How your words count, and how to join or leave a challenge.
There are three.
Each challenge's page has its rules under "How this works".
Your timezone, as set in your account settings. Each writer follows the same calendar dates in their own timezone. Both the first and last day count, and each day starts at midnight. If you move to another timezone, update your settings.
Yes. You can join any time from when a challenge is announced through its last day. Join early and everything counts from the first day.
If you join late:
A pen name and a public profile. The leaderboard shows your pen name and links to your profile. If you haven't set these up, you'll do it when you join: the join dialog asks for a pen name and a profile address, suggests an address from your pen name, and makes your profile public.
You can edit both later in your profile settings. You can't remove them while you're in a challenge that hasn't ended, and making your profile private takes you out of those challenges. You'll be asked to confirm first.
Your words count once your Freewrite, Sprinter, or Postbox syncs them. Your progress on the challenge's page includes today's words as they arrive. If you write offline, your words show up the next time your device syncs.
The leaderboard has two tabs:
Yes. Your current streak includes the days through yesterday. Reach today's word goal before the day ends to add another day. If you don't, your current streak starts over. You keep your longest streak in the challenge.
Your challenge shows as complete within about two days of reaching the goal. We check completion once a day. Final standings freeze 7 days after the last day has ended everywhere. That gives you time to sync words you wrote during the challenge. Until then, the page says the standings aren't final.
Yes. Choose Leave challenge at the bottom of the challenge's page. You come off its leaderboard. Your drafts are not touched.
If you want to rejoin, here's what counts:
If you leave after completing the challenge, you lose the completion and its badge. You can't leave a challenge after it ends. Your result stays in its final standings.
Stats look wrong? Email support with the challenge's name, your account email, and what looks wrong. We can check your daily word counts and correct them.