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This week: Hone Your Skills Edited by: Annette  
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Hone Your Skills
Use Your Force for Good
What happens when you stay within your comfort zone?
How often do you hear phrases like:
"Get out of your comfort zone."
"Try something new."
"Learn a new skill."
"Be creative."
What if I told you to turn that upside down. What if it's perfectly okay and good if you are a specialist who has no clue how other things work? Because it is. In life, nobody is going to tell you that there is something wrong with you if you refuse to perform brain surgery when you're a car mechanic.
So, if you really really like to write horror and you really really don't care one bit for writing children's fiction. I'm here to tell you: it's okay. I am relieving you of any guilt or feelings of inadequacy others want to put on you.
Because, not everybody wants to leave their comfort zone.
Because, maybe what others think is new to you is old and boring to you - or you just don't care.
Because, as long as you know how to write, you don't have to learn how to write for an audience that isn't the one you seek.
Because, being creative is not something that turns on or off at the whim of somebody else. You can be creative whenever you please and in whichever subject floats your boat.
One more thing: Writing.Com is on your side. Here, you can follow your writing dreams because you should be able to find many people wanting to work on getting better at the same thing you're working on. So, if that sci-fi writing group doesn't understand your erotica ... go to where your writing is received by like-minded writers and readers.
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I got the following replies to my last newsletter "Disqualified!"
Elfin Dragon-finally published  wrote:  Reading "Disqualified" reminded me that I got disqualified today. The reason it's funny though is because what I submitted was in the rules...the rules were not specific to the submission. A reminder for Those giving the Contest to be Precise. 
I agree. Contest hosts need to be specific. And if a writer doesn't follow a rule because it was cryptic the host should be generous with their interpretation of it.
Stan Stanley  wrote: yip when all else fails read the instructions
Surprising how many people don't read Terms and Conditions
even exclusions on insurance policies
I once turned down a car warranty because I didn't like their exceptions. Terms and conditions are definitely something to look out for. In writing and in life.
Lexi wrote: Montblanc,
I received an email the other day from a member who had written a romance/love story, and he/she was having an issue with finding a contest that suited the piece. It was either the contest had certain prompts, or the story was too long, or it needed to be newly created, and so on. I could only offer this advice:
1. Edit the story to include the prompted words or lessen the length, as long as it did not change the story in a way where they'd be unhappy.
Do you have any advice to offer that may help the writer?
Thank you,
~ Lexi
Without knowing more, I'm thinking that writer didn't know how the site works. I guess there are places on the internet where written stories can get submitted to contests. I've "met" quite a few people who came to this site thinking they can get paid for their writing. Some people don't take the time to read what the site is about and that's where some of those questions come from.
I think your advice was the correct one to give. After all, since nearly all contests are member-run, if none fits the writer's story, it's not up to the community to create a contest. It's up to the writer to figure out what to do. If they mainly want reviews, you could suggest setting up auto-reward points for reviews. That usually yields some reviews. Not all will be great, but there is a better chance at being seen.
One more thing, any time a newer member asks you about a specific genre they are writing in, you can see if you can find a group that writes in that genre. Erotica has "Unofficial Erotica Newsletter Group" while other genres have other groups. I'm sorry, I don't know all of them off-hand.
It depends on how much time you want to spend finding things for the member. One good bit of advice is always to tell them to search in forums, on the contest page, and also run a "group" search. That way, you don't have to do the footwork and they get to learn to find their way around the site.
I hope this helped you a little bit.
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Contests & Activities: May 04, 2016 Issue [#7624]
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