  Contests & Activities
This week: Edited by: spidey  
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Welcome to the Contests & Activities Newsletter. I'm spidey , and I'm your Editor this week. I'd like to discuss Time-Management. |
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Time-Management
Has this ever happened to you: You've set up an activity or contest, only to find yourself struggling to host or judge? or You sign up for a contest or activity only to find yourself without the time to finish?
Although life can be unpredictable (and an argument can be made for an allowance for those unexpected events), we should also take a serious look at whether we have the time to commit ourselves.
Hosting/Judging:
How much time will it take?
It's not usually possible to get an exact amount on how long it will take to host, judge, and award an activity or contest. However, we can take a look at some guesses based on a few things:
 Recurring or one-time? A recurring contest, one that runs round after round continuously, will require you to be able to set aside time on a regular basis to host and judge. To get a good idea if this is a reasonable thing for you to do, try hosting just one round to get a taste.
Round lengths - If you're running a weekly contest, you'll have to set aside time each week to maintain your contest, with some time during the round to answer questions if need be. For a monthly contest, you'll need possibly the same amount of time or even more - since you're giving a longer time for people to submit. Consider your round lengths carefully.
Number of Submissions - This one's very tough to judge ahead of time. It's best to overestimate. Give yourself plenty of time to judge, but try to have winners determined in a reasonable amount of time so your contestants aren't waiting too long.
Limit Lengths - One way to keep judging to a surmountable task is to enforce limit lengths on entries. No one likes to stifle creativity, but limit lengths can be a way to reduce the time it will take to read and judge entries. (Plus limits can arguably inspire more creativity out of writers!)
Entering:
Entering a one-time contest isn't too difficult when considering time-management, but what about longer committments? There are a few things to think about before signing up for multi-round or longer challenges.
Think about how much time you can realistically set aside for writing. Perhaps it's one hour per day, or three hours per week. You know your schedule best, and you know how to fit writing into it.
Remember that life is unpredictable. Try to be realistic and anticipate complications.
Always keep on writing!
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Contests & Activities :
Just a few contests & activities I've come across on the site. Know of some gems that deserve exposure? Submit them in the feedback form or submission form at the end of this Newsletter, and I'll put them in my next one!
Some of my favorite contests & activities:
| | Movie Talk [13+] #430646
Actors, actresses, movies, TV -- It's the 'Golden Globe' of Writing.Com! Quill Nominee
by Maryann  |
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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!
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My last newsletter discussed Guest-Judging. 
I like guest judges because each person has their own likes and dislikes. No matter how objective anyone tries to be, they do have a bias. I often run up against this and find myself trying to write to the judge rather than writing what I want to write. And when one person is judging all the time, I also know that they can get burnt out. So it's a relief as a contestant to see a new face judging, or even better, when there's more than one judge. When there's more than one judge, you tend to have more objectivity and less room for bias to rule ~ sarahreed
All great points!
Question to think about: How do you prioritize so you have time for entering/hosting contests & activities?
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Contests & Activities: June 17, 2009 Issue [#3112]
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