Welcome, virgins!

Everyone say hello to the three first-time yeah writers on the grid! Welcome! With your participation, as well as the continued support of so many regulars, we tipped over the 20-post mark to unlock that third vote. And the winners are…

Crowd favorite

“Not Waving But Drowning” by Natalie DeYoung at The Cat Lady Sings

This week’s crowd favorite is by contributing editor Natalie D, who topped the grid with “Not Waving But Drowning,” a no-holds-barred look at anxiety, depression, and unemployment, all captured within the framework of an ordinary walk with her dog. She masterfully moves between the present and past, creating suspense as we hold our breath with her, waiting for the wave to pass and hoping it doesn’t carry her away. And with lines like “[t]he temperature makes the air seem white, as if bleached by too much L.A. sun,” she demonstrates the art of writing setting in the deft strokes required for a 600 word story.

Congratulations, Natalie! You’ve earned that crowd favorite badge in the sidebar.

Congratulations also to the rest of our top row: Therese Oneill at You’re Doing it Wrong for “Drug Seeking Behavior” and Rowan G at CrossKnit for “We do it for the….”  You get top row badges!

The kiwi of the week is…

Kevin the Kiwi has his nose to the ground, helping the editors select that one post that stands out in those weeks when we don’t run the invitational grid. This week our submissions editor Rowan G awards Kevin the Kiwi to Nate at The Relative Cartographer for his post about his adventurous ancestor, “Dreams as Big as Canada.”  In Rowan’s words, “reading the post is like sitting in a room listening to family stories you only appreciate the value of after the people who could have told them to you are gone.”          

Congratulations, Nate! Your kiwi badge can be found in the sidebar.

Comment Bob is waving those pom-poms

Comment Bob was so excited about the level of participation and yeah write spirit that he’s awarding three badges this week. Congratulations to Janelle from Breaking Moulds, Claire from Pills and Spills, and Tina from Not Just Another Mother Blogger. Bob loves each of you equally because of your many comments and words of support to your gridmates. Meet him over in the sidebar for a big hug and a badge!

Weekend moonshine grid opens today at 6 p.m. eastern time

It’s the weekend, and Natalie D will shortly be setting up the moonshine grid and bathtub gin just for you. She’s booked her cousin’s band “Heavy Silence” and assures us that they are “really good.” There will be earplugs. The moonshine grid is the flip side of our weekly challenges: a no-stress link-up where we accept anything except commercial or sponsored posts.  Closing time is midnight on Monday.

Win-win

The thumbnails are now sorted in the grid from most votes to the least. In the case of a tie, the thumbnails are additionally sorted by page views. Do not be discouraged if your blog has landed near the bottom of the grid; especially if it was a tight race. The fun lies in getting better exposure for your blog and, in the spirit of competition, an incentive to improve your writing and blogging skills. It’s a win-win for everybody involved. Thanks again, everybody, for submitting, for reading, and for accepting the weekly writing challenge. And for making yeah write the most welcoming spot on the Interwebs for writers who blog and bloggers who write.

Before you go

Take a moment to congratulate this week’s winners in the comments, and give a shout-out to your favorites from the grid! Come on back next week with more of your stories.

Yeah write #165 opens with the kickoff post on Sunday, the gargleblaster on Monday, and the challenge grid and speakeasy fiction jam on Tuesday. Be sure you’ve subscribed to our email list to get notice when prompts are posted, grids open, and voting begins. It’s easy to do! Just sign up right here. And then come back and bring your best writing to the best writing community around! See you next week.

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