  Contests & Activities
This week: Writing as a Team Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Library Class!  
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"Project Write World" concluded earlier this month.
As I write this, judges are probably hard at work picking winners.
This newsletter is a discussion on writing as a team, for this contest. |
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Dear Reader
Game #1:
Have you ever played ‘Broken Squares’?
For those who haven’t, here’s how it works: There are five players, each of whom is given a little bag filled with pieces. The idea is that each player on the team needs to have a finished square in front of her/him, having put the pieces together.
Here’s the catch: It’s the pieces in the five bags combined that make five perfect squares.
Thus, players have to share or re-distribute the pieces.
And here’s the further catch: the only communication allowed is ‘giving a piece’. Players are not allowed to speak, write or gesture in any way.
Now the fun starts: the creators of the game have so arranged it that different players have different experiences. So, one player gets just one oddly shaped piece (not a square). Another one gets a few pieces that do fit together to make a square. The rest get seemingly random pieces.
What typically happens is that each player opens her/his packet, and tries to make a square. One obviously can’t do so, another obviously can.
HOWEVER, remember that all five squares can only be formed when pieces from all five packets combine together. Also remember, players can only communicate by giving away pieces. I’ll leave it to your imagination how the action takes place. All I will say is, the two times I have played the game, I’ve wound up getting extremely emotional.
Game #2:
Then there’s the counting game. That is for any number of players, and needs no prior preparation.
It goes like this: the group has to count from one to twenty.
Sounds simple? It isn’t. There are rules. A random person has to call out the next number (no pre-arranged order) , a single person cannot call out two consecutive numbers and -- here’s the biggie -- if more than one voice utters any particular number, the group has to start over from ‘1’.
No communication -- oral, written or gesture is allowed, the only thing that has to happen is that numbers have to be counted out. 1- 2- 3- 4- 5 ... to twenty, in turn, each utterance by a solitary, random voice.
Take a minute to close your eyes and conjure up the scene in your mind.
One – two –three – oops! Start over – one – two – oops!
Before the game begins, it sounds like a piece of cake (all you have to do is to count from one to twenty). A few minutes into it , there is utter chaos. Then, order starts emerging, with people owning a particular number, people covering for each other, sometimes creating a problem, sometimes solving one.
Finally, one clear voice calls out TWENTY and there is cheering and applause.
Writing
So - why did I describe these two team building games? Because I want to tell you about "Project Write World" by iKïyå§ama  , one of the best team building contests I have ever come across. And the reason I chose to describe broken squares and count to twenty is twofold:
a. Both activities, solving puzzles and counting numbers, are usually solitary exercises. Similarly, writing is usually a solitary exercise. Turn a solitary exercise in to a team exercise, and there's 'fun' to be had! 
b. In both games, communication has been curbed in some way, and, till teams worked their way around the restrictions, the game could not be completed. Had full communication been allowed, both games would have seen 'mission successful' at the first attempt. Just shows the importance of full, clear communication.
Enter Kiya and Project Write World.
Here's what she came up with:
Given one month, a prompt, and a team from your country or region, present a poem, story and essay each of which reflects some aspect of your culture.
As a wide-eyed newbie, I joined Team India. 
A forum ... introductions ... speculation – what will the prompt be? -- what is Indian culture? ... prompts ... chaos ... more chaos ... order ... hard work ... discussion ... submission ... nail biting wait ... two podium finishes!
We discussed, via email and a forum, we cheered, we argued and sulked, we made up, we pulled together, we covered for each other, we emerged victorious.
Here’s how we went about it. Once we saw the prompt, various members of Team India picked which item they would write. A deadline was set for submission. After submission, we had a team vote – which story? Which poem? Which essay? Once the majority chose, the entire team worked on the selected entries to edit, polish and proofread. We submitted, and we shared reviews. In those days, there was no review-link, by the way, so we copy-pasted the reviews we received from the judges in a forum post, in the Team India Coffee Room.
And here’s what happened to me personally.
My poem was selected. Then, during the process of polishing, team members pointed out that my syllable count was awry. Through three revisions. I could not get it right. Finally, I put it on group edit access and Dr M C Gupta  re-wrote it for me, with appropriate syllable counts. It was quite a learning experience.
Also, in that very first round, there was the question of interpreting the prompt. One story submitted for consideration didn't meet the prompt, according to the rest of the team. Convincing the member concerned of that was quite a job! Then there was the question of internal deadlines. A member who had a very hectic job schedule in the real world could only submit a story a day before Kiya's deadline, by which time another, 'selected' story had been readied by the team for Project Write World. We had to turn down the last minute submission. I didn't even read it, lest I thought it had a better chance of getting us a win. In the interest of discipline during future rounds, we had to turn down that submission.
I have, since, met two members of Team India, VikramAdith  and Just an Ordinary Boo!  face to face. And even two members of Team Great Britain Alan Philps and Acme , who visited Bangalore where I live and stayed with Just an Ordinary Boo! and her family, including her son Ragster Go11 .
Different teams have worked in different ways. Click here to get a sampling of how they have gone about entering PWW.
(It's an in-and-out because I wanted you to get the responses straight from the players, including one who says they can't participate any more.)
What does the contest do? It takes writing, a usually solitary activity, and converts it to a team sport. Passionate (opinionated!!) folks are thrown together, and make no mistake, writers can be extremely emotional when they care about a piece of writing! People have real-world jobs. There are issues with health. Issues with internet access. They agree. They disagree. Through it all, teams have to make it work. I know that iKïyå§ama 's inbox gets flooded when the deadline nears -- someone quit, someone didn't show up in the first place, someone is asking for a clarification, someone wants a link ...
But through it all, the competitors, the judges and the organisers have to make it work.
And they do. What wins is creativity. For a taste of the entries, see the Editor's Picks section below. What wins is creativity.
Thanks for listening!
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The Contest:
Just a sampling of the entries, current round:
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#2096181 by Not Available. |
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#2096092 by Not Available. |
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#2093670 by Not Available. |
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#2096191 by Not Available. |
Past Winners:
Another take on this topic, for a different challenge
"Drama Newsletter (August 31, 2016)" |
Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Thank you for your responses to "Contests & Activities Newsletter (July 27, 2016)" ! Ducks love feedquack!!
deemac  Congrats for one of the liveliest Newsletters I've read! You captured the special joy of the breed just perfectly!
Drat! Now I've gone and used up my daily quota of exclamation marks in one go. Ah well, sometimes it's kinda worth it ... Hugs, dee
☮ The Grum Of Grums Sonali, mayhap you are going quackers  . No, I shall pretend to be serious for a minute. This was a great Newsletter, and important for reminding people how valuable In&Outs can be. Generally they don't require a great deal of literary intensity, but that's beside the point. They can be fun and challenging, and you get to meet some intriguing people, including duck fanciers. As a wolf,  , I like ducks a LOT!
Thank you for the effort and ingenuity you put into this Newsletter, I hope it draws more people into the fascinations of In&Outs.
Steev the Friction Wizurd Love those In&Outs!
It's the area of WDC where I spend the most time (along with campfires).
Thanks for devoting an entire issue of the newsletter to it.
Dad Very well written, Sonali. As a sidelight to you comments on the benefits of the I/O's, 5 years ago, my great nephew was diagnosed with leukemia. As you can imagine, a very difficult time for us. I WdCmailed several I/O denizens, requesting prayer and support, most of whom were very supportive. I couldn't have been treated better. Jojo will be at the 5 year mark on September 17, at which time he should be "cured," although he will have regular testing for the rest of his life. I will be updating those who responded at that time. The support of our real families along with the support of our church family and the support of our virtual WdC family was extremely important for him, for our families, and for me. |
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Contests & Activities: September 21, 2016 Issue [#7866]
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