sentence.

I also think you have a good grasp on a character type that you are writing, and your pacing is good, and fits the theme of the week, where it starts slowly and gets more rushed in the end.

The one weak point, for me, is that there is a lack of specificity. I had trouble figuring out exactly what they were doing in the first few paragraphs, and I think in genre fiction especially, specifics ground it and make the reader feel like the writer knows what they're talking about. Adding in some more specific details of investigatory work, or even just of this case, would have helped, I think. I think you could add in some detail to the piece without using more detailed language (which would be jarring with the clipped tone).

I hope that makes sense and is helpful!

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

W00t! Thanks for the pimpin'. I appreciate it, and am curious to see what topic we'll both be working on tonight :)

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

No problem! I thought you did a great job this week. It's a perfect example about how someone can write about a dark side of their past in a way that is engaging and not self-pitying.

And me too! I am excited for it!

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

Thanks for saying that - I try not to write "pity me" posts, ever, for LJ Idol. Sure, shitty stuff has happened, but I don't want people to feel sorry for me. I just want them to read, and know they aren't alone - because my story belongs to others, too (as I've found out from some comments I've received). So it's nice knowing that my writing has helped other people come forth and say, "yes, me too, it's terrible, but look, we're both still living!" I think that's my favorite part of it. So thank you.

And yeah - I think tonight will be fun :)

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I think it takes a certain type of skill to be able to write about something that happened to you but with the objective critical eye to make it an interesting story, and you do that well. Your story was as suspenseful as a good piece of fiction. I don't get the sense that you're looking for sympathy or attention, ever-- and it's the kind of story that I've seen told by other people for just that purpose. I get the sense that you are sharing a story with us.

[oneonthefence.livejournal.com]

Again, thanks - I'm glad you see that, and thanks for the compliment. I try to write about it in a personal manner, but am able to technically distance myself from it enough so that it doesn't sound like "I'm writing this so you feel badly for me, so vote for me because I need to win OMG!!11!!11!!!1!"

Seriously, though, I was simply sharing a story, and hoping others would find it well-written and engaging. I'm glad that, for some, that seemed to work!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Concrit my entry! :D

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

The strongest part, for me, was the scene with the blackbirds. I liked how you used them as a metaphor for the 19th century millinery industry, and it really worked well for me.

I felt like your choice to write in phonetic dialect was a stumbling block, especially since I really never saw giraffes as having Texan accents. I could have done without that. It pulled me out of the story.

The pacing was good, especially in the scene with the meringue of death. I liked how you slowed everything down when Bill ate the meringue and began to bleed from the eyes. It really contrasted with the opening part and the quick pace you established there.

I think you overused the word "ignominious" a bit too much in this story, though, unless you were doing it deliberately to recall the way Mary Shelley uses it in pretty much every other paragraph of Frankenstein. I couldn't tell.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

LOL!! okay now I need to go WRITE this story! :D

[zia-narratora.livejournal.com]

Excellent! My brilliant plan is working!