Example ▼

The basic rules are simple.

There are some other technical rules listed below, but that's pretty much it.

You will need to use WritingML to color code your text. This is an example of how to make text red:

You can find more information under WriitingML in the Writing.Com tools link on the left side of your screen.

Our goal is to accept and review all entries. We have only two exceptions to this goal. First, we will disqualify entries that are substantially over the limit of 3000 words. Second, we will only review entries that have enabled reviews in the item options. If "email comments only" is enabled, your story will not receive a review.

Of course, not all entries are equal. After all, this is a contest. There will be consequences in scoring for not following contest rules.

Similarly, submissions that exceed our limit of 3000 words won't automatically be disqualified. Exceeding the word limit falls under failing to follow the contest rules. That will result in a reduced score in the contest evaluation, but it won't generally result in disqualification.

However, we have a hard and fast rule that submissions longer than 4000 words will not be eligible for an award and probably will not be reviewed, either. Remember, we are volunteers. Reading and critiquing is time-consuming, challenging work. Please respect the time and effort of our judges by complying with our word limits.

Everyone who enters will receive 1000 GPS.

The best stories, as determined by the judges, will earn additional awards.

Unless they have been previously reviewed by one of the judges, these three entries each will receive an in-depth, review from one of the judges. At the discretion of the judge, the review may be public.

If we have three or fewer contestants, we will defer the competition and will roll the entries over to the next contest.

Every contestant earns the 1000 GPS for entering whether we run the competition or not, but you don't get a second 1000 GPS if your entry rolls over to the next contest. A story can only earn the 1000 GPS once.

If we have four, five or six contestants, we will award only the "Best Story" and "First Runner Up" prizes.

We reserve the right to reduce the number of prizes if we do not have at least six entries that are substantially shown as opposed to told. If, at judging, we discover that no entries make substantial showing there will be no prizes.

Judges will endeavor to provide every entry with an in-depth review, but these are not guaranteed. Remember, our judges are volunteers with their own busy work and writing schedules. We will only critique entries that have enabled reviews in the item options. If "email comments only" is enabled, your story will not receive a review.

At the discretion of the reviewer, critiques provided to contest entries may be public and posted to the public reviewing page.

All decisions by the judges are final.

Yes. To be sure that we are able to give each entry a fair reading, we can accept no more than ten entries in each iteration of the contest. We'll post a "Contest closed to entries" message in the forum after the tenth entry. If you're too late for this contest, you may enter the next one! We expect to offer the contest at least every other month.

We expect to run the contest at least every other month, starting August 1, 2018.

The contest will close to new entries after receipt of ten submissions or on the fourth Monday of the month.

If we have three or fewer submissions by the fourth Monday of the month, we will extend the deadline for submissions to the fourth Monday of the succeeding month.

If we have three or fewer entries by the the fourth Monday of the second month, we will roll contest entries over to the next iteration of the contest.

The deadline for entries is when the tenth entry to the contest is posted or
whichever happens first. We will use daylight time during the months when it is applicable. .

In Universal Time, that's 1:00:00 PM UCT the fourth Monday of the contest month. To convert the deadline to your local time zone, go to
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

If you're interested in why "Coordinated Universal TIme" is abbreviated "UCT" instead of "CUT," see
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/utc-abbreviation.html

Only one entry per contestant per contest, please. Feel free to enter every round of the contest if you like!

Whoa, there, pardner! Here are some other rules.

Yes. However, each contest round we will post a "Contest closed to entries and editing" message to the forum, usually at noon on the fourth Monday of the contest month. That's so we have a week to read and judge the stories. Once we've posted the message, do not edit your story. Doing so can result in disqualification.

Art Of Criticism Feature Articles  (E) Links to Art of Criticism issues where the feature article is by Max. #2026142 by Max Griffin

Max's Alphabetized links to Useful Stuff  (E) Some links to things every author needs. #1708934 by Max Griffin

FOLDER

Thoughts on Writing  (NPL) Here are some short essays on the craft of fiction. #1847273 by Max Griffin

GROUP

The Art of Show vs Tell Courses  (13+) Have you ever been told, "Show, don't tell?" Easy to do, right? Not! #2129581 by Jim Hall - Anniversary 8/27

It's simple! Just post a message to the board below, with the subject, "MY ENTRY" followed by the title of your story. In the body of the message, include a link to your item in "bitem" format like so:
Please do NOT include the story itself. Include a link as described above.

When you post your message, we'll see a link to the item that looks like this:

STATIC

A Day at the Park, With Pie  (18+) Ruby saves the world with her knitting and homemade pie. #1894810 by Max Griffin

If you're still not quite sure what to do, check out "Newbie Hyperlinking 101 - Bitem Format"  for a step-by-step tutorial.