Entering Competitions
Monash@Work won with 39.3% of the vote, but Monash University overruled and chose the runner-up that only achieved 22.1% of the votes by students. There new careers and employment website will not be named after the student votes' most popular choice.
I enter a competition to win. I win. I get the prize, but not the glory. If you don't like my entry, then don't place it as a finalist in the voting. Of course it will win, it's bloody awesome, ingenious, realistic. Not pompus, pretenticious, tryhard runner-up that you decide is probably more educated sounding. Monash was a great man. A great name. Monash University, you disappoint me. I will get my second expensive piece of paper and leave after this year. And get a life. Thanks for the scholarship money and Ipod though. Pity I wasted my BA.
Competitions that ask you to give a 25 word or less answer or a re-name something is a good competition, especially when it doesn't cost you anything to enter. But the best way to win is to use your brain, creativity and passion. If the question or task doesn't inspire you, then you won't be entering your best work.
*Always check spelling and punctuation, because you want it to be easy to read and understand.
*Think about your word choice. Thesaurus is your friend.
*Think of different ways to get your message across. It could make your entry stand out from the rest. Be creative.
*Know when to use humour, sincerity, sadness for the right competition.
*If the prize is related to the question it could help to show how you would treasure or appreciate it.
*Set up your answer. A few words can say a lot. Even in a few sentences you have an introduction, middle and conclusion.
Different ways of saying the same thing. eg: 'I hate snakes'=boring. Try: 'snakes terrify me'=most emotion and meaning.
*Mean what you say. It can show.
*Don't always go for the obvious answer that everyone may think of. Dare to be different and stand out - thet want creativity and originality. Find a different angle to it, or another answer that shows that you really are interested and not just entering and wasting the judges time.
*Don't rush it. You can make different drafts and revise them until you decide which you want to enter.
*Have fun! Entering competitions should be fun. If it's not fun, don't continue doing it.
*FREE competitons asking for your ideas are great because they are free and you win on merit, not luck. You have little chance with luck, thought, of course, it's nice of you to give money to charities to enter their competitions. And you never know, you might just win something one day.
*comepetitions that COST money can be bad to enter. Check the integrity of the company running it. Sites like poetry.com are hoax competitions - they just want your money and plague your inbox with junk mail.
*There's many more ideas and tips that could be added, but it's dinnertime.
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Free competitions through the net:
-http://thefix.ninemsn.com.au/ - check under moviefix and tvfix for current competitions.
-(Angus & Robertson have recently stopped their email list that had the competitions I won that are mentioned below.)
-I will add to this as I find good sites.
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My wins:
I won tickets to the movie 'Freedom Writers' with "Who inspires you the most and why?"
My best friend, the cancer beat her body but never her spirit. She inspired me to relish living, with her spirit always by my side.
-Kell loved movies. I love insiration. It's a good movie and a great memory.
I won a Errea Middleborough 20th Anniversary Goalkeepers Shirt personally signed by the goalie himself, Mark Schwarzer, with "What is your all-time favoruite football moment".
Reading, English. 23 December 2006. My first soccer game. Singing abuse + faked injuries + English accents + beer + Reading won = Newly converted.
-It's kind of cool to have somehting that others don't. Plus it helped me to decide what English Premier League soccer team to go for.