Posts Tagged ‘ contests ’

One More Voting Appeal

Sunday, March 23rd, 2014

I’ve been so busy reading and writing for LJ Idol that I haven’t been putting as much effort into driving votes to a contest that deserves greater attention right now.

That’s because winning the audience prize could fund my son’s preschool tuition through the end of the year. We’ve been living paycheck-to-paycheck, so winning this prize could really help.

EVEN IF YOU’VE ALREADY VOTED, please go to the Baby Steps competition page to cast your vote for my video. You can vote every two days.

My video shows a still of my son with two puppets. It is the first video on the first page. While it seem like I’m trouncing the competition, another contestant on a later page has four times as many votes. He must have figured out the multiple-votes trick earlier.

Please boost the signal! In return, I will help promote any project of yours that you’d like to see promoted.

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Stupid Questions with LJ Idol’s Gary Dreslinski

Wednesday, March 5th, 2014

LJ Idol sign-up banner

For several years now, I’ve been participating in an online writing contest called The Real LJ Idol that is the creative equivalent of the Olympics plus the Iditarod. While I’ve never placed higher than 5th in the competition (and that on my first year competing), I have made countless connections with wonderfully talented, creative and generous writers. I would also say that some of my best work from the past several years has come from responding to the LJ Idol prompts.

This is sign-up week for Season 9, which founder Gary Dreslinski has announced will be the final season. What are you waiting for? Hop on over to the main page, read the LJ Idol FAQ and cast your hat into the ring! The more cannon fodder participants the better!

A couple other people have published serious interviews with Gary in the run-up to Season 9, so I thought I’d just have a little fun. Following in the footsteps of Entertainment Weekly, here are some stupid questions with LJ founder Gary Dreslinski.

When it comes to LJ Idol strategy, which American Idol finalist would be best to imitate: Sanjay Malakar, Adam Lambert or Candice Glover? Please answer in the style of an American Idol judge (past or present) of your choosing.

(as Harry Connick Jr)

I think the critical error of this question is assuming that I’ve watched every season of American Idol. You really need to work on your basics here: the lead-off question is what gets people into an article and can help establish a really one-on-one emotional connection with your reader. There were a few that I missed. Including Adam Lambert and Candice Glover’s seasons. I did see Sanjay’s however, and was following “Vote for the Worst” in their campaign to get him there. So I’d definitely say that no one should attempt to imitate him.

Given that Candice’s album had the worst debut in American Idol history, I would have to go with telling people they should emulate Adam Lambert. He’s probably seen Keith Urban naked!

(as Paula Abdul)

Wha? Is this thing on? *falls down drunk*

Some have said that LJ Idol could be better compared to Survivor or even Project Runway than to American Idol.

I think Project Runway and Top Chef are probably the best comparisons, although the voting is very much modeled after American Idol.

To what non-reality show or shows would you compare LJ Idol? Why?

Game of Thrones. Many people are going to die trying to seize power.

Have you ever dreamt up a plot twist for LJ Idol that was too evil to use? Discuss.

Mass eliminations in Week 1. I’ve had that on my “to do” list since Season 3. I’ve never ended up pulling the trigger on it, because when it comes right down to it, I want people to have a fair shot.

How would life be better if everybody participated in LJ Idol?

They would lead richer, happier lives — full of laughter and mirth. Money would rain from the skies. Poverty and hatred would be completely eliminated as all of humanity put their collective beings into being the best Idolers.

What question should I have asked you but didn’t?

What has it got in its pocketses?

Video Competition

Wednesday, February 19th, 2014

Thanks to a tip from a friend, I entered a video competition held by an organization called Baby Steps. Finding out about the contest just 48 hours before the deadline, I still managed to put together a decent two-minute video. Fortunately, I had plenty of raw footage, and KFP readily helped me shoot some more to fill in where I needed it. Maybe my undergraduate degree in Broadcast/Cable will finally pay off!

Please pop over to Facebook and check it out. Hopefully, you’ll like it. My entry is called “Puppet Problem Solving”:

http://on.fb.me/1c22MbO

Scroll to the bottom of the screen and look for a still showing KFP with two puppets.

After you’ve viewed it, if it made you smile, please vote by clicking on the box in the upper right-hand corner of the video. Judges will select the top prizes based on criteria such as creativity and production values, but they’ll also award a special prize for the video that receives the most votes.

Blog Tour Contest Extended

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

I’ve decided to extend my Blog Tour Contest to May 31.

Check out the original post on my personal blog for information on how to enter a contest to win a free copy of my book!

Wild Violet Contests Deadline

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Fiction writers and poets, the extended deadline for the 2009 Wild Violet writing contests is this Friday. More information on the rules can be found at the contests page.

I do NOT judge the contest, so it’s OK to enter if you know me. The only restriction is that anyone who works directly with the magazine (such as proofreaders, reviewers or my husband, the Web designer) cannot compete. Prior contributors to the magazine are, however, eligible.