Writing.Com General Discussion

My experience as well (~75%) and yes, aligned with pretty much everyone here, I tend to react to the item as if it were not associated with a contest...

That said, I feel pretty sure that most people don't approach a contest entry the same way they would approach, say, a short story for publication or something they felt attached to as a heartfelt work of their artistic expression--and therefore giving that kind of feedback is likely to be less than helpful to the author.

Or to put it more clearly, they probably know their 300 word piece that was responding to an awkward prompt isn't their best work, doesn't have the characterization they'd strive for in a more finished, serious piece, etc. Hearing that from a reviewer is likely to be redundant.

And, more than likely, they created it quickly, submitted it, won (or didn't) and then will never think of it or revisit it again until some guy's review pops up and they think, "Huh... someone read that thing? Wild. Man, I wish he'd spent his time and effort reading something I actually care about."

Of course I could be wrong.