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I need dark ink--super super dark ink. Bics don't cut it. I'm totally loving the new Sharpie SuperFine point pens, though!:)

Sharpie super-fine are nice.I need to do this WAY more often!

I love the feel of graphite on paper. Nothing is better than a pencil for me :)

Most of the time, Uniball Micros for me. I'm so with you on the fine point.

I like both of those, too. And a Design Ebony Jet Black Extra Smooth pencil for drawing is THE BEST. Just wonder why the kids always insist on running off with them...

I agree wholeheartedly.

Once it's in print, you can't change it.

PJ,You are so right. I need to come to terms with that.

I live to revise. I'm totally with you.

This is the hardest thing to decide. I think it's a mix of delight with what you've got and nausea at the thought of trying to do any more! :)

I assure you what you write IS NOT dribble. My fear is that I personally don't love revision enough to do the dozen revisions needed to get my MS to a publishable state.

My method (of knowing when to stop) is to keep reading the passages out loud. When it flows to your ear, when you fall into its rhythm (as if you weren't the writer, but someone else was), you are ready....

Beth,I love your method. I will try this.---Jim,Thank you. You have a good story that needs to be shared. I KNOW you will do it! Besides, we can all cheer each other on!----Becky,I love your answer! No nausea point here, yet...----Barrie,It's nice to know you love to revise, too! Happy Revising!

I've run out and grabbed a bubble tea drink to see what it really tasted like mid-writing!

PJ,Thanks for sharing this! I've been feeling like I'm wasting too much time in the details, rather than finishing things up. Must work on the balance.

Balance is good, but learning the details make the whole experience so much more fun.BTW, I loved the Bubble tea, but my kids couldn't stand it.Good luck!

I've never tried Bubble tea. If I ever see a place that sells it, I'll try some in honor of you! Hope you like what you've written so far!

This is going to pay off for you! And for your readers. :)

Vivian: There are two minds with this. One (Ken Kalfus works this way) is to write the book through, leaving blanks where the "facts" must be. The other (which is my approach) is to read and read and stop and stop, because in the details often lie the story.It's fun work, I think.

Becky,I hope so! Thank you!----Beth,Thanks for sharing your process! Love to read these kind of things.

Eh. I quit watching American Idol after season 2 ended. I always found the audition episodes the most entertaining (I love a good ol' fashioned delusional trainwreck), then I ended up fast-forwarding through most of the performances because I generally couldn't stand the songs the contestants were singing.

I do keep up with it via Entertainment Weekly, and it seems like the cable clip shows (Best Week Ever, The Soup) provide a decent-enough condensed version to keep me up-to-date without having to sit through six mediocre versions of "My Heart Will Go On" or that awful Aerosmith ballad from the movie where an asteroid hits the earth or whatever. So at least I can participate in conversations about the show with a reasonable amount of background knowledge so I don't look like a complete ass.

AI is, however, a bona fide pop cultural phenomenon that crosses all generations. My 81-year-old grandmother watches it, and so does my co-worker's 4-year-old daughter. It's not just a teen thing, which really fascinates me.

Sorry, can't convince you. I am very proud of my AI "virginity" (or rather, that I have not been soiled by it). If I wanted to keep up, that's what the Internet is for. As for the people in it who get humiliated badly, as you say, they should know better. Way I see if you are not too bright to start with and then go on a reality show with some delusion, you deserve whatever you get.

I'm with the other commentors. You don't actually have to watch, just keep an ear to the ground. The Soup. The Daily Ten on E. Sometimes I have it on in the background. But watching it is painful to me as well, for all the reasons you mentioned.

Huh, no support for viewing, eh? Interesting.

I should mention that we are a cable-free household. We couldn't afford it for a while, and now that we can, we choose not to, because between our Netflix & our TiVo-ed shows, we have more than enough good TV to watch. I miss specific shows, like Deadwood, Project Runway, and Best Week Ever, but not cable as a whole. Actually, being a pop culture consumer without cable is a whole post in itself.

I'm curious about the view that the contestants are getting what they deserve by being so horribly treated. I agree that The Deluded Masses are putting themselves out there, and I think it's fine to show their awful auditions and Simon's gleefully harsh criticisms. What I object to are the pre-audition interviews where they talk about their outrageous dreams and the fact that they've done nothing but train for the last two years for this Amazing Opportunity.

To me, it's just pouring salt in the wound. It reminds me of what happened last spring when Library Journal ran the incensed letter from the person who was horrified by my holding a lighter aloft in my Movers & Shakers photo. I posted about it, there were lots of snickering comments, and then I started to feel queasy about the whole thing.

Like, why did LJ run that letter? They could've just called me, and we could've had a chuckle, and I could have said, "you know, don't run the letter. Let's not hold this woman up to ridicule." But I didn't, and they did, and now I feel gross about it.

I know AI contestants and the incensed-at-my-lighter woman are not perfectly analogous, but they are roughly analogous, and to me, that's my number one reason for continuing to avoid AI at this point: I've realized I'm just not a connoisseur of the trainwreck.

I don't watch AI either, and it's because I don't want to sit through the audition episodes and all the foo-faw. I mean, who has come out of AI and has created a successful music career for themselves?

Kelly Clarkson's the only one, really, and she tied with Justin. Admittedly, she was on the first season, so she's had longer, but still. I just don't get the point for the show--I'd rather watch Dancing with the Stars, honestly.

I am a Pop Goes the Library contributor who has watched EVERY season of American Idol! CNN had an interesting article recently that said television executives refer to American Idol as the Death Star because it attracts 32 million viewers a week and crushes any competition in its timeslot. http://www.cnn.com/

But why do I like AI? I like to see people become successful and make it big. Most importantly, I like their stories!

I like the story about how a cocktail waitress from Texas with a big voice and a dream can become a Grammy Award winning singer (Kelly Clarkson).

I like the story of the girl from the South Side of Chicago who gets nominated for an Oscar. (Jennifer Hudson). [I saw the movie. Hudson was great. Her performance got a standing ovation from everyone in the movie theater. I have never experienced that before. I thought I was at a Broadway play rather than in the Regal Cinema in New Brunswick, NJ.]

Then there is the story about the high school drop-out and single teen mother who became an American Idol winner and had an inspirational book on the New York Time Bestseller “Life is Not a Fairy Tale" despite being functionally illiterate (Fantasia Barrino) http://www.www.simonsays.com/

And to address Melissa’s comment about who has created a successful musical career for themselves besides Kelly Clarkson http://www.kellyclarksonweb.com/, here are just a few:

Jennifer Hudson. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Dreamgirls http://www.oscar.com/

Chris Daughtry. Currently #3 on the Billboard 200.http://www.daughtryofficial.com/.

Carrie Underwood. Multiplatinum. Grammy nominated. Won Horizon Award and Female Vocalist of the Year at the Country Music Awards in 2006.http://www.cmt.com.com/.

Diana DeGarmo. Starring in the Tony-Award Winning Play Hairspray in NYC.http://www.playbill.com.com/

Ruben Studdard. R&B and Gospel Singer. Nominated for a Grammy Award. Started a foundation to bring music education to children.http://www.rubenstuddardfoundation.org/

Yes, AI is sometimes mean. But sometimes so is big business. And I must admit, I often do agree with Simon.

However, I don’t know if Simon would make a very good reference librarian. Imagine a reference interview conducted by Simon Cowell at your local library’s public service desk....

SIMON: “Let me understand. You want to know the moose population of Alaska? Frankly, I just do not see the point. I’m sorry sweetheart. Good-bye.”

SIMON looks up from reference desk at puzzled customer still standing there.

SIMON: "Look, there's just nothing more to say about it. Please leave."

I am a sometimes AI watcher. My granddaughter went to auditions this year in NY. What she learned was that it's a casting call--almost every person there coud sing beautifully, but what AI was looking for was specific characters to fill certain roles in the "cast" of contestants. I don't have a problem with that--it's their show. It did help me understand how and why those people got on there (think about it-always one overweight, one or two country, a hiphop, rocker, etc). My granddaughter sings country, not what they were looking for in NY. She's good, but so are thousands of others who try out. She had a great time, saw the sights, met some good people, and has no regrets. We all know more than we did, and don't bother to watch til it gets down to the final twelve when it is, finally, all about singing.