CaptainD’s Guide to Joining a Write Off
Jun 10 '04 (Updated Jun 14 '04)
The Bottom Line Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Oooooh.... I just can't decide!!!!
CaptainD’s Guide to Joining a Write Off
I couldn’t possibly pass up the challenge by MobiProf to write an article on joining a Write Off (WO) to follow up the one I recently wrote about hosting a write off. (You can expect something practical, helpful, and nowhere near as detailed as Mobi’s own article about it!!)
What is a Write Off?
Just in case you’re new, reading this, and wonder what on earth I’m going on about, a “Write Off” is quite a popular phenomenon here at epinions. Basically, a member thinks up an idea, “Hosts” the WO, and other members write reviews / whatever based on that idea. As an example, I hosted a WO with the theme of “Challenge Yourself”. The idea was for members to write a review in a category (or possibly sub-category) that they’ve never written in before. I started the ball rolling by writing my first ever review in, of all things, Wellness & Beauty. I’ve asked everyone who entered to link back to my WO page in the hope of getting more people to enter, and am linking to everyone who enters to show what the result of this WO have been – some of the entries have been truly exceptional, and I can guarantee that some of the people who’ve written in a category for the first time will be back, judging from the response of the indigenous readership to the virgin reviews. But anyway I digress – I’m just giving you an example of a WO. There are plenty about – just look for the reviews with “WO” in the title…
Why Join a WO – and When?
There are several reasons for joining a WO. Firstly, if it’s being run by a member you’ve come to know and like, you’ll probably be much more inclined to think about joining it. It can also be a good way of getting your name known by a few more people (especially if you’re new, but it’s still true when you’ve been here a while too) and the requirements of some WOs are a good test of your writing / reviewing skills, especially the ones that ask you to try something different / unusual. I guess the major consideration is whether the idea behind the WO interests you or not – it’s much harder to write something good if you don’t care much about the subject. Time limit is also a consideration – are you really going ot have time to do it before the WO expires? (NEVER promise to enter a WO unless you’re really sure you’re going to do it! I’ve made that mistake a couple of times…)
If you know the member who’s hosting it and have reason to not like them (i.e. they’ve been guilty of member harassment, revenge rating, etc) then there’s really no reason for you to consider joining their WO. (Not that I think you would anyway!) But if you do like the host, that in itself is not a reason to join the WO. If you are not even remotely interested in the theme of the WO then the likelihood is that you’ll end up producing something bland and uninteresting yourself, or just keep forgetting to write your entry. If you do like the member, you then need to consider whether you actually have time to write an entry, and if so, what? It’s no good entering, for instance, “Your Favourite Sci-Fi Film Ever WO” if you hate sci-fi and have never seen a film of the genre that you even like! Sometimes you might have already reviewed everything that might be applicable for a particular WO. So even when you like the idea of a WO, it might not be practical to enter it.
If you don’t know the member hosting a WO, you might want to have a look at some of his / her reviews first. To a certain extent you will be associated in peoples’ minds with them if you enter their WO, and you wouldn't want anyone to associate you with someone who writes really bad (or offensive – or even offensively bad!) reviews, has a reputation for revenge rating etc. I’m not suggesting becoming overly suspicious of everyone, but a little sensible caution is warranted. (Oh well looks like I’ve just done myself out of any more CYWO entries…)
If you do decide to enter a WO, don’t simply write the first thing that comes into your head – you might find something better to write if you pause for a few second’s thought. (Though sometimes your first thought is a good one – the moment I saw Scott’s “Stinky Movie WO”, I immediately thought of “A.I.” – well, that and several others, but I only had time to do one!) And put a little effort into it – in one of the “Getting to know you” type WOs, I read an entry where pretty much every question was answered with a single syllable! If you’re going to approach it with that sort of attitude, why bother at all? It certainly didn’t make good reading.
Some WOs tend to have a lot of rules, or maybe just a couple that are quite strict. If you’re unhappy with the WO rules, don’t join the WO. It’s as simple as that – you can go and post as many reviews as you like anywhere in your own style, so there’s no point you keeping to some strict rules that you’re really unhappy with, is there? That said, if it’s simply a case that the rules of the WO take you outside your normal field of writing, I would say that’s an extra reason to do it – writing inside your comfort zone may be enjoyable but it will never make you actually improve your writing.
So should I do it or not??!?
The best advice I can give you on whether to join a WO or not is, does it engage your enthusiasm? Your answer to that question is the basic answer to whether you should join it. At the end of the day, Brian, it’s the team what scores most goals what wins. Innit.
So You’ve Decided To Join A WO… What Now?
Although the rules vary from WO to WO, there are a couple of standard rules that pretty much apply to all of them. (Generally, you can take them as read unless the WO description actually suggests something different.) These are:
- When you’ve posted your entry, email the host / leave a comment on the WO main page with the link so they can add you to the list of participants.
- Use the name of the WO (or, more usually, the acronym) in your own title.
- Include a link to the WO main page in your entry. Though it’s not required, it’s good form (such a wonderfully English expression!) to include the WO host’s name / member name too.
- If you’re not quite sure what’s expected even after reading the description / rules, email the host asking them specific questions and / or wait till there are some entries by other members, read them, and see if you get more of an idea. If in doubt just have a go (there are plenty of people on the site who are ready – sometimes too ready! – to point out where you’re going wrong!). You can always update later if you get it slightly wrong. (Very few WO hosts are actually too fussy about people obeying the “rules” anyway!)
- Some WOs have a list of questions for you to answer, rather than just an open-ended theme. In this case, just copy and paste the questions and answer them. (Putting either the questions or answers in bold or italics would be a good idea.)
- You’re under no obligation whatsoever to read / rate other member’s entries to the WO you’ve entered, nor are you obliged to rate each one Very Helpful. However, the more you read / rate / comment on (particularly the latter), the more reads / rates / comments your own entry is likely to get.
- Oh yeah… try to get your entry in before the closing date! :-O
As you can see, it’s pretty straightforward. Just follow these general guidelines and you can’t really go wrong. Then again, if you do go wrong, don’t blame me…
Well, thanks for reading, and I hope this proves helpful to someone at least.
CaptainD
Related Links
CaptainD’s Guide to Epinions – Second Edition - a general guide to epinions, what it is, how to be a success here, etc.
CaptainD’s Guide to Writing A Really Bad Review - self-explanatory really - what not to do when you're writing a review!
CaptainD’s Guide to Building a WOT - What is a WOT? How do you build one? And why should you? All is revealed...
The Ten Commandments of Epinions - well okay, there are 11 - things that'll help you be a success and most of all enjoy being part of the epinions community.
CaptainD's Guide to Hosting A Write Off - everything you ever wanted to know about hosting a WO (apart from anything I've forgotten...)
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Should I, shouldn't I?
Oooooh.... I just can't decide!!!!
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