A Cautionary Reminder for Curtesy | The WriMo Blog, with E. H.

Welcome to The WriMo Blog where I share my monthly writing goals, project progress, and more! Today's post is just a reminder. If this interests you, keep reading!

  I took a couple of weeks to let my own anger simmer down before commenting on the matter.  And normally, I would keep quiet about stuff like this, but I can't this time.

As the list of ONC2024 Round 2 qualifiers was made public, I was shocked by so many people commenting on the list about their distaste for the contest because their book did not make it. Additionally, certain writers (not giving names) were convinced this contest is rigged. 👀

Let me be frank, my first ONC participation was in 2022. My novella, THE LARK'S PEARL, did not go beyond Round 3. I know the reason my book did not make it is because the story was not complete (it was missing some stuff that would bring the story proper closure), even though I marked it on Wattpad as "complete". Was I disappointed to not make the Longlist? Of course, but I held my tongue and continued supporting my fellow participants. 💯

In 2022, the ONC had a list of "Honorable Mentions". They did not do Round Winners or Ambassadors' Picks until 2023. In previous years, based on my searching the contest profile, they only had Grand Winners and a list for the people who made the Shortlist (Finalists) and Longlist (Semifinalists). 📣

The Round winners and the grand winners of the contest, were of consistent nature, and genre specific. Did I think there was some favoritism going on during that year? Honestly, yes. But I had to take into account there are hundreds of writers entering this contest every year, and their skills all vary from seasoned to beginners. 📈

I consider myself to be an intermediate writer, with a lot to learn still. So instead of letting myself fall into a state of disappointment in 2022, I took the lesson and came back the following year, 2023, with a fresh perspective and ready to do better than the previous year. And I entered with 2 books. Both passed Round 2 and I took only one of the books all the way to the Shortlist. I am not trying to toot my own horn, but I am very proud of myself for trying again. 💯

💝"Good things come to those who wait..."and are willing to try, try, and try again. 💝

This year, 2024, I came back with a new determination to participate. However, my main goal was to enjoy the challenge, write a kick-ass story, and finish what I started. This goal has paid off because my novella entry was listed as an Ambassadors' Pick in Round 2. 😻

I was elated, euphoric. Ecstatic. My hard work and determination was rewarded. 💎👑🎊

So, imagine how it made me feel to see all the negative comments taking over the section. And the number of negative comments building every week. It is so discouraging to see. I've had to force myself to avoid the comments section as much as possible. Only allowing myself to check them if I've been tagged or to cheer for a friend. 🎊🎉

Such behavior is extremely unfair, not just to the other people participating, but also to the Ambassadors and contest volunteers. It is also a complete disregard to the contest Rules & Guidelines that clearly calls Respect to action. 📣

Something that really strikes me about the people raising the negativity is the fact they claim to be "brilliant writers". 📣News Flash: a brilliant writer does not behave that way. Brilliant writers also do not claim to have learned it all. And brilliant writers do not have outright disregard for guidelines. 📣

Rules & and Guidelines are sometimes mere suggestions for a person to take into account when taking action. However, this is Wattpad and the Open Novella Contest Ambassadors. They have set these Rules & Guidelines, and the Code of Conduct, to keep the platform safe for everyone. 💕

I understand how crazy it is that Wattpad is always changing things, and feeling like a contest is rigged to allow only "certain people" to achieve things. And I also understand this seems easy for someone "like me" to say since I'm "doing well" in the contest. Guess what, if someone "like me" who is "doing well" in a contest, calls out the B.S. when I see it... It's not fun, let me tell you right now. 😑

I realize I am starting to ramble, and that is not my intention. So I will end my post with this: Be kind. It's common curtesy. It's really not that difficult to take frustrations to a private place and release it there, versus publicly spraying the internet with it. It isn't nice to anyone. And it won't make you feel better.

Finally, to wrap this up. I want to present you with a special gift.

If you have participated in any writing challenges that left you without any means to show for it, "Award yourself with this flashy digital sticker, because you did it! You participated in a writing challenge and you deserve a reward! Stamp your book with pride!"

This digital sticker is available exclusively at my Ko-fi Shop, I created for writers who post their work to platforms such as Wattpad, Inkitt, etc.; a reward for the ones who took the first step in deciding to participate in a writing challenge. That's a hard thing to do! Not for commercially published books.

But wait, there's more! I have also turned it into physical merch! Grab it on RedBubble at my RWR Merch Shop! And now would be the best time to get yourself something because RedBubble is having a MASSIVE SALE: Up to 40% off on awesome art, PLUS FREE shipping on ALL stickers!

That's all for today. Thank you for dropping in; I hope this post finds you well. Stay safe, stay awesomely creative. See you in the funny papers!