  Contests & Activities
This week: Stay Flexible Edited by: NaNoNette  
More Newsletters By This Editor 
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
There was a day, last week or a decade ago, that you typed "writing" into your search engine. You wanted to show off some of your poems, short stories, or maybe even get feedback for a whole novel. You found Writing.com.
On this site, you found all that you searched for: Portfolio space, helpful reviewers, encouraging groups, style and grammar lessons from peers. Nothing prepared you for the amazing bounty of: Contests & Activities! |
| ASIN: B000FC0SIM |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 12.99
|
|
Stay Flexible
How important is it to have rules, enforce them, and when is it necessary to be flexible?
For every activity and for every contest on this site, there are rules that the host makes up. There are some rules that should be set in stone and not tampered with, but there are aspects that can make it necessary to make changes. I am currently running a contest that asks members to submit stories about parenting. The contest started on Mother's Day and ends on Father's Day. I felt those dates were appropriate for a parenting contest. Once I opened the contest to submissions, I got some questions.
One of the rules was that I would only allow new stories. A member asked if it would be okay to submit an older story if it wasn't awarded yet. Hey, I'm not in the business of stifling creativity. So, I changed the rule to say that new and unawarded stories were welcomed in the contest. A few days later, I got another submission. Why, wouldn't you know it ... somebody decided to send an award to that story. What to do now? 
For a day, I really didn't know what to do. Then, it came to me. At the time that it had been submitted, that story did not have a ribbon. It is hardly the entrant's fault if his story is so good, another member feels the story deserves a ribbon. So, I posted that this particular story is still 100% eligible for the contest since the ribbon was awarded after the submission.
 As a possible entrant, you should never be afraid to either send a contest or activity host an email, or post your question in the forum.
Things that should not be questioned.
 Never ask a host to read in a genre they didn't ask for.
Never ask a host to read anything with a higher rating than their posted limits.
 Accept the judge's decisions.
Things that may be subject to change.
 You can always encourage a host to give out bigger prizes, especially when you send a gift point donation along.
 Some contests have to alter submission deadlines.
 Hosts want their activity or contest to thrive. Small changes, such as the ones in the example above, can be made at the host's discretion.
|
| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1865871 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1869411 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1869335 by Not Available. |
| | | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#1790591 by Not Available. |
A contest for short stories based on a list of prompts. This round's theme: Death through the eyes of Edvard Munch.
|
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: B07RKLNKH7 |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 0.99
|
|
| ASIN: B01DSJSURY |
Product Type: Kindle Store
|
Amazon's Price: $ 5.99
|
|
To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.
|
Contests & Activities: May 30, 2012 Issue [#5067]
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
"
