 Contests & Activities: November 12, 2025 Issue [#13445] |
This week: Making Time for Fun and Winning Edited by: Adore lol♥ feels thankful♥  
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This guest edition of Contests & Activities newsletter will talk about making time for entering and less for rushing and making mistakes with entries. The better and more deliberate the entries, the better chance you give yourself to win.
I hope you know that I speak from years of not giving myself time to put my best entry together, rushing at the last minute, etc. I know these errors personally, so never think I don't speak from experience that I hope to spare you from. What's the quote: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?", um, I'm not sure where that works here except that if you prevent yourself from rushing, you cure the pain of mistakes and, reducing, (if not eliminating), errors from rushing.
So, that's the main aim for this edition and I hope you can enjoy my small efforts in my guest editor work for this newsletter. Enjoy, fellow readers...see you soon  |
Hi and welcome to this edition of the Contests & Activities newsletter where we're going to discuss entering contests without making mistakes and rushing.
The Art of the Slow and Steady Entry
Entering contests and participating in activities should be a joy, not a frantic chore. The goal of this newsletter is to help you shift from a hurried, last-minute approach to a more relaxed and thoughtful one.
This shift can be the difference between making a simple mistake and landing on the winner’s list.
Think of it like baking.
You can rush through measuring the flour, but if you accidentally use salt instead of sugar, no amount of frantic stirring can save the cake. The same is true for your creative entries.
A contest entry is your cake, and the rules are the recipe. You need to read every instruction, measure every detail, and give it enough time to bake.
Here’s my simple advice: Slow down to speed up.
If you dedicate a focused block of time, say one hour, to an entry, you'll likely get more high-quality work done than if you spend three hours on it while distracted by emails, social media, and other obligations.
Focused time equals better output.
Time Management Tips for Contest Lovers
So, how do we get there? It’s all about creating a deliberate process.
When you decide to enter a contest or activity, the very first thing you do is break down the requirements. Don't just read the deadline; read every word of the rules.
Create a checklist for your entry:
Rule Check: Word count, file format, theme, etc.
Creative Time: Block out time for brainstorming and drafting.
The Polish: Block out time for reviewing and editing—this is where the magic happens and mistakes are caught.
Submission Slot: Mark a deadline for yourself that is three days before the official deadline. This buffer is your safety net.
For complex or high-stakes entries, aim to create two distinct versions. Not because you'll submit both, but because the first one is often your "warm-up" entry.
It gets the immediate ideas out, and you can see where you took shortcuts.
The second version, created after a short break (even just a day), will be the refined, superior one. This automatically builds in the "review and refine" time that most people skip.
Your time is valuable. Treat your creative pursuits as seriously as you would any paid work or essential appointment. Look at your week and schedule three 30-minute blocks specifically for contests and activities.
If a friend asks you to go out during your scheduled time, you don't have to say "no," but you can tell yourself: "I have a commitment right now, but I can join you after."
This simple mental framing increases the importance of your activity.
We've all been there: staring at the screen at 11:58 PM, desperately trying to upload a file before the midnight deadline. In that chaos, major errors happen:
Incorrect File Naming: You name your file "draft_v2_final_really_final.doc" instead of the required format.
Missing Details: Forgetting to fill in your username or confirm your email address used on Writing.com.
The Glaring Typo: A word is misspelled in the very first sentence, a detail you would have caught with a simple read-through.
Wrong Format: Submitting a PDF when the rules explicitly asked for a PNG, leading to an automatic disqualification.
These mistakes are preventable. By honoring your "Submission Slot" (that self-imposed deadline three days early), you eliminate the stress, and stress is the number one enemy of a flawless entry.
When you rush, you're essentially paying a premium in mistakes that costs you the prize.
Let’s commit to making this upcoming year a period of thoughtful, polished entries.
You deserve to give your best work a chance to win.
Happy creating and on to great contest entries!  Well, I can't say that I won't see you guys again but I wish you the best till I do.  |
Here is this month's list of some new and interesting stories for your reading pleasure:
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