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When it comes to contests on WDC, rules are (usually) there for a reason. I don’t know anyone who has ever hosted a contest and posted rules just to confuse the contestants. Yet most people who have hosted a contest have run into their share of people who, for whatever reason, did not read and follow the rules. Today, I’d like to talk about why following the rules is important, even if a rule seems silly or arbitrary.
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Following the Rules When Entering Contests
Hosting a contest on Writing.com can be a lot of hard work. There are prize donations to acquire, judges to recruit, forums to set up, prompts to write. . . it can take up a lot of time and energy, not to mention GP’s. That’s why it can sometimes be frustrating to a judge when contestants don’t follow the rules and have to be disqualified. It sometimes creates more work, and it always creates less competition, which a contest host certainly doesn’t want.
In many cases, rules are made in order to make the judging process easier. For example, word requirements ensure that judges aren’t taking weeks to read the entries. Requirements that the entries be posted in a certain format (bitem, ritem, etc.) may seem unimportant, but in cases where there is a maximum or minimum rating allowed, a ritem link instantly shows the judge if your entry meets the rating requirements. One of my personal pet peeves is when someone copies their entry straight into a forum post rather than as a link. Although I understand that the different kinds of links can be confusing for newbies, I always try to clearly state in my rules that a link is required. Such a rule is necessary in order to keep a forum within its rating. For example, a GC rated story copied into an E rated forum would obviously make the forum higher than E rated!
Then there is the rule that may seem obvious: writing an entry that follows the prompt. You’d probably be surprised by the number of entries that have to be deleted and disqualified every day because they simply didn’t follow the prompt. The next time you see a contest, make sure to read the prompt and read it carefully. It could save you the disappointment of being disqualified.
Another frequent rule that sometimes gets protested is “Stories/poems must be written specifically for this contest.” Not everyone puts this guideline in their rules, but some of us who do do it for a specific reason. We want writers to write something new, to explore a new genre or just to practice their writing skills. I see little point in holding a contest where everything, both old and new, is accepted. I like to encourage writers to keep writing and reward them for doing so, so this rule is very important to me. Watch out for this rule when you read contest guidelines and please follow it if you want to enter the contest.
Remember that the person running the contest has probably spent hours coming up with the idea, setting it up, and managing various aspects of the contest. The least you can do as a contestant is to follow any reasonable rule the host asks of you. Think about if you were to submit your work for publication. You would certainly follow the submission guidelines to a “t,” wouldn’t you? Take the same care when you submit to site contests, and you will have a better chance of winning the prize!
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I recently ran a contest for the holiday season, "Invalid Item" , that didn’t get as many contestants as I had anticipated. I had what I thought was a great idea: five writing prompts throughout the month of December, each based on a different winter holiday. At the end of the month, the contestant who had won the smallest prize would get the opportunity to trade for the “Big Deal,” a concept I modeled after the game show Let’s Make a Deal. The contest had an attractive and straightforward layout and not too many rules. I even had a number of respected site members donate GP’s and prize packages. I sponsored the contest, plugged it in scroll, and even mention it in my first Contest and Activities newsletter. Then, I waited. The first round went fairly well, but in subsequent rounds I was lucky to have two entries. I had followed every one of my own personal guidelines for a great contest, so where did I go wrong?
Out of curiosity, I created "Invalid Item" to survey members of WDC about their attitudes toward contests. I created this survey partly for selfish reasons. I wanted to know why my contests never seem to be as popular as some others, even when I put in more time and energy than usual. I also wanted to know if some of my hunches about contests around the site were true. I hope you will take the survey yourself, as I will be sharing detailed results in an upcoming Contest and Activities Newsletter!
Among the things I wonder about are:
 Which popular WDC contests do members enter, and why? Most members know about The Writer’s Cramp and the official Writing.com contests, but what makes them so popular?
When choosing a contest to enter, what influences a member’s decisions? Do aesthetics matter more than unique prompts?
Are members more likely to enter contests hosted by their friends?
What methods do members use to find contests? The Writing Contests@Writing.com page seems like the most logical place to me, but there’s also searching the Contest genre on the WDC search engine, clicking on Sponsored Links, and links in scroll and e-mail signatures.
I’d like to hear your thoughts. Feel free to make comments using the comment form at the end of this newsletter, but please also consider filling out the survey. Your responses may be used in the February 10th Contest and Activities Newsletter!
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Contests & Activities: January 13, 2010 Issue [#3479]
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