alexpgp (Week 31) - I believe it was furzicle who brought up the idea of "masculine vs feminine" style writers (I'm pretty sure it was her at least, if I am wrong, someone correct me!) and how there is a different structure to their works. alexpgp was one of the people on her list of "masculine" and I think that makes a lot of sense.There is a no nonsense way about his placement of words. Taking page from him, I once compared it to his playing chess with words, moving them here and there to put himself in the best position to win. There is a very technician aspect about that, where just watching what he does can be as interesting as the final piece itself.
The "masculine" aspect comes in the most though with the restrained emotional content. He's subtle with it, treating it like another tool in the utility belt, which means when he does pull it out to use, it hits you hard. http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1515058.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1501772.html and http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1505418.htmlcome to mind.
People from last season already know this - but for those who don't - I'm definitely a huge fan. Not just a "wow, he's good", but he tends to be a bit of a personal litmus test for me. Personal taste is going to differ, but "do they like Alex's work?" is one of those shortcuts between people that I am more likely to agree with, and those that I am not as likely to be able to find as easy of common ground on writing.
His departure I think ended up getting overshadowed by Tea's, which (love you Tea) is a shame because I think he deserved so much more. I hope people make it up in this actual goodbye post. Because he more than deserves it.
But I digress. Because this is about Alex, one of the more fascinating individuals that I have been fortunate enough to get a chance to find out about during the course of Idol.
Let's face it - his life reads like a novel! http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1511333.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1454058.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1461211.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1468742.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1441492.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1507880.html
So no one should be all that surprised that he turned out to have such a natural ear for telling a story. He makes it look easy http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1447866.html
http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/tag/lj_idol doesn't have everything, but it has a decent amount of his stuff. I would highly recommend that you go back and take a look, or a second, or a third.
http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1522646.html and http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1519806.html are from the tail end of this season, and, to me, really highlight the continually growing strength of his fiction. Which, as I recall, is something that he wanted to work on. I am fearful of just what we are going to see when he gets "good at it".
He really has this ability, regardless of content, to leave me with a big smile on my face when I read his stuff (even some of the more heart breaking material) because I just love to see him write.
There are some people who are just going to make you feel like this, and I'm delighted to have been lucky enough to have found someone who can deliver like *this*: http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1499425.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1465696.html , http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1490416.html and of course http://alexpgp.livejournal.com/1450487.html
twistersflower (Week 25) - One of the things that I love the most about doing Idol is watching newbies come into the fold, not all that certain about what they are getting into, and folks who might not normally identify as "writers" who prove in spite of it - that a storyteller is a storyteller regardless of the form it takes.Early on she mentioned that in order to get her attention, and hold it, that entries should "get to the point".
I'm paraphrasing, but it's one of the strengths of her work, and from what I've been able to tell - her personality. She gets right into the heart of the matter, cutting through anything else that might be getting in the way. Sometimes it's more of a winding path - and yet, from her, it still manages to feel straight forward when you get to the end.
From her relationship with singing http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/444212.html to her relationship with the idea of marriage http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/469581.html , she lets it all out, the good and the bad, showing a remarkable insight into who she is. (Something that people, regardless of age, often struggle with, unable to see their own weak spots)
There is a beauty in that directness http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/447661.html and http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/452732.html
or just plain living life and dealing with everything that comes with it, like http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/465749.html , http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/467564.html , http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/472240.html , http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/482423.html and http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/488989.html
and sometimes it helped to highlight just what a diverse group we really do have here - http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/456309.html with one of the more controversial pieces of the season and http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/484094.html an entry that I had thought would get more comments than it actually ended up getting.
and sometimes she just brings you in and clobbers you with her words http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/479418.html
It's interesting (to me anyway) that she was "the oldest contestant" this season, and as always I wonder how age demographics play out in these sort of settings. We had the youngest contestant discussing how she wasn't sure if she had *enough* stories to keep going for a whole season after all, and worried about "fitting in" with the group.
Whatever the reasons, I think she did end up falling through the cracks with a lot of people, or maybe she just slipped off the radar.
Now is as good of a time as any to take the time to go back and remember/find out what you were missing!
I know life hasn't exactly been going great lately, but hopefully things are improving for her - and hopefully she is working on finishing the play http://twistersflower.livejournal.com/477781.html !!
Miss one?
Part 1: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/330062.html
Part 2: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/347182.html
Part 3: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/348753.html
Part 4: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/351336.html
Part 5: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/355319.html
Part 6: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/357155.html
Part 7: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/358961.html
Part 8: http://community.livejournal.com/therealljidol/361618.html