Keystone Writes! Contest Rules and Regulations

Hello Everyone! Now that we have reviewed and selected the contest ideas, we have put together the basic rules and regulations for ALL future contests. They are outlined below:

Contest Ideas/Submissions/ Voting

1. All contest ideas will be reviewed by me and Dvora. We will select a minimum of 3 ideas that we feel will present the most creative and challenging contest. The top three ideas will then be posted in a poll on the home page and for a period of at least one week all members will be allowed to vote for the idea that they like the best. The idea that gets the most votes will be used for that months challenge.

        - For the first challenge, we will be posting the poll by April 22^nd and the idea that receives the most votes will be presented in early May.

2. All contest submissions should be sent to the following email address: keystonewrites@aol.com. For the first contest, Dvora and I will review all submissions (along with one - two other judges, pending selection). For the following contests, the top four that receive 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place as well as the one honorable mention, will be given the opportunity to act as judges for the next contest, in addition to either myself or Dvora. The two of us will alternate as contest judges. The password to the email account will be changed after each contest so that only the current contest judges will have access to the submissions. Those acting as judges will be unable to participate in the contest in which they are judging. This is to maintain an unbiased vote. The contest judges reviewing the submissions are only a preliminary voting committee. The contest judges will select the top 4 submissions (each of which will receive a prize).

3. After submissions have gone through the preliminary judging, the top four submissions will then be posted on the blog under the Contest Submission sub-forum. Another poll will be set up listing each of the submission. All members will then have the opportunity to vote on which submission they believe deserves 1^st place. There is a limit of ONE vote per member. After a period of a minimum of 1 week the member with the most votes will be given the first place prize and so forth in descending order (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and honorable mention) will be recognized and receive their prize.

4. The first place winner’s submission will be posted on the home page of the blog, as well as on the Keystone Writes! Facebook  page.

5. After a member has placed in a contest, they cannot be considered for a winning submission for at least two additional contests. This is simply to ensure that everyone has the chance to win.

6. Each contest will be unique. Therefore each contest will have a special set of rules when chosen. These rules will be left up to the member who invented the contest. However, all unique contest rules most comply with the rules stated here as well.

Acceptable Conduct

1. These contest are meant to encourage writing, and are meant to be friendly. Everyone will have an equal chance at winning. If anyone feels that the contests are unfair, or feel they have not received the same chance as others, please contact either myself or Dvora and we will look into the issue and attempt to resolve the problem.

2. Please present positive constructive criticism. Any negative, disrespectful or inconsiderate comments will be removed and the user responsible will be warned and if they continue the user will be blocked and will not be allowed to continue participating on the blog.

3. The contests are a competition and there will be winners, not all participants will win. Just because you do not win one contest does not mean that you will not win another, and it definitely does not mean that you are not a great writer! Ever member has exceptional writing skills and it will be very difficult to select winners!

4. If at any time participants begin to act in a negative or disrespectful way due to the contests and the issues cannot be resolved, the contests WILL be discontinued. Please be respectful of everyone’s work. Everyone works very hard to perfect their work, and just because one does not necessarily like someone else’s work does not mean that that persons work is bad. Any words that downgrade someone’s writing should NEVER be used. Words such as: bad, terrible, unintelligent, horrible etc should never be used. Acceptable phrases such as: different, unique, well-thought out etc are encouraged.

If you disagree with any of the above contest rules and regulations please, please, PLEASE send me an email so that we can work out any necessary revisions before the contests begin. If anyone feels like they will be hurt if their work does not receive the same number of votes as others, we can reconsidered a more private voting system. However, this will make it much more difficult to keep the voting process a democratic arrangement. However, if you feel this way please let me know and Dvora and I will reconsider the voting process.

If you have any questions please email me at JenniferLeigh96@gmail.com 

Happy Writing and Good Luck! 

-Jen