 Contests & Activities: October 01, 2008 Issue [#2609] |
  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: Shannon  
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
Welcome to the Contests & Activities Newsletter. I’m Shannon , and I’m your editor this week.
Contests and Activities aren’t just fun, they help improve your writing. Just as reading and reviewing other’s work makes you a better writer, the act of writing--whether it is a letter to your mother or a contest entry--improves your writing skills each and every time you do it.
Our Competitive Nature
With so many contests and activities to choose from on WDC, it’s hard to choose which one to participate in. Should you choose a contest with a prompt or one without? Does your entry need to be newly written or can you submit something older? Whatever you decide, one thing is paramount: if you want your entry to have a chance at winning, you must follow the contest rules. Why bother to enter a contest if your entry is automatically disqualified for not following the rules? It’s a waste of your time, and it wastes the time of the person running the contest. If you come away from this newsletter with only one thing, let it be this: make sure your contest entry follows the rules. You can’t win unless it does.
I lived in Nevada from 1990-2001. The first question people always ask me when they learn this is, “Oh, so you’re a gambler then?”
Most of the time I spent in the casinos was at their fabulous buffets. All you can eat seafood for $13.95--who could resist that! I’d sit there and watch people. People watching is great fodder for storytelling--all the different mannerisms, character traits and styles--it provides the writer with a plethora of information. Pay attention to your surroundings and take notes. Anyway, I’d sit there eating my crab legs dipped in butter and watch retirees drop dollar after dollar into those machines, sitting there for hours at a time until they’d lost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, their retirement and life savings disappearing with each pull of the handle.
As for me, I can count on one hand the times I gambled during my 11 years in Nevada, and it was never more than one roll of nickels or dimes at a time. My total investment didn’t exceed $20, but I won $200 once, and I still talk about it to this day. It was so exciting!
“What does all this have to do with contests & activities?” you ask. The short answer is this: everyone likes to win. Winning is what it’s all about, whether it’s gift points, reviews, personal signatures, merit badges, gift cards or community recognition ... it’s all about the win. That’s why contests are so popular. But how do you choose the contest or activity that’s right for you? Well, hopefully this newsletter will help you narrow that list down a little. If nothing else, the following great contests and activities will get you started.
Until next time, keep writing, and we’ll keep reading.
There are many contests and activities to choose from here on WDC. I’ve tried to include a wide variety here, and hopefully something will light a fire under your muse.
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And be sure to check out the comprehensive Contests and Activities listings. Each of the 150 items listed includes a short synopsis, providing you all the information you'll need to choose the contest or activity that's right for you.
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!
http://www.Writing.Com/main/newsletters.php?action=nli_form
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
Are there contests you wish were available on WDC but aren’t? How about a contest within the Contests & Activities newsletter? Now there’s an idea!
In 500 words or less tell me about something you won. It can be funny, serious, whatever you like. I will read each entry and announce a winner in my next issue, which will be out on October 29, 2008. Winner will receive a Job Well Done MB.
Write on!
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