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penpusherI don't really have to do a lot of convincing when it comes to this topic, especially since a lot of people on my feed are or have been participants in the experience, but to preserve the concepts and to lay out my thoughts about it, this seems like a perfect time to take a moment, before the challenges of the season begin, to examine why this is both useful and needed. And maybe to encourage you to sign up for LJ Idol's 20th Season: HERE.
I think one of the things that we, as writers, need is structure. A lot of the time, we may want to write, but we may not know what or about... and in a writing competition, we are always offered options, prompts that give us a hint about something, but always leave room for interpetation. That's one of the great elements of LJ Idol. You always have some direction but you're free to choose your own way to go.
Feedback. I always say that there are three things that make a good writer. The first is reading. You have to read. You need to get a sense about what others are writing and you need to read to understand what that's all about. But let's put a little tweak in it. Not only should you be reading, but you should analyze what the writer is doing or attempting to do, as a part of the process. This is more true for successful and bestselling writers than anyone else, just for the record. Analyzing the methodology of how a writer works can help you determine how you want to proceed as a writer, yourself. Reading and Analysis go hand in hand when developing your writing style.
LJ Idol helps because you are reading everyone else's assignments, so you are getting in a lot of reading! That's a big postitive because the writers in this competition are all very fine and are very worth reading. I'm not just kissing up here, We have some very worthy scribes, some are published, some are just great at what they have done and others have been around the competition for the full twenty years!
The second thing you need to do to become a good writer is to write. This may seem obvious but the only way to write is to write and that's crucial in LJ Idol. You are being "judged" by everyone reading along and so you better write things good! I think the beauty of the format is that even if you have a "bad" week, you didn't really do what you wanted with the prompt, you didn't have the time to complete the entry to your own satisfaction, that could still be okay, if you just did well enough to survive the elimination. There are reprieves built into how it works and these allow you more chances to succeed.
Writing gets you into a mindset... what are you saying? How do you want to say it? Who are you talking to? What message do you want them to receive? The more you write, the more those things become clearer for yourself. LJ Idol is a great place to hone those skills because every week there's something new, a new approach, a new angle, a new topic that will take your writing to new places. It's a literal exercise in flexing your writing muscles. If you ever considered writing as something you thought you could do, this is an amazing place to wade into those waters.
But the final element is what LJ Idol very much helps you with, and that's "feedback." Ideally, we are writing for an audience, assuming we want someone other than ourselves to see these pieces, so we need to start thinking (at least a little) about the readers. And LJ Idol provides an instant audience of readers who mostly know what they're talking about because they're writers, too!
It's like a workshop situation, which is extremely useful. The process of writing, generally is a solitary one. You are spending time alone, crafting a story, play, screenplay, script, a poem or piece of prose that means something to you. But will the audience agree? Here's a great way to find out! LJ Idol is absolutely a writing workshop because it has all of those features: you are reading the works of other writers, so you get to read. You are writing on a deadline, so there is some of that pressure to complete your own material in a timely fashion, and everyone is getting some feedback about how what you did worked.
PLUS! The participants in this group are some of the brightest and best people you'll ever interact with, and they are all helpful, interested, fun and very unique, which is crucial. You want to have a diverse group to give you a better sense of whether you're writing is working, and you'll be reading a whole lot of differing styles and genres along the way, so it will never be boring!
If I've convinced you to sign up, based on this, I couldn't be happier, and I hope you have a great time during this season! And if you're already signed up, I hope this let's you know I'm really ready to get started!
I think one of the things that we, as writers, need is structure. A lot of the time, we may want to write, but we may not know what or about... and in a writing competition, we are always offered options, prompts that give us a hint about something, but always leave room for interpetation. That's one of the great elements of LJ Idol. You always have some direction but you're free to choose your own way to go.
Feedback. I always say that there are three things that make a good writer. The first is reading. You have to read. You need to get a sense about what others are writing and you need to read to understand what that's all about. But let's put a little tweak in it. Not only should you be reading, but you should analyze what the writer is doing or attempting to do, as a part of the process. This is more true for successful and bestselling writers than anyone else, just for the record. Analyzing the methodology of how a writer works can help you determine how you want to proceed as a writer, yourself. Reading and Analysis go hand in hand when developing your writing style.
LJ Idol helps because you are reading everyone else's assignments, so you are getting in a lot of reading! That's a big postitive because the writers in this competition are all very fine and are very worth reading. I'm not just kissing up here, We have some very worthy scribes, some are published, some are just great at what they have done and others have been around the competition for the full twenty years!
The second thing you need to do to become a good writer is to write. This may seem obvious but the only way to write is to write and that's crucial in LJ Idol. You are being "judged" by everyone reading along and so you better write things good! I think the beauty of the format is that even if you have a "bad" week, you didn't really do what you wanted with the prompt, you didn't have the time to complete the entry to your own satisfaction, that could still be okay, if you just did well enough to survive the elimination. There are reprieves built into how it works and these allow you more chances to succeed.
Writing gets you into a mindset... what are you saying? How do you want to say it? Who are you talking to? What message do you want them to receive? The more you write, the more those things become clearer for yourself. LJ Idol is a great place to hone those skills because every week there's something new, a new approach, a new angle, a new topic that will take your writing to new places. It's a literal exercise in flexing your writing muscles. If you ever considered writing as something you thought you could do, this is an amazing place to wade into those waters.
But the final element is what LJ Idol very much helps you with, and that's "feedback." Ideally, we are writing for an audience, assuming we want someone other than ourselves to see these pieces, so we need to start thinking (at least a little) about the readers. And LJ Idol provides an instant audience of readers who mostly know what they're talking about because they're writers, too!
It's like a workshop situation, which is extremely useful. The process of writing, generally is a solitary one. You are spending time alone, crafting a story, play, screenplay, script, a poem or piece of prose that means something to you. But will the audience agree? Here's a great way to find out! LJ Idol is absolutely a writing workshop because it has all of those features: you are reading the works of other writers, so you get to read. You are writing on a deadline, so there is some of that pressure to complete your own material in a timely fashion, and everyone is getting some feedback about how what you did worked.
PLUS! The participants in this group are some of the brightest and best people you'll ever interact with, and they are all helpful, interested, fun and very unique, which is crucial. You want to have a diverse group to give you a better sense of whether you're writing is working, and you'll be reading a whole lot of differing styles and genres along the way, so it will never be boring!
If I've convinced you to sign up, based on this, I couldn't be happier, and I hope you have a great time during this season! And if you're already signed up, I hope this let's you know I'm really ready to get started!
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Date: 2026-08-31 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-08-31 12:36 am (UTC)