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Contests & Activities: April 17, 2024 Issue [#12512]




 This week: The Interview of the Century
  Edited by: GeminiGem🐾 Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter



Hi there! I'm GeminiGem🐾 Author Icon, also known as Leah. Let's talk about THE contests on WdC, the Official Site Contests. I got the interview of the century!


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Letter from the editor

The Interview of the Century

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Let's pretend that I had my act together (I know, I know, it's a big stretch) and actually interviewed Jeff Author Icon about the history of the WdC Official Contests and his role in running them. We need to pretend because the reality is I'm a pantser (and a slacker). I basically just shot off a few questions about the above subject and Jeff ran with it.

So, if you have ever entered one of the six Official WdC Contests or had looked at them and wondered, here is some information that may not be general knowledge.

Leah: When WdC members enter one of the Official Contests, they may not have a sense that there is actually one guy who is in charge of them. Tell us about your role as that one guy in charge.

Jeff: Basically, my role is to oversee and run the official contests on behalf of the site every month. I took over the job from Diane Author Icon, who ran the site contests for years before stepping down in 2015. Overseeing the contest includes scheduling the judges for each round, as well as deciding which contest to run and what the prompt will be.

Leah: Tell about the history of how the contest prompts were chosen.

Jeff: One of the most interesting facts about the official contests is that, anyone who's been around for a long time will remember that the contest prompts used to be pretty mundane (Short Shots had a lot of pastoral imagery, Quotation Inspiration has common, familiar quotations, etc.), and that was partially by design. The site wanted the contest to have as much mass appeal as possible, so easy, innocuous prompts were the norm. A few years ago, I made the decision to start using edgier prompts with a higher degree of difficulty, even if it came at the cost of participation. The numbers bear that out; we do have fewer entrants than we used to (although I think that's also somewhat attributable to a general decline in participation across the site as a whole), but I also think the contests are more challenging and has resulted in some truly exceptional, unique stories being written.

Leah: What other changes have you made since you took over?

Jeff: I also somewhat recently made the decision not to announce who the judges of each round are until the end of the contest round. We have a somewhat limited judging pool (only Moderators and Senior Moderators can be judges, and there are fewer than 40 who regularly volunteer to judge) and many of the judges are regulars with their own specific tastes and preferences; not announcing the judging in advance was a choice designed to create more fairness in judging, where contestants can't write to the tastes of a particular judge they're familiar with.

Leah: Do you have any upcoming changes planned?

Jeff: Next year, I'll have been running the official site contests for ten years, and I'm contemplating whether it's time for an overhaul (maybe some new contests/challenges, new incentives to enter, etc.). I haven't decided on anything yet, but I'm always looking for ways to improve everyone's experience with the site contests.

Thank you, Jeff! It was a pleasure to "interview" you, and I appreciate that you took your time in the middle of the "Game of ThronesOpen in new Window. insanity that is going on this month.*Laugh*


Here's more information about the Official Site Contests

There are two places you can find all of the WdC Official contest listed:

Writing Contests @ Writing.Com Open in new Window. (E)
Writing Contests on Writing.Com are posted here.
#171898 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

STATIC
Contest Clues Open in new Window. (E)
List of WdC Writing Contests, Challenges, Activities. Clues To What's Open, What's Closed!
#2221492 by GeminiGem🐾 Author IconMail Icon


Some things to remember!

*Exclaimb* Paid membership is required to enter.

*Exclaimb* Each round of each contest has three judges. The input of those three judges determines who places in the contest. That also means all entries receive three reviews.

*Exclaimb* The prizes are very generous!

The prizes are:

*Ribbonb* First Prize: $100.00 in Writing.Com Gift Points and an exclusive Journey Through Genres Merit Badge, both virtual and physical!
*Ribbonr* Second Prize: $50.00 in Writing.Com Gift Points and an exclusive Journey Through Genres Merit Badge, both virtual and physical!
*Ribbony* Third Prize: $25.00 in Writing.Com Gift Points and an exclusive Journey Through Genres Merit Badge, both virtual and physical!


Links to all of the Official contests are below *Down*


Editor's Picks

Officicial Site Contest
CURRENTLY RUNNING
APRIL 2024

 
SURVEY
Quotation Inspiration: Official Contest Open in new Window. (ASR)
Use the quote provided to write a story and win big prizes!
#1207944 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon


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SURVEY
Dear Me: Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (E)
What are *your* goals for the new year? Think it over, write a letter and win big prizes!
#597313 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

SURVEY
Journey Through Genres: Official Contest Open in new Window. (E)
Write a short story in the given genre to win big prizes!
#1803133 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

 
SURVEY
Rhythms & Writing: Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (E)
Use the music provided to inspire your writing!
#2002964 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

SURVEY
Short Shots: Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (ASR)
Use the photo to inspire your creativity. Write a short story and win big prizes!
#1221635 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

SURVEY
What a Character! : Official WDC Contest Open in new Window. (E)
Create a memorable character using the given prompt for huge prizes!
#1679316 by Writing.Com Support Author IconMail Icon

 
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Ask & Answer

Feedback from my last Contest & Activities Newsletter "Three Time's A CharmOpen in new Window.


Schnujo's Doing NaNoWriMo? Author Icon
*Shock2* There's an automatic code button for dropnotes?!? *Facepalm* I had no idea! Though in my (terrible) defense, I mostly write on the Newsfeed, which doesn't have that button. Obviously, I need to create more static items, forums, and other things. *Rolling* Thank you for that tidbit! Normally, I just open an edit page on "The Contest ChallengeOpen in new Window. when I need a refresh on how to create a dropnote. *Angelic* Thanks, again! *Heart*
That way certainly works, but why not make it easy on yourself?

Write_Mikey_Write! Author Icon
"See that little button right above the text box that says "drop"?" Really? There are preformatted buttons for dropnotes AND popnotes? You mean I don't have to click on Writing.Com Tools > WritingML: Docs & Help every time I need to remind myself how to set them up? *Facepalm* Thanks for the tip!
Well, if it's any consolation, you aren't the only one who "forgot" about those buttons.

Elycia Lee ☮ Author Icon
I've only ran a contest once on WDC. *Laugh* I was going to let the mechanics of the contest unveil week by week as a surprise. I got trashed for that. *Laugh* That's when I learn that people really like to know things in advance and they don't really like surprises. However, as the contest began to unfold, the responses were much better and people liked it. Someone did ask me when I'm gonna host it again. *Laugh* I admit the contest is a little messy, but the participants put up with it. Really grateful for that. Maybe... just maybe one day I will get it to come back although I can never decide which month. And when I do, I know I'm gonna need to order an exclusive badge and make a couple of trinkets. I finally figured out how things work around here. *Rolling* Took a long time, didn't it?
I understand both sides, but here's the thing. It isn't easy to make a unique contest. I would make sure it is clear what they will be up against. People who don't want to deal with the surprises can opt out. Not every contest is for everybody.

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The newsfeed question from "Three Time's A CharmOpen in new Window. was: If you enter contests and activities here on WdC, what is the number one thing you think a lot of them could improve upon?


Joey' Falling for the Season Author Icon
I like the contests pages where there is one page, with other needed pages linked from the opening page. I only need to save the link to that starting page and then click on the menu for the needed parts.
Fair enough. Simple is better.

D. Reed Whittaker Author Icon
More visual prompts. One of the reasons I miss "Weird Tales" was the old pulp magazine covers. They were fun. Some of the current prompts are too obtuse for me to get my imagination around. I have to let them go by.
That's an interesting point. As a contest owner, I never use image prompts. I do sometimes enter contests with image prompts, but it isn't my favorite. I may have to consider trying some in my contests.

Mousewitch Author Icon
less restrictions..... more open prompts....
I have to agree, open prompts are a nice option.

deemac Author Icon
Keep rules to a minimum and instructions clear and concise.

Here, Here! *Clap*

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