Our Climate Change Writing Competition invited young people to raise their voices, expressing the ways in which the climate crisis has impacted them. Guest Judge Bill McKibben was impressed with the power and urgency of the winning pieces, which combined factual reporting with striking personal narrative. “Knowing more about climate change since 2017 and how severely our environment is being impacted, the very least I could do was to share even the narratives that were intense,” says winner Keren-happuch Garba. “It was the only way to stick to my experiences while talking about climate change.”
Read on to meet the winners of our October competition, and to hear more about their approaches to writing and reviewing.
Q&A with Climate Change Writing Winner, Keren-happuch Garba:
How did you approach writing your winning piece?
When I received an expert review on my first draft, I got a lot of insight on where needed attention and those parts that didn’t. For the most part, I had to cut out chunks of sentences in my piece, then reflect on what a personal narrative meant and start with the easiest thing I would say when asked the question ‘how has climate change impacted you?’. The opening lines, after writing, came with a fresh thought. I almost knew that all the meaningful words I needed to use would come as they were to just tell the story.
Guest Judge Bill McKibben praised the “remarkable reporting” of your work, which balanced personal narrative with powerful and direct observations. How did you go about remaining true to your own story and experiences whilst discussing a much wider issue?
Honestly, writing the personal narrative was a bit scary. Delving into a past that is rigid with serious and intense experiences like the impacts of climate change made me very skeptical. But, with knowing more about climate change since 2017 and how severely our environment is being impacted, the very least I could do was to share even the narratives that were intense. It was the only way to stick to my experiences while talking about climate change.
What advice would you give your peers on the site for writing an effective personal narrative?
For every personal narrative that you think should be put into words, start with the easiest and simplest part of the story. The part that you’re always reminded of whenever you think of the experience is a good idea. Write with abandon as you reflect on the experience and after writing everything down, edit and ask for feedback or a peer review from someone.
Q&A with Best Peer Review Winner, Shekina Oh:
What are your main aims when reviewing another writer’s work?
I love specific feedback, especially those that point out a problem and give instructions on solutions. As a hobbyist, people give feedback on my work a lot. Most are great, but some reviews confuse me because of their vagueness. Because of this experience, I follow three rules when giving feedback: be specific, praise effort, and solve problems.
Guest Judge Bill McKibben commented that your winning review was “incredibly specific,” providing examples and questions about particular moments in the piece. How did you choose which sections and lines of the writer’s work to highlight?
First, I picked the “good” parts of the writer’s work. Although the story had grammatical and stylistic errors, that didn’t mean the piece was no good. The writer, Maya El Wassif, took time and effort on the project, and their work reflected that. Even though I compliment a piece, I do not sugarcoat problems either. Proper, honest feedback is what makes peer reviews unique. So, I pointed out my concerns with Maya’s essay. I also included questions to make revision easier for the writer. Problem-solving is one of the most challenging parts of editing, and the questions were there to make the process easier.
Does the act of peer reviewing help you improve your writing?
Spotting another’s mistake is easy, but spotting yours is hard. This statement is also true for me. Peer reviewing helps me see my writing faults, alongside improving my problem-solving skills. I view peer reviewing as not only a way to help but also a way to improve my writing skills when I’m too exhausted to write.
