I had a hard time with this last season. There were people that I even thought were great writers, but their attitude towards others was so overtly negative and distrusting, that it was difficult to relate to them as a writer and a person - and I think that's an essential element of LJI. Yes, you can get very, very far on well-written fiction or non-personal non-fiction, never interact with anyone in the GR or other entries, and never reveal a thing about yourself, but when it comes down to crucial votes, I like support people that I've gotten to know beyond their writing - or more that, I like to support people who have given me a little (positive) something of themselves in their writing - be it fiction, non-fiction, essay, etc. You can write essays all season and still give me something of yourself.