Important Reminder - Previously Written Material
Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2014 11:28 pm
Hi everyone.
Although this is almost impossible to police, and technically only the honest people get "caught," there has been a return over recent topics of entries that were written previously. Sometimes it's too late for us to do anything about it (in other words, the information comes out after the winners have been determined and posted). Other times, I may contact the author to clarify the situation. Unfortunately, a lot of the time they slip under the radar, which isn't fair on everyone else.
As mentioned before, this is really something near impossible to police because it's only the innocent mistakes that get caught. So to avoid issues, this is a reminder of the rule.
All entries to the Writing Challenge need to be written after the topic is announced. In the past, we have allowed entries where the authors have taken a previously written piece and substantially rewritten it for the Challenge (in other words, the final piece is dramatically different to the original). However, as this is probably only just adding to the confusion, and because that little loophole is possibly adding to the confusion, as from the current topic (ACTION/ADVENTURE) all entries now need to be written fresh for the Challenge. No previously written material at all, even if substantially reworked. (Sorry.)
The reason we have this rule is because the main intention of the Challenge is to provide a way for authors to hone their skills by writing to topic, word count and deadline every week. So previously written material, even if reworked to fit, is not really in the spirit of the Challenge.
So, in a nutshell, if a topic is posted and you think you have something that may fit with a bit of reworking, that would be against the spirit of the Challenge and outside the rules. The entire concept of the entry needs to be developed after the topic has been announced.
Love, Deb
Although this is almost impossible to police, and technically only the honest people get "caught," there has been a return over recent topics of entries that were written previously. Sometimes it's too late for us to do anything about it (in other words, the information comes out after the winners have been determined and posted). Other times, I may contact the author to clarify the situation. Unfortunately, a lot of the time they slip under the radar, which isn't fair on everyone else.
As mentioned before, this is really something near impossible to police because it's only the innocent mistakes that get caught. So to avoid issues, this is a reminder of the rule.
All entries to the Writing Challenge need to be written after the topic is announced. In the past, we have allowed entries where the authors have taken a previously written piece and substantially rewritten it for the Challenge (in other words, the final piece is dramatically different to the original). However, as this is probably only just adding to the confusion, and because that little loophole is possibly adding to the confusion, as from the current topic (ACTION/ADVENTURE) all entries now need to be written fresh for the Challenge. No previously written material at all, even if substantially reworked. (Sorry.)
The reason we have this rule is because the main intention of the Challenge is to provide a way for authors to hone their skills by writing to topic, word count and deadline every week. So previously written material, even if reworked to fit, is not really in the spirit of the Challenge.
So, in a nutshell, if a topic is posted and you think you have something that may fit with a bit of reworking, that would be against the spirit of the Challenge and outside the rules. The entire concept of the entry needs to be developed after the topic has been announced.
Love, Deb