  Contests & Activities
This week: Comfort Zone Edited by: ~WhoMe???~  
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When you were introduced to this site, there was a lot to view and see. Everything was fresh and new, and you viewed things with an open vision. As time progressed, you found your niche, or group, and the exploring may not have continued. How many of us have settled into a comfort zone here at WDC? Do we frequent the same ports or activities? Are there contests we enter each round, neglecting to look for something new?
With a site that offers so many different outlets for our creative muse, it is easy to find one that is comfortable and stick with it. There is nothing wrong with entering each round of a contest. We become familiar with the rules and regulations, and coming up with a story or poem, knowing what to do or not to do with the writing, makes things a bit easier. Having the same set of guidelines each time, allows for the familiarity to build, to where it comes second nature to write within. Visiting with the same group members and reading their items is fun and rewarding for everyone, but what of those new faces yet to be discovered?
When I first started writing this newsletter, I began searching for items of interest to place in the editors pick section. I didn't want to pull only things that could be readily accessed by a "Writing Contests @ Writing.Com" or "Activities @ Writing.Com" , so I started a more in-depth search for new material. I actually used theIM Console and started at the bottom of the author's section. I clicked on each black port, and looked through their items to see what I could find to showcase. I worked my way up the list, and then repeated this process with the preferred authors, and the moderators as well. Now realizing using this tool was limiting my view of who was online, I went to Who is online? to see who else, currently online, might have something fun in their port to highlight. It was then that I realized how many people were currently here with me, who I had never heard of, or seen, ever before. How unfortunate for all involved that I had been limiting my WDC visits, and they are frequent, to only those I knew and am comfortable with. I rarely if ever ventured out of my comfort zone, unless filling a group obligation. I was missing out on many new and untried adventures.
With such a wonderful site, there is so much that one can do:
Audio , Books , C-notes , Campfires , Crosswords , Documents , Folders , Forums , Groups , Images , In & Outs , Interactives , Madlibs , Members , Photo Albums , Polls , Quizzes , Searches , Shops , Statics , Surveys , Web Pages , and so much to explore.
Challenge: Step out of your comfort zone here on WDC. Try something you haven't before. Then write in and tell us about your experience. Did you enter a writing contest in a genre you don't normally write in? Was there a poll, mad-lib or word search you created, and you had never tried so before? If so, link the item, so we can showcase it here. Did you create a cnote or image shop, if so send us the link, and a brief write-up on your new experience. Above all, try something new, and STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.
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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!
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Last month, the questions were asked, "What do you do, to encourage group participation? How do you revitalize your groups and activities? Write in and let us know. Here are some of the responses:
jeshimp  Hi, I am a retired Scoutmaster. Our troop had similiar problems. Our approach was to contact some of the missing people to find out why they had lost interest or had some problem that prevented them from coming on a regular basis or coming infrequently. I know you may not have the roster of members as we had, but do you know some of the names from past posts? Anyway, you need information to go forward. Good Luck
Barmymoo I have been running my group since 2006 and membership is building steadily - we started with no more than twenty members and we're now approaching 300!
When we're heading towards NaNoWriMo I send out emails two or three times a week, and I always make sure to keep things moving in the forums. With such a big group, it's really the only way to get to know people and seeing everyone inspire each other is really encouraging.
Aiva Raine  Part of the problem is that the website has been categorized by many web filtering tools as social networking and is therefore blocked from many work places. I suspect that many like myself, spent time at work on your site which is now prohibited and only accessible from home.
Personally, though, I have been focusing strictly on my novel and as I am reaching the last critical chapters, haven't been spending time on the site. I suffer from distraction writing- lol which simply means I can be distracted by just about anything when I'm supposed to write and so have stopped reading anything other than my own novel.
LaPia Just a thought about the lack of entries on contests. Nearly 90% of October's contests were about Halloween with pretty much the same idea, not enough diversity, too much redundancy. With the Christmas holiday coming, I hope to see more freedom for writers. You also have to think about those who do not celebrate the Christmas holiday.
Lobelia is truly blessed I have submitted entries in too many contests that never were judged, but simply disappeared. It makes me hesitant to put a lot of time in preparing entries for submission, to be honest.
atwhatcostDoesn't group participation ebb and flow with the seasons? Summer is as vacant as homes, while folks rush for vacations or head for the backyard. Autumn brings back school and the ensuing back-to-normal feeling that hits even those of us with no one in school. NaNo stars tomorrow, so writing sites collect more cobwebs than we remove after Halloween. The holiday season is always busy, but there's that long pause between after-holiday sales and plan-the-garden. Seems to me that's when groups get the busiest, while the northern hemisphere hibernates.
And then add to that, we all write. No matter what kind of writing we do, it is something done when we're not sidetracked hitting our groups. Truthfully, I've given up groups for just that reason - I feel guilty when writing and life give me little time to hit my old groups. But, hey, when I'm finished my book, one group will see too much of me - the Novel Workshop. ;)
Challenge: Step out of your comfort zone here on WDC. Try something you haven't before. Then write in and tell us about your experience. Did you enter a writing contest in a genre you don't normally write in? Was there a poll, mad-lib or word search you created, and you had never tried so before? If so, link the item, so we can showcase it here. Did you create a cnote or image shop, if so send us the link, and a brief write-up on your new experience. Above all, try something new, and STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. |
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Contests & Activities: November 22, 2011 Issue [#4727]
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