This week: Keep Yourself In The Game Edited by: GeminiGem of House Lannister  
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KEEP YOURSELF IN THE GAME
As a contest owner, I like to give people who want to enter one of my contests the benefit of the doubt. I have worked diligently to make my rules easy to understand, and I try to keep things as simple as I can while still trying to anticipate any situation that may come up with an entry. I invite people to contact me if they have questions or need something clarified. I try to help by catching rule infractions before the deadline to give the entrant a chance to rectify the problem. Hey, we're all human. It is easy to make an honest mistake.
I get that reading over rules is boring, but guess what? It is part of the deal. In the end, it is always the responsibility of the person entering the contest to follow the contest rules. I go above and beyond to help entrants succeed, but at the end of the day, it is all on you.
Does that sound hostile or ungrateful? It isn't meant to be. It's meant as a wake-up call. Running a contest takes time. My free time is limited and that makes it especially valuable. As a contest owner, I appreciate it when people recognize that. As a contest owner, I want you to succeed but you have to do your part.
I am also an entrant of contests owned by other members, so I have a few tips to share that might help you keep track of the contest requirements as you write a new piece or do a major re-write of an old piece for a particular contest.
1. Do a thorough read-through of the entire contest page before you get started. Not every contest is arranged the same way, so a vital piece of information might not be where you would expect it.
2. Put a bitem link to the contest you are wanting to enter in the body of your item. You can always take it out later if you prefer, but having that link right there means it is easy to pop onto the contest page to check on a rule or requirement as you work. It may save you some time and hassles later, especially if your memory is unreliable as mine can be.
If you don't want to put it in the body of the item you are writing make sure you "favorite" the contest or put a link in a handy spot in your notepad.
3. Ask questions of the contest owner. Even if they don't specifically invite you to do this, it is still a good idea if you are unclear about something in the contest. Emailing the owner is probably the best way of doing this.
4. Get in the habit of putting your word count or line count at the end of your piece. I would say, HANDS DOWN, this is the biggest rule violation I see in my contests. Most WdC contests require this, so just make it happen. No one will penalize you for having it there if you don't need it.
Just in case you are unaware, there is a word count function in the same dropdown (the little gear) you click to edit your item.
5. Before you drop your entry into a forum message, go over the rules one more time. Was there anything that you missed? The best time to get all those unruly ducks in a row is before the contest owner even knows you are entering.
If you follow the contest rules your entry will be valid and you will avoid being disqualified. You can't win it if you aren't in it.
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Where all the contests are!
Here is a selection of contests for you to check out.
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Contests & Activities: November 02, 2022 Issue [#11641]
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