|
Slough Writers share e-comp tips
After successfully organising a fully electronic story
competition among its members, Slough Writers’ Group got
in touch to share their tips with other groups.
The group’s summer competition was for a 5,000 word romantic
story, to be critiqued and ranked by other entrants.
‘We had noted the increasing number of competitions taking
online submissions and this seemed a useful way to make
our members conversant with the method,’ said member William
Campbell.
|
William Campbell, Slough Writers |
Slough Writers’ tips for organising electronic competitions:
• Include everyone. Have a diskette option for those
without e-mail or blocked from receiving e-mail attachments.
• Assign an expert as translator between the technically
inarticulate having a problem and the dumb computer causing
it.
• Have an administrator if the entries are to be anonymous.
All e-mails and entries must be routed through this hub.
• Specify a document format. Internet competitions
can ask for entries to be pasted into a reply box, losing
all text formatting, or demand a specific format, such as
Word (.doc) or rich text (.rtf). Format conversion is an
unknown for many.
• Distribute a template for the critiques. This simplifies
the administrator’s task of sifting each entrant’s critique
file into the file for each story.
• Anticipate enthusiasm. A third said they were more
likely to enter on-line competitions, and all want the electronic
format again.
Slough Writers Group meets every Monday evening at The Greyhound,
Eton Wick. Potential members are always welcome. Membership
is £33 per year.
Details: William Campbell, tel: 01628 661725; website:
www.sloughwriters.org.uk
|
