1) Save up for the 11 months, around £50 - £75 (or dollars, euros, or your local currency)

I managed just over a grand this year

2) Look for a good excuse to chill out in some extravagent way...

Easy, was my wife's birthday this weekend

3) Book a five star hotel, pampering class room for the weekend...

Executive suite, Park Plaza Hotel, London Victoria

4) Book champagne, flowers and the biggest box of choccies...

Added in my weekend were box tickets to the theatre production of Wicked - and indeed it is, you MUST see this show... the animatronic dragon above the stage is a role players dream

5) Don't take any internet enabled devices, visit Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park (or equivalent in your country) and expensive restaurants.

6) Look at all the brownie points and know that you have truly prepared for if you make Top 32 and if you haven't, then you have so many surplus brownie points that the TV remote is yours for a long time :)

A serious tip to avoiding the waiting stress.

Don't post your item too soon - the sooner you post it the more of those Clark/Sean/Vic "guys you did this?" posts you have to endure and you start questioning yourself :)

I can't tell you how wide my smile was after the first 3 days with those posts appearing - because I was 100% certain it wasn't my item they could possibly be talking about :)

And don't EVER post in the last hour of the last day - the waiting for Submit to respond before server crash is a nightmare >.<

Look at you, Mr. Fancy Pants... Agreed about "Wicked," though. I keep thinking about making a half-orc witch named Elphaba.

The book is equally good. The two diverge enough for both to be great experiences.

The waiting has barely begun. I doubt there will be much relief while the voting continues. Just endless clicking.

The book is equally good. The two diverge enough for both to be great experiences.

The waiting has barely begun. I doubt there will be much relief while the voting continues. Just endless clicking.

True, but you will find that when you are clicking and voting, you stop stressing about your own entry :)

Look at you, Mr. Fancy Pants... Agreed about "Wicked," though. I keep thinking about making a half-orc witch named Elphaba.

I know, I'm tempted to do the dizty blonde wizard thing with the name "Guh-linda with a Guh"

"toss toss"

And if you don't get that reference, you will just have to go see the show.

Friend wrote:

The book is equally good. The two diverge enough for both to be great experiences.

The waiting has barely begun. I doubt there will be much relief while the voting continues. Just endless clicking.

True, but you will find that when you are clicking and voting, you stop stressing about your own entry :)

I agree. For me it's the time between the end of voting and the big reveal that drags. Through great good fortune, this year I'll be on vacation in Australia at the perfect time. I'll have limited internet access from just before the end of voting until a couple of days before the round 1 results come out.

So looks like I've followed Adam's advice perfectly, though with more surfing and fewer witches.

Anthony Adam wrote:

Friend wrote:

The book is equally good. The two diverge enough for both to be great experiences.

The waiting has barely begun. I doubt there will be much relief while the voting continues. Just endless clicking.

True, but you will find that when you are clicking and voting, you stop stressing about your own entry :)

I agree. For me it's the time between the end of voting and the big reveal that drags. Through great good fortune, this year I'll be on vacation in Australia at the perfect time. I'll have limited internet access from just before the end of voting until a couple of days before the round 1 results come out.

So looks like I've followed Adam's advice perfectly, though with more surfing and fewer witches.

There might be some sand witches on the beach!!!

Yuck yuck yuck!!!

:-P

A good way to avoid the stress during the competition?

Roleplaying games!

Most of the big reveals last year were on game night for me. It was one of the advantages of being 8 hours ahead. If you're immersed in running or playing in a game session, it really gets rid of the tension - you're simply not able to refresh the boards every 10 seconds if you're GMing.

So get gaming on 22nd January!

(Of course, a five star hotel, dinner and a show would work too...)

Most of the big reveals last year were on game night for me. It was one of the advantages of being 8 hours ahead. If you're immersed in running or playing in a game session, it really gets rid of the tension - you're simply not able to refresh the boards every 10 seconds if you're GMing.

Start a campaign to collect all of the year's Top 32 items. That should keep anyone plenty busy.

A good way to avoid the stress during the competition?

Roleplaying games!

Here's an adventure you can use:

As you approach the tavern, a notice nailed to the door catches your attention. Reading the notice reveals an intriguing proposition: the King wishes to hire an accomplished adventurer to design and populate a dungeon. To these ends, the King will test interested adventurers in a series of challenges. Those wishing to compete should appear at court in one month's time, each bearing an original, newly-created wondrous item. From these entrants, the King's magistrates shall select thirty-two worthy adventurers to compete in further challenges...

I feel less competition-related stress already. :P

No recursing! ;)

... an intriguing proposition: the King wishes to hire an accomplished adventurer to design and populate a dungeon....

Sure you didn't mean the Queen of Paizoian?

Eric Morton wrote:

... an intriguing proposition: the King wishes to hire an accomplished adventurer to design and populate a dungeon....

Sure you didn't mean the Queen of Paizoian?

aka Lisa?

Too late to worry now, will not do any good unless you are still writing. I wouldn't worry, just enjoy the experience.