Properly Spacing Out Housewrites

[1992 in spaceflight]

Hello quizbowl,

So as the calendar has turned to January, I've been thinking about how to handle the writing for the second iteration of my housewrite. And that thought prompts this thought-I think the availability of housewrites needs to be spaced out a little bit better for the high school game.

To illustrate my point, here is this year's available housewrites (I'm excluding the Novice tournaments from this list. We have 4 that are well-spaced out):
WHAQ (my own set)-availability started on September 24th
BHSAT-available starting in February
Harvard Fall Tournament-available starting in October
BASQT II-available starting in February
LIST VI-available starting in December
Prison Bowl-this doesn't have a mirroring post yet (I've been privately assured that it's happening), but I imagine it would start in April
GSAC-available starting in December
POMMSS-available starting in February

For teams that wanted to host a non-NAQT tournament, some circuits only had two sets available from September to December. It seems to me that the circuit could benefit from having one more regular (well, non-Novice) difficulty housewrite available that is heavily advertised for use in the early part of the fall semester. I definitely had a problem with finding a set for the big tournament I ran in November of this year, and I doubt I was the only one.

It seems to me that adding another regular difficulty set for the fall semester is something we should all consider doing for next year (that's the plan for WHAQ II, at least). Please remember to read through Max Schindler's post about housewriting before you get into it, though-and DO NOT be afraid to ask for help if you think you'll need it.

I'd love to hear what other people think about this, as well.

[UlyssesInvictus]

This is a good idea, and makes sense, but will probably be defeated by the same thing that makes housewrites bad in the first place: apathy, procrastination, and general lack of writing structure.

More reductively:
1. Housewrites are usually written solely be members of the school, not alumni or friends of. (The titular "house.")
2. They are usually written by upperclassmen, especially seniors, who graduate just before the summer starts.
3. Most writing is done throughout the year as a way to bond the club, introduce new members to writing, and simply because there's no good way to physically confront people over the internet during the summer and force them to write questions.
4. Thus, most writing happens over the school year, rather than prior to it.

The obvious solution is for disciplined writers to do it the year prior, and then release it immediately next fall, but...you know...

[Ciorwrong]

So to start, I would like to apologize for announcing POMMSS so late in the calendar. I have been writing for it since May 2016, but didn't formally get a "yes" from the MSU Honors College until December so I wasn't ready to release an announcement with full details until late December. POMMSS2, assuming it exists (and I want to commit to editing 20 packets again), will be announced in the Fall.

I wholeheartedly agree we need more (early) Fall housewrites. We hosted a Fall Kickoff Tournament this year, and I planned to use a housewrite for the questions, but I was unable to find one that was available that early. Raynor is correct in mentioning that since housewrites are usually written by upperclassmen, there is less people around to write during the summer. I personally found it very difficulty to get my writers to write over the summer which is of course understandable given that many have full time jobs, travel, etc. I find it harder to write during the school year, but not all are that way. I think more housewrites need to allow themselves to be mirrored over both the summer and into the fall if a school gives an indication that there is a desired mirror. To compare, at our Fall Kickoff Tournament, we ran a NAQT I-set that had been read at several locations in the 2015-2016 academic year, but none were in Michigan so ran that set in early October without a hitch.

I think it is also important to point that many housewrite writers are working on the set for free so the motivation is not always going to be there. As some people who have worked on a housewrite know, there will be flaky writers who either procrastinate heavily or can't write for whatever reason. I'm not entirely sure how to ameliorate this particular problem aside from, as Raynor says, having writers start working in like March for a September release. This is of course difficult when teams just finished writing for their February-April set.

[1992 in spaceflight]

Harris, it was not my intention to call out POMMSS I's announcement. I was just using the start of availability to help make my point, and I apologize if it felt like I was calling you out. That was definitely not my intention.

And I agree with the points that you and Raynor make upthread. I know that it can be difficult to get teammates and/or your students to commit to having a streamlined writing structure from experience and from hearing other people's experience with housewrites. I think the rewards for the circuit will be worth it, though.

I wonder if bringing back the collaboration thread would help with this?

[Ciorwrong]

Harris, it was not my intention to call out POMMSS I's announcement. I was just using the start of availability to help make my point, and I apologize if it felt like I was calling you out. That was definitely not my intention.

And I agree with the points that you and Raynor make upthread. I know that it can be difficult to get teammates and/or your students to commit to having a streamlined writing structure from experience and from hearing other people's experience with housewrites. I think the rewards for the circuit will be worth it, though.

I wonder if bringing back the collaboration thread would help with this?

It's all good. I didn't feel bothered I just wanted to clear up why I didn't work put the mirror announcement up sooner.

I definitely think a collaboration thread would help. There are a lot of really good writers and potential/novice writers out there who could be a great asset to various writing projects. I see the future of housewrites as being less "housewritten" so to speak and more collaborative in nature.