Update – Grocery List Challenge

With the deadline for the "I'd Read Your Grocery List" challenge coming up on Saturday, November 18th, I wanted to address a couple things I set up in the initial post.

Oh, by the way, you can find the challenge details below. There are still eleven days to enter!

First item of business: PRIZES.

I asked you all for input on cash prizes for the unofficial challenges; you know, what makes them fun, whether money is motivating or demotivating, if you're more likely to participate if there's a prize, etc. The crux of the answers I got was, "no, the prizes don't affect my decision to participate, and while money is cool, the prompt and community are more important."

And, well, I agree.

The unofficial challenges are a great way to build the Vocal community, to get the creative juices flowing, and overall, to have fun! Money might motivate us too, but it can take away from the positivity that we crave by altering our motivations.

Therefore, I will not be issuing prizes for this challenge. Perhaps if I think up a different one in future, things will be different. I do like the idea of offering money, even if it's just a couple bucks.

Next item of business: RULES.

Or, rather, the judging process.

My original article for this challenge laid out one simple rule: no context beside the list, time/date, emojis, & formatting tricks.

The aim is to consider how you can use minimalism to tell a story without the need for traditionally poetic devices. As such, I will be the most adherent to this rule because of what I want the challenge to do. If your entry has too much context, too many reasons for each item or each trip to the store, too much overt "telling," I'll grade it lower than those that are more minimalist.

I'll list the winners as a showcase of my favorites. At least 3: one that blew my mind, an under-appreciated gem, and one that got the most attention.

Second, I'm not sure I addressed if the list had to be for a grocery store only; in my mind, this was a "shopping list" challenge, lol. So, in reading through some of the entries, I've found that I really don't mind if the lists are for a grocery store, a super store like Target or Walmart (that offer more than just food), or a store specific for a particular activity like construction/gardening. So, no worries if you feel as though yours might have been non-compliant.

Finally, I want to remind everyone that I'm absolutely cool with 2 entries per person! If you've only submitted one or if you'd like to try again with a different style, I'm excited to read more. 🤩

Got any questions for me?

I'll be happy to clear up any confusion in the comments!

Cheers, everyone. And thank you to all who have participated so far! It's been super fun to read your creative takes on the challenge. November 19th (the results) will be a very interesting day. 💖