Search where?

This Portfolio (schnujo)

All of Writing.Com

Create New Item

Read & Review

Community

Browse By Type

Browse By Genre

Writing Resources

Monday, Aug. 8, 2022

9:54am EDT

Members: 1,157

Guests: 135

Total Online: 1,292

The Contest Challenge

by Schnujo

Rated: 13+ · Message Forum · Activity · #2109126

Join by entering a contest a month for 12 months--Win Badges! Catching up is allowed!

Click here to SKIP TO THE CONTESTS

Click here to SKIP TO THE FORUM

Click here to SKIP TO THE TIPS

COME ON!
You're already entering contests!
Why not get Merit Badges for doing it?

A giant thank you to Warped Sanity for this lovely banner!

Short and Sweet Version

Rules ▼

CURRENT CONTESTS

Note: Not every contest begins on the 1st and ends on the last day of the month. It is YOUR responsibility to know the final entry date for the contest you choose to enter. If a contest deadline is during the month, but then reopens that same month, feel free to enter any time during that month. If it closes during the month and doesn't reopen that month, choose another contest.

FORUM

Dystopian Scrawlings

(ASR)
A new contest over old ideas...and my first WdC Contest! Come enter for a chance to win!
#2261107 by LorenIsDirectingDystopia

FORUM

Spirits at Lighthouses Contest

(E)
Do you have what it takes to write about a Haunting?
#2128856 by Beacon - Light 4ever

FORUM

Into The Darkness

(18+)
A short story contest for dark speculative fiction: Dark SciFi, Dark Fantasy and Horror.
#2223577 by A E Willcox

(Open August 15 - September 30 so you can still submit your August entries to the contest in September during the same round of this contest. Just note that it is for the August round of "The Contest Challenge"

so I can keep things straight when you post the entry here.

)

Prizes

Everyone completing 12 months straight receives 2 exclusive Merit Badges at the end!
(You can catch up if you get behind.)
Get a Trinket after each time you enter all 3 contests 3 different times--consecutive times not required.

Extended Rules Here ▼

Basic Information

This is a 1 year challenge where you will enter a contest 12 months in a row. (You can catch up if you fall behind, so don't panic.

) You don't have to win the contest. You just have to have a legitimate entry. This challenge is on a rotating basis. Jump in whenever you'd like, just be sure to post a contest entry every month for 12 months in a row (including catching up if you fall behind)!

Each month I will provide you with at least 3 contests to enter. At least one will be guaranteed to be a general contest, no religion, no higher ratings, etc. At least one will be a poetry contest.
One contest MAY be one that many people choose not to enter such as religious or horror. That's fine. Each month you only have to enter 1 of the contests.

Your contest entries should follow the rules of the specific contest you choose to enter.

How to Enter

For this challenge, title your post the same as the contest you entered. If you entered "The Writer's Cramp," then title your post "The Writer's Cramp." You will then post a link to your entry post in their forum--not a link to your item, but to the forum post proving you entered. Simply post {post:xxxxxxx} with the "xxxxxxx" being the number of your post in THEIR forum. You do NOT have to post your actual item here. (But you can if you want to, within that post.) You are welcome to include any comments about the contest or about writing the item you entered, but that's not required. You are also welcome to announce if you should win a contest, but preferably on the thread where you posted your entry in our forum.

While, as mentioned above, you may add more, the most basic entry looks like this...

(Title of Post) The Writer's Cramp

(Body of Post) {post:xxxxxxx}

If you should fall behind, don't worry. Just keep entering when you can and then or you can play catch-up using the contests in the "Previously Highlighted Contests" dropnote when you get the chance. To catch up, enter as you normally would, using the current month's prompt, then when posting on here, in the post Title space, post the contest name AND THE MONTH you are catching up, then, as usual, post a link to your post in the Body using {post:xxxxxx}.

Catch-up Entry Posts should look like this...

(Title of Post) The Writer's Cramp--January (and year, if necessary)

(Body of Post) {post:xxxxxx}

Prizes

The prize, after entering a contest 12 months in a row, will be 2 exclusive Merit Badges (CRs guaranteed).

If a competitor chooses to enter all 3 contests offered in a month, they will get access to a special Trinket after doing so 3 different times. It is not necessary to enter all 3 contests for 3 consecutive months, any 3 times will do. This may be done a total of 4 times in a 12 month period for a total of 4 Trinkets.

CLICK BELOW FOR HOT TIPS ON COMPLETING THE CHALLENGE

Tips ▼

Can I...? ▼

YES

Can I rearrange a couple of contest entries? "The Whatever Contest -- Reopens Sept?"

is the only thing available for November 2020, but I used "HONORING OUR VETERANS "

for that month/year. Can I move "HONORING OUR VETERANS "

to count for the August 2020 round so I can apply "The Whatever Contest -- Reopens Sept?"

to November 2020? YES! As long as you have 1 contest per month and they are of appropriate length and difficulty, the arrangement of them is rarely important. Just tell me what you need counted for which month.

Can I replace this contest I find offensive? It's the only thing open for the month I'm working to catch up on. YES! If you find a religous, horror, or sexual contest offensive, you can replace it with a contest of similar length and difficulty.

Can I post that I won a contest? I'm very excited about it! YES! I'm excited for you! Please share your success in the forum either on your original thread or start a new one.

Can I catch up? I got busy/forgot and am behind on the challenge. YES! I always encourage people to catch up. Just be sure to use one of the appropriate contests for the month(s) you missed and enter using the current prompt. Then post like you normally would, but include the month and year you are catching up on so you get the correct credit. There's an example of how to post just above the forum.

Can I catch up on all the entries since the challenge began? You spend tens of millions of GPs on the giant January celebration for those people and I want to be celebrated! BTW, I wasn't even a member when the challenge started. YES! Anyone willing to work to catch up is welcome to! The prizes are massive in the giant January celebration for people who have done every single month of the challenge since it started! Even if it takes you 2-3 years to complete the entire thing, it's worth it. Just choose the appropriate contests from the lists under the "Previously Highlighted Contests" dropnotes and use the current prompt to enter. When you post here, be sure to include the month and year you want credit for. There's an example of how to post just above the forum, in case you need a reminder.

Can I get a replacement contest for X month? Nothing is open anymore. YES! Though if you are working on catching up and that month is far away and you stil have other months to do, I may ask you to wait and work on other months first. But you'll never be unable to participate simply because everything is closed for that month. You are also encouraged to ask the contest owners if they are going to reopen their contest. Sometimes they've been thinking about it and just need a little nudge to do so.

Can I enter more than one contest per month? YES! You can enter as many contests as you want each month. Though if you haven't done 12 months in a row yet, consider looking at previous months to see if there is something you want to enter from before or perhaps a current contest was highlighted previously so you can finish sooner. Check former contests in the dropnotes labeled "Previously Highlighted Contests" and enter using the current prompt. Be sure to include the month and year you are catching up so that I know what to give you credit for. Examples of how to post a catch-up entry or regular entry are just above the forum.

Can I enter this contest twice this month and count it for this month and the other month this contest was highlighted? YES! As long as the contest allows multiple entries, you can enter as many times as allowed and count those entries for any other months the contest was highlighted.

Can I do previous months to finish faster? My life is about to get crazy busy and I won't be able to do the rest of my required entries. YES! I only require 12 consecutive months. If you want to do all 12 months in a single week, you are welcome to. Just be sure to use the appropriate contests as highlighted in the "Previously Highlighted Contests" dropnotes, use the current prompt, and let me know the month and year you want credit for.

Can I write an entry for my own contest or get a replacement contest? The only thing open for X month is my own contest. YES! While I might prefer you enter another contest, you can also write something for your own since officially it was a highlighted contest that month. Of course, you can't actually enter or win.

Can I wait and enter X contest next month? I hate this prompt. YES! As long as the contest is open next month (or you are willing to wait until it reopens), you can absolutely wait until you get an inspiring prompt. The only time this might be a problem is if you are trying to finish for the giant January celebration for those who have done every single month of the challenge since it began. To get maximum rewards, you need to finish by January 1 when the celebration begins and to get any rewards, you need to finish by January 31.

Can I finish my contests for the giant celebration for those who have finished every single month of the challenge since it started even after January 1 and still be celebrated? YES! While you might miss some rewards, such as the Newsfeed celebration, you won't miss everything, so long as you finish by January 31. Rewards given by me, such as GPs, raffle tickets, MBs, etc. can still be given to you up until the end of January. You only miss out on rewards given by the community or rewards that are otherwise no longer available such as raffle tickets to a raffle that is now closed--but I'd get you raffle tickets to a different raffle.

Can I join the challenge late? YES! Actually, there's no "late" time to join the challenge since you can start any month you'd like. Join today!

Can I work on catching up my entries in a different order? YES! You are welcome to catch up on previous entries in any order you'd like. If you are working on just 1 year, consider working in reverse order so that you are working both forwards (as the challenge progresses) and backwards (as you catch up) at the same time and can make the 12 consecutive months meet that way. Otherwise, you could end up with 12 or more months that are not consecutive so they wouldn't yet count for rewards.

Sorry, No, You Can't

Can I replace this romance contest with a sci-fi one? I don't write romance. Sorry, no, you can't. Part of the challenge is to write something out of your wheelhouse. But be creative with it. I had to write a Dungeons & Dragons story, but know nothing about D&D so I wrote about friends getting together to play, but since I don't know the rules, before the game started, the main friend who was acting as dungeon master was called away so the others decided to watch a movie instead. However, if you find something offensive, such as one of the sexual contests, and it's the only thing available, I will allow you to replace the contest in that case. And no, you can't claim romance is offensive, though I might tend to agree.

Can I replace this contest with a really short one? Sorry, no, you can't. Unless the contest you are replacing is also a really short contest, you need to replace it with a contest of equal length and difficulty. It's not fair to replace something requiring a minimum of 500 words with something requiring a maximum of 140 characters, for example.

Can I use contest entries I wrote from before, even though I'm just joining the challenge now? Sorry, no, you can't. One of the points of the challenge is to get entries for contests that might not have gotten as many entries. Obviously, you were going to enter already. However, you are welcome to write new entries for those contests (using the current prompt) and enter again to count for previous months so you can get your 12 consecutive months finished faster.

Can I get a replacement contest for X month even though I still have another 8 contests to catch up on? Sorry, no, you can't. Work on the other contests first. A contest for that month may reopen in the meantime. However, you are welcome to contact the contest host(s) to ask if they will reopen it. Sometimes they are thinking about it and hearing there is interest will encourage them to do so. But don't worry about being able to finish. If you are almost done except some months with nothing open, I'll find you some replacements.

Can I count this contest for several months because it was highlighted several times? Sorry, no, you can't. Unless you actually entered the contest several times, you can only count it once. However, if it allows multiple entries, that still counts as entering several times if you actually entered it more than once. In that case, entering twice in the same month, if it allows multiple entries, can count for 2 different months if the contest has been highlighed multiple times.

Current Competitors ▼

Previously Highlighted Contests 2017 ▼

Previously Highlighted Contests 2018 ▼

Previously Highlighted Contests 2019 ▼

Previously Highlighted Contests 2020 ▼

Previously Highlighted Contests 2021 ▼

Previously Highlighted Contests 2022 ▼

Thank you to all the participants!

WINNERS ▼

Winners of the Special Quick and Easy Months Challenge ▼

Special Appreciation
A Special Thank You to... ▼

Signature image for Honorable Mentions for 2017 Quill Awards

Be sure to check out my contest at

FORUM
The Whatever Contest -- Reopens Sept? (13+)
This irregular contest will change each round. Nature poem? Horror story? Whatever.
#2232242 by Schnujo

EXAMPLE

(Post Title = Contest Title) Pink Fluffy Unicorn Contest
(Post Body = Link to Contest Entry Post) {post:XXXXXXX}

CATCH UP EXAMPLE Note: The month is added

(Post Title = Contest Title & Month/Year for Credit) Pink Fluffy Unicorn Contest--December 2018
(Post Body = Link to Contest Entry Post) {post:XXXXXXX}

Post a new Message • Switch to Threaded View