Week 7 Voting Starts NOW!

This week, the contestants seemed like they had quite a bit of fun, for how far most of them got pulled out of their comfort zone.  They worked on something that many of them probably hadn't touched since they were in school.

The assignment this week was to write a fiction post.  The theme was "A day in the life of your family"... but there was a twist.  Their family members all had to be vampires. 

Click on the names below to read the posts, and then scroll down to the bottom of the post to vote!

Justin Mannato

Derrick

Roni

Mama Spaghetti

Chess

Chris

Voting for week 7 is CLOSED!

Week 7 Play-at-Home (a day late)

Sorry, I totally thought I had this post pre-written to publish, but I guess I didn't!  Here is your week 7 play-at-home:

This week, we are going to work on something that a lot of you may not have dabbled in.  It may be simply because you haven't had a reason, or because you just didn't know where to start.

Well, here is your reason:  This week, all the posts are going to be fiction.

I want you to write a blog post about a day in the life of your family.  Except, not just any ordinary day.  This day, every single member of your family is a vampire.

Specifications:
*At no point in the story should any of your family member turn into a vampire. They should all be vampires from the beginning of the story.
*You can not change your last name to Cullen.
*Buffy can not take any part in your story.
*All posts must be at least 400 words.

Things to spark your imagination:
*Think about your daily life. What would be different if you were vampires?
*How would you interact with your neighbors, and the general public?
*What steps would you have to take so that you weren't 'found out' by the people close to you?
*How would vampire children behave differently?
*How would going to work be different?

Farewell from Mama Mash and John

From John:

Wait.

Did something just happen?

You are telling me that I am not going to be 2011's Blogger Idol?

Man I always had visions in my head that I would be singing "A Moment Like This" as confetti rained down on me after I was announced as the winner.  I never enter into anything that I don't think I can win, it's partially why I will never enter a marathon.  I mean I could run my ass of and still lose by a mile or 24 for that matter.  I was undefeated as a cub scout in the Pinewood Derby until my last race.  For three years my little 5 ounce car was faster than everyone else, but I will be haunted by my last race.  My car flew off the track and I lost.  I was devastated to say the least.  I want to remember the wins but what sticks with me is the LOSS.  Stupid Pinewood Derby.

Anyway this is different, what I will remember most about this loss is the fine group of people I was associated with.  These guys are some talented writers, and while I never thought of myself as such, it was GREAT to be included.  I was able to discover blogs that I never would have otherwise, and have developed relationships with people I have never actually met.  That's pretty cool.

From the get go I thought that the cards were stacked against me.  I never thought that I would actually make it into this competition, but as the weeks went by Daddy's in Charge turned into a locomotive that was picking up steam.  Positive feedback, votes for me, banners hanging up at supermarkets, and front page stories in the local newspaper… everything was rolling along.  Then all of a sudden, my train derailed, and my dream of being Blogger Idol was ruined.

I think what finally did me in was my lack of wanting to talk about myself.  I like to write about OTHER people, mainly my kids.  I am sure that I am not alone in this thinking.  It's just not easy to write about yourself all the time.  I will say this though, I have learned something about myself in this competition, maybe I CAN write.  It's not something I would ever think I can do for a living, but I got some talent there.  Some people are so good at it though they could probably rewrite the phonebook and make it sound interesting.  I won't go that far with myself, but I could probably write some sort of manual about how to win the Pinewood Derby.

Just stay on the track.

That's what I will do, I'll keep blogging trying to entertain as many people as I can.

John Willey
daddysincharge.com



From Mama Mash:

Hey, this was fun, and I learned a lot.

I learned that no way, never ever, do I want to organize a blogging contest. Heather deserves a big hand for dealing with a bunch of narcissistic prima donna bloggers, a buggy blogging platform, (I’m talking to YOU, Blogspot!) and rogue commenters who like to start virtual slap fights. Great job on your inaugural year with Blogger Idol. I hope you’ve learned a lot as well, and I look forward to seeing your second shot at this.

I learned that people on Facebook and Twitter who I thought were just acquaintances are actually really good friends. Some I’ve met in real life, some I will stalk next year at BlogHer, and some I just hope to run into one day when fate is feeling generous. I’m talking to you, @chicktuition, and you, Colorado Cake Mom! And you, John Willey, you obnoxious bastard. And you, bloggers I mentioned during Pay it Forward week. You fill my days with laughter, snark, and unbelievable amounts of bullshit.

I learned that I absolutely despise being told what to write. While I enjoy getting inspiration from prompts from time to time, being judged on how well I stick to an assignment is exasperating. I blog because it’s fun. I’m not in seventh grade trying to pass a state-mandated test, I’m not writing a college entrance essay, and I’m sure as hell not trying out for Miss America.

 World peace, bitches. :D

I learned that I’mnot for everyone, and that’s cool. The saddest thing I’ve seen in my time in the blogosphere is bloggers who change who they are in order to get more readers, hoard more comments, and attract sponsors. The second saddest thing I’ve seen is insecure twat waffles who feel that it’s ok to put other people down for what they want to talk about in their own cyberspace cubicles. If you’ve got something against mommybloggers, or daddybloggers, or I’vegotsixcatsandachinchillabloggers, don’t feel it’s necessary to go piss allover their parade. Start your own parade. You’ll be much happier.

In closing, I wish the remaining contestants the best of luck. I firmly believe that in the end, hard work will be rewarded, and it seems like you guys are busting your butts to win this thing.

Also, whoever wins that cool bag for fifth place? Call me.We’ll bargain.
www.mamamash.com