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Helium's spring 2007 Write to Win Contest has sent waves of excitement across the internet writing word. Excitement has met early exhaustion in some quarters as well, creating a kind of under-tow against which writers must steady themselves. Pacing oneself for the long-distance swim, rather than giving one's all through some quick splits, remains essential. Having fun should also play a role. These tips for surviving and succeeding in this 12-week contest include the wisdom of Helium contest participants (and winners), culled from Writing Workshop forum discussions on the Community Boards in late March of 2007. Contest participants should critically assess their short-term and long-term goals while pacing themselves for an extensive contest season.

Quality vs. Quantity?

Helium factors both quality and quantity in calculating contest wins. While quantity helps, quality remains essential. The quality mark should direct both writers and raters.

Writers should aim to address a given contest topic with the intention of writing the most thorough, self-sustaining and well-written article submitted to that title group. If you are not the first to submit an article to that group, read through the other articles. Before deciding to write, make sure you can write something better: more direct or researched knowledge to share. Maintain your integrity as a writer AT ALL TIMES, by not gleaning from other writers' articles and by not directly stealing from other sources; both types of violation meet the criteria for plagiarism, which could end your time at Helium. If you can't write something better, move on to another title.

Writing and rating go hand-in-hand. Just as writers must aim for high quality, so raters must put the time and dedication into rating highly that which is high quality, while rating down that which is less valuable. Helium's rating engine remains democratic and fair, not only because rating pairs are served up blindly, but also because vast numbers of members rate each pair. This provides a thorough sampling for assessing ratings. Writers must commit sufficient time for ratings, and they must enforce high standards for quality. Rating complements writing. You benefit yourself by moving more pieces through the rating engine, thus moving your own indirectly. You benefit the community by remaining attentive to these essential tasks and by according each writer his due. Remember the "golden rule" of rating: Rate unto others as you would have them rate unto you!

Short-term

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