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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 4624016" data-attributes="member: 54707">It's not my contest EP, so I'm not establishing any rules of engagement. But I can give you a piece of advice regarding writing. Recently I wrote a paper for the Naval Postgraduate School detailing an idea about intelligence networks. I had only five pages, single spaced, 12 point type to encapsulate my ideas.The paper was based upon a much longer and more formal theory paper on the same subject matter (but with a different emphasis, the emphasis of this paper was on giving suggestions to the next administration on Homeland Security matters through the CHDS, the emphasis of the original paper was on the general development of small-scale, functional private intelligence networks) but this paper required wholesale editing of my original ideas.The point being that I could not submit my original paper, I had to change the emphasis, and had very limited space for presentation. Therefore I severely excised and redacted my theory paper, extracted the relevant and necessary parts, collated the information needed, and therefore arranged a paper which fit the requirements of the assignment. My original theory paper remains available for public publication in another format, and with a different emphasis, when I wish to do so (it is in private circulation now).My advice, as a writer, is to meet the necessary parameters and rules of the contest, but write what you want. Develop the body of your work as you wish and then pare and edit as necessary to meet actual guidelines and restrictions, if you want to enter the contest as it is described. You will always have your more well developed opus for publication elsewhere with another party at another time.Or you could do as I am doing. I will not be competing in the contest directly. That is my work will be available for voluntary review but I will not compete because I intend to exceed restrictions and more importantly because I intend to seek publication of my work later on, and many of the ideas I present will be proprietary and I wish to secure them.So if you're using the contest as stimulus to develop a significant and involved work I'd suggest it doesn't much matter, but you can't expect to exceed guidelines and win the contest. You will be disqualified for exceeding guidelines.If however you do want to compete and win the contest then the best thing is to develop the work you really want to write, then edit that down to produce a sub-work or smaller version of your real project that will meet guidelines.  You'll always have your larger and more involved work to do with as you wish at another time.</blockquote>

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