This week: Three Time's A Charm Edited by: GeminiGem of House Lannister  
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Hi there! I'm GeminiGem of House Lannister, one of the regular editors of the Contests & Activities Newsletter. My computer and I are currently at war and I think I'm losing. I'm going to do my best to give you some useful information whether I get my computer's cooperation or not. |
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Three Time's A Charm
I do well enough with computers. I'm certainly not an IT whiz, but I manage.
I will admit that this is my third attempt to write this newsletter. The first two times, something happened and my content went  POOF. It either didn't get saved properly or it was accidentally deleted. Even though I tried to blame it on my computer, it was likely Operator Error. It felt like the Universe was telling me that my prior attempts were garbage and I needed to start over. The Universe can be a brutal critic.
In review, I talked in my last Contest & Activities Newsletter "Contests & Activities Newsletter (February 21, 2024)" about the first three big decisions to make when creating a new writing contest or activity. Now I will give you some "do's and don'ts" to make it look and work smoothly. (That is, if the Universe is willing to let me do this  )
DO: Use large fonts, bright colors, and images (if your membership allows).
DON'T: Clutter up your page so that it overwhelms your potential entrant.
DO: Make use of drop notes. If you never used them before, it might take a little practice to get them right but it is so worth it. See that little button right above the text box that says "drop"? That is what you are going to use. If you need help figuring it out, drop me an email and I can give you some step-by-step instructions to help you out.
DO: Make the opening and closing dates of your contest/activity very easy to find, especially your deadline. Don't make your entrants hunt for it. Here is a nifty bit of code you can add to your forum that shows how long until the deadline:
{code:countdown('03/31/24 11:59p')}
It will look like this: [Refresh to load countdown.]
 You will want to change the date to whatever YOUR deadline is, of course.
DO: Put the open/closed status of the contest or activity right with the title or the line below it where you describe your activity. That way people know before they open the forum if it is running currently or not. Here are two examples:
A Newbie Short Story Contest
Rated: E · Message Forum · Contest · #2273966
presented by The Fox's Socks//OPEN MARCH 1 - 31, 2024
The PET NEWS CONTEST
Rated: E · Message Forum · Animal · #1986337
CONTEST CLOSED
DO: Look at other contest forums and see how they have been done. What appeals to you? What doesn't? Make some notes and use these other contests as guides when setting up your own forum. Here's a list of WdC contests: "Contest Clues" .
Okay, I should save and send this newsletter before I do something that causes my content to disappear once again. |
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In my last Contests and Activities Newsletter "Fun Will Now Commence" I asked: Have you noticed the lack of a particular type of contest or activity that you would like to see on WdC?
Elisa the Bunny Stik
Admittedly when I have noticed these gaps I've created contests to address them. I only have so much time, though!
That is completely understandable. Time is always in short supply.
Khola Mousethyme
Elisa the Bunny Stik - same here. If I noticed a gap I would create something but I haven't really noticed any.
Now that I brought to your attention, keep your eyes peeled.
Cubby~Cheering House Florent!
I'll be opening back up "Writing 4 Kids Contest (CLOSED)" in April or May, once I get back from being a nomad this winter. But wouldn't it be nice to have another contest open for those who enjoy writing for the children's genre?
Also, I'd been thinking about a contest or activity that challenges members to write in as many genres as possible during the year, but haven't quite figured out how to go about it yet. 😅
Cubby, let's work something out. I would love to run a Children's genre contest when you are unable to run yours.
s
I've noticed an increase in contests and a decrease in straight-forward activities that still reward participants.
I agree, Steven, we could use more simple writing activities. You had better not stray away from "Merit Badge Magic" , however!
hdarling
What about a challenge for single-genre writers (or anyone) to write a story that could be many different genres. Although there aren't that many genres, when I designed a board game I used genres such as Westerns, Horror, Mythical, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, and others I can't think of now (I designed the game about 15 years ago, and I'm too lazy to locate it now).
Okay, that sounds intriguing, why don't you be the one to develop that idea? It would be a fantastic challenge!
jackson
Short story contests with no prompts or other story altering rules. (Word count excepted.)
I think it would be the perfect challenge for you to create a contest like this.
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Contests & Activities: March 20, 2024 Issue [#12471]
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