Write It Do It B/C

[Gemma W]

Well, the one I did was quite easy, only ten or so pieces. However, It might be good to use fewer words. You can get the same idea across without using quite as many words. You don't need "remember" and "again" and stuff like that. If you have time afterwards you can go back and add more. Also, long instructions like that can be confusing.

[aubrey048]

Well, the one I did was quite easy, only ten or so pieces. However, It might be good to use fewer words. You can get the same idea across without using quite as many words. You don't need "remember" and "again" and stuff like that. If you have time afterwards you can go back and add more. Also, long instructions like that can be confusing.

My partner actually needs long instructions like the above. (Unlike my previous partner, we didn't have ESP) Any less ended in catastrophe for both of us. Why skimp on the instructions if you have time to be specific?
Eh. It doesn't matter. I'm sort of sick of this event and will NOT be retuning to WIDI next year. :/

[Gemma W]

Yeah that's fine. We don't need long instructions and it is in fact better for us this way. My partner gets confused with long instructions. I guess it's different for everyone.

Does anybody have experience with national structures?

[yogoperson]

Any suggestions on what items to use to build and how to build them? I'm running out of ideas.

[Gemma W]

Any suggestions on what items to use to build and how to build them? I'm running out of ideas.

If you've already tried standard building toys as well as pipe cleaners, styrofoam, etc, you can try pvc pipe, wire, and any other materials that can be built with. If you want more specific info, tell me what you've used.

[QuantumLeaper]

Well, the one I did was quite easy, only ten or so pieces. However, It might be good to use fewer words. You can get the same idea across without using quite as many words. You don't need "remember" and "again" and stuff like that. If you have time afterwards you can go back and add more. Also, long instructions like that can be confusing.

My partner actually needs long instructions like the above. (Unlike my previous partner, we didn't have ESP) Any less ended in catastrophe for both of us. Why skimp on the instructions if you have time to be specific?
Eh. It doesn't matter. I'm sort of sick of this event and will NOT be retuning to WIDI next year. :/

Exactly. I don't know my partner(s) that well, and so I'm not sure if I should write instructions that are short and concise or longer and more descriptive. I've tried both with mixed results. Since this year WIDI was a disaster, I kind of want to do it again so that I don't remember it negatively. Next year we're also going to practice a LOT more.

[Gemma W]

Well, practice is definitely important. You basically should just try both and see which works for you. If you have time for long instructions, then great. But in some cases you won't have time to write such long instructions, and chatty add-ins ("sorry, that was confusing" or "this is a hard step, so pay attention") are unneeded. if you can't use abbreviations or systems, at least don't use extra words.

[googlyfrog]

Practice is important, but making sure you understand things in the same way as your partner is equally important. I learned through practicing with my partner that we interpreted some words in different ways, and we needed to either get a new phrase or agree on one set definition. I would suggest starting on long instructions and gradually shortening them just enough so you don't waste time, while still writing coherent instructions to your partner. You'll find that a lot of words are just unnecessary, or are easy to replace with shorter words.

[Gemma W]

Very true. It's a good idea for the builder, whenever he or she finds discrepancies, to highlight them or mark them in some way and then go back and fix it or come up with some way to describe it, which will then become the fixed word that means that and only that. If what I just said makes any sense at all.

[googlyfrog]

That seems to be the best way to get better at WIDI. And to illustrate Gemma's point, if it didn't make sense, say you have K'nex: a rod and a half circle thing. You could attach these in a couple different ways. First, you could do the most common way, attaching the rod so it fits nicely in the connection. But if the half circle has to be vertical, it's a different type of connection. You have to push down on it with a lot more force, so it stands up. Or, you could slide the rod through the half circle's middle hole. The point is, there are many different ways to attach a rod and half circle, and it's crucial that the builder is able to distinguish between the different attachments.

I realize now that this was probably a lot more confusing than what Gemma said...

Be sure to practice with a variety of materials...k'nex, legos, tinkertoys, lincoln logs, styrofoam, beads, stickers, pipe cleaners...whatever you can get your hands on. You can be tested with anything, no matter how crazy it is. At regionals, we had a piece of styrofoam with 2 pipe cleaners, a bunch of beads, thumbtacks, and little plastic swords. WIDIs get intense.