This week: Work Backwards Edited by: Legerdemain  
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The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight some of the current contests and activities on the site, help educate members on how to host contests and activities, and provide clues to submit quality entries to contests. Write to me if you'd like something in particular covered.
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Work Backwards
When entering several contests, a good way to prioritize work time and deadlines is to work backwards. This, of course, assumes that you won't get delayed by momentary writer's block or the plumbing going haywire in your house.
Assuming the average word count for your entries is between 2,000 to 5,000 words, how long does it take you to write an entire story? Flash fiction friends, feel free to abbreviate. How long do you think you spend editing? For fun, say it takes four hours to write and an hour to edit.
How much free time do you have to work on your WDC entries? Perhaps you only have an hour a day, with a little extra time on weekends if you're lucky. You'll need five days to work on your entry. Building in a cushion for mishaps, you'd probably need a week to complete your entry and get it posted. Be sure to double check everything needed to enter like word counts and such. So MANY people end up with their fantastic story disqualified over a silly thing like word count.
So if the contest ends on the 14th, you need to get started by the 7th of the month. Get busy!
Now, if you want to enter two contests, like this month's site contest "Short Shots: Official WDC Contest" [ASR] at the same time as a member contest, you need to work in the time needed for both. Since the member contest I used as an example ends mid-month and the site contest ends at the end of the month, you'll want to work on the member contest first. If you're like me, one story will be percolating away in my head even while I work on the other.
Budgeting time will be an especially handy tool during busy months like WDC birthday month in September and all the holiday fun in December. So take a little time, look back at old entries - their creation date and the time you posted the work in a contest and figure a word count and edit daily average, then work backwards from deadlines. It will definitely help with deadline stress and panic.
Don't forget NaNo if you spend your November writing for that challenge. Either way, Write On!
This month's question: Do you budget your time for contest entries? Send in your answer below!  Editors love feedback!
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The task is simple: Write a short story using the picture prompt as inspiration!
You can do a good deed by reviewing any qualifying item on Writing.Com and you might win!
AUGUST PROMPT/ You and your spouse are arguing about the Covid vaccine.
This is a monthly fiction writing contest, accepting stories or epics (long narrative poems).
The next round of the contest will close on September 20, 2021. We've posted a new prompt: Ruby goes out.
Why is she going out? It's up to you. Maybe it's a full moon and she's a werewolf. Maybe she's going on a date. Maybe she's just walking her pet.
Be sure that Ruby has a goal. It's probably connected to what she's doing, but not necessarily. The other part of the prompt is to focus on the obstacles to achieving her goal. Use your imagination!
This activity is simple, and should be a recognisable format for most of you awesome Writing.Com folks. 15 reviews = Merit Badge. Yay!
I am glad I am employed but wish I had a job I enjoyed more. How about you?
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This is a story about a rather misguided princess, and a very upset fairy.
Let's have some fun while learning about the Dog Days Of Summer.
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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
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This month's question: Do you budget your time for contest entries? Send in your answer below! Editors love feedback!
Last month's "Contests & Activities Newsletter (July 7, 2021)" question: What advice would you give a person starting a contest or activity?
Elfin Dragon-finally published  : My advise - Be sure you are going to enjoy it. If you're not going to enjoy the results people will send, or the contest itself, you won't enjoy being the moderator of the contest.
Aennaytte: Free & Wild in GoT  : And since we're at advertising, don't forget to link contest on the site's contest page. I've noticed that both the contests and the activities pages have been neglected since people use the newsfeed more. The newsfeed is great for creating hype, but it travels into oblivion quickly and is limited to followers. The listing pages are really the best to make a contest accessible and easy to find for a long time.
bryanmchunter: Just do the best you can do and hope the results will end in your favor.
Shadow Prowler-Spreading Love  : I've learned the importance of keeping accurate records, asking for help, plan for hiccups, and if YOU have fun with it others will have fun as well.
Elisa the Bunny Stik  : Spreadsheets are useful for judging rubrics.
Schnujo is Late to Lannister  : Have a good fan base to begin with. If you don't have many fans, no one will see your activity and then no one will join it and you'll be disappointed. It might be a brilliant idea, but without fans seeing your Newsfeed, it's not as likely to take off with just advertising on the WdC Contest page and Contest Central Station. 
THANKFUL SONALI 17 WDC YEARS!  : 1. Keep your commitments.
2. Don't be disappointed if you get very few entries early on. Things take time to catch on.
3. Enter some contests and participate in some activities yourself so you get the feel of things before you start your own.
4. Try to keep prizes flexible - for example, let the winner choose between Gift Points or a Merit Badge.
elephantsealer : The best advice I can think of is for the person to go ahead and go it; it is your contest or activity, and you have all the ingredients to make it good!!!!
DevilsBargin  : Figure out what kind of contest or activity you wish to do before you start. Then if it's a contest Figure out what kind of prize people will be playing for. The frist place prize also know as top or grand prize should be the main draw. When advertising a contest. After establishing the Fristplace prize. Decided if you wish to have the contest have only one soul winner or a number of winners. A prize pool or prize list is used in the cases for a multitude of winners. Now before beginning a contest. There are two things to keep in mind. Number One: Do your research. And by this I mean. If you know anyone who has run a similar contest. Talk to them frist get their impressions of how things went. Ask questions such as how many contestant participated. Or what sort of prep work did you have to do before hand. Remember ever contest is different and they all require their own needs to pull off.
Nonn  : Just go for it.
Thank you for all the responses, it's much appreciated! Leger~
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Contests & Activities: August 04, 2021 Issue [#10915]
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