  Contests & Activities
This week: What time is it? Edited by: Legerdemain  
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The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight some of the current contests and activities on the site, help educate members on how to host contests and activities, and provide clues to submit quality entries to contests. Write to me if you'd like something in particular covered.
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| ASIN: 1945043032 |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
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What time is it?
While WDC originates in the United States, our community is very global. We have members from all over the world. Sometimes it makes things difficult...like trying to agree if the word is spelled color or colour. It also can be a great thing, like going to sleep at night and waking up to find reviews in your Inbox from someone on the other side of the world.
It's also why you see contests and activities that close on WDC time. If you said your raffle ends at midnight and don't specify whose midnight you mean, it would be pretty hard to determine the winner. Especially when last minute bids pop in right before the deadline. WDC time is EDT. If you're not sure, or are too tired to figure out the time difference, WDC is posted in several places. In the right column of your page where Favorites are displayed, the time is at the top of your favorites section. WDC time is also displayed at the top of the IM Console. You can pop open the IM console by clicking the square dialog bubble icon below your account icons in the left column of your page.
If you're hosting a contest or activity that has a deadline, be sure to clarify if edits or changes are allowed after the deadline. Many members end up disqualified because they edited after posting. Auctions always have last minute bids if there are great packages offered. If you're a bidder, be sure to hit Submit Post! in plenty of time for your bid message to load on your computer.
In the long run, enjoy the spirit in which contests and activities are hosted, have fun meeting other members and perhaps donating to a site charity.
This month's question: What are some suggestions for activities your fellow members could host?
Send in your answer below! 
Editors love feedback!
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| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1798976 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Ladies and gentlemen, boils and ghouls! Gather around! Come one! Come all! Join us at our little ball! We are looking for a fright right here in DEMON NIGHT! We want your story, and please feel free to make it gory....
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This item number is not valid.
#1773618 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: This is a contest inspired by the writing style of Roger Zelazny. He was a science-fiction/fantasy who first came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s.
A daily poetry contest with some great prizes and reviews.
Excerpt: Entry should consist of only dialogue or internal monologue, and should be classified as a Short Story.
Take a daily tour within our community, review some items and win prizes!
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This item number is not valid.
#1534226 by Not Available. |
Write a short story, flash or a poem. Contest closes at the end of September.
Excerpt: We're always told that the first sentence is the most important, because it has to hook the reader/agent/publisher, intriguing them and making them want to read on. I thought it would be fun, and possibly quite inspirational, to see what first sentences people could come up with.
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1753841 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: This is a sisterhood of women from all different backgrounds, customs and beliefs, but we all share a few common things:
We are mothers. We are women. We are writers/readers.
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This item number is not valid.
#1796662 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: The precedences behind this repeated raffle are easy to explain - I need GPs for an upgrade, I want to create an activity others can have fun participating in or can always count on to gift to other people, and I want to support some of the awesome groups on WdC in the process. The raffle will rotate every 100 tickets, and the supported group will change each round.
Excerpt: This is an interactive game for anyone interested in working on developing a character, either one already in development or just a thought you want to explore.
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: 0997970618 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 14.99
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This month's question: What are some suggestions for activities your fellow members could host?
Replies to last month's question: What do you do when you see a competitor's error?
Itchy Water~fictionandverse  : If I were to enter a contest and notice that there was another entry that did not follow the rules, for instance, they didn't note the word count, I would definitely tell them. In most contests, the more eligible entries, the more prizes given. Therefore, I would want to make sure that entry was eligible because I just might be the third place winner which would not have been given unless there were x many of entries.
Mandarine  : I thought I was the only one scoping out the competition when I enter contests, so I'm comforted to hear others do the same! I've actually been in the situation where I've seen faults in my competitors submissions, and sadly done nothing about it. However I never had in mind that this will be an advantage for me, it just never occurred to me to contact them and bring it to their attention. But now I know what to do! Like you said, a win by default is a hollow win. I'd rather shine through a larger number of submissions.
Writer_Mike  : I've been known to provide an assist, or two, although I don't always have the time to check out the competition. I'm right with you on one thing, though: I much prefer to have my story selected from all of the competing entries, rather than to win by default.
atwhatcost: I'm super competative, but it's no competition if my competitors don't enter correctly. So, yeah, I tend to send them an e-mail and explain the coding or other rules. Or, if it's just grammar stuff, I'll even do a review for them to help them with that part. (I have grammar problems, too, so it's only fair.) BUT, I won't review for content ideas - especially, if I can see something that might improve it even more. After all, I'm super competitive. I want all of us to be judged by the quality of our stories, not our coding and grammar abilities. ;)
mskelly65: I am so non-competitive that people say I'm no fun to play games with. I don't stress over my entry. I don't peruse the competition before I enter. I just wait until after the contest is over so when I do read their piece I'm doing it for pure enjoyment. If I win, that's great. If YOU win, that's great because then we are both happy! That said, if I did notice an error in someone else's work that could be corrected before the deadline, I would most certainly tell them. But don't count on me to catch it, because I'm probably not going to read anyone else's entries until it's over and done.
sawilson : Actually, I haven't entered a contest because I have the fear of the entry not loading appropriately and making a fool of myself. I would hope another competitor would take compassion and help a person out if they saw an obvious error.
Don't let it stop you from entering contests! Practice the link you need to use in your "My Notepad" and make sure it works, then post!
Dragonlord443 : Hi, I'm still pretty new at writing and some of the terms that you used I didn't understand. Like "format issue" and "link their item correctly." I never really did that well when I was in high school English so I'm trying to relearn things that I should have back then. lol
Both phrases referred to WritingML, the type of code used on WDC to make your text show bold, italics or in color. People without HTML experience have to learn how to use it and sometimes code it incorrectly. |
| ASIN: B085272J6B |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 9.99
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Contests & Activities: September 14, 2011 Issue [#4614]
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