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Spreadsheet voting

It’s a special “Cindy can’t button her pants because of all the pies” winners’ post! Let’s all grab a plate of Thanksgiving leftovers while we check out this week’s winners. (And for our yeah writers outside of the U.S., just imagine that you’ve eaten a 4500 calorie meal.)

A long time ago in a town called yeah write, we used spreadsheet voting to hone our skills at critiquing posts according to our submission guidelines. When we open an invitational grid on weeks we hit the 30-post mark, the editors use the twelve factors on this rubric to select which posts will compete for that week’s jury prize.

This week, we relied on those readers who completed a voting spreadsheet to choose our winners. Spreadsheet voting is a great reminder that yeah write isn’t a click-fest. Winners are determined by those who read all the posts on a given grid and vote for their top 5 based on these criteria. It’s a chance to pause and think analytically about all the elements that go into a winning post: a central conflict, authentic voice, smooth transitions, and more.

We chose our winners this week based on the rankings of our editors and the five readers who submitted our vote-o-rama tracking sheet. Under each thumbnail, where it says “votes,” those are average scores or points awarded by our spreadsheet voters. The higher scores, typically, are averages with top three rankings added in. For example, if someone averaged 10 points and a few voters ranked her in their top three, those corresponding points would be added on to the average score.

  • 12 points: The author meets all of the criteria for a winning yeah write submission
  • 10–11: The author meets most of the criteria for a winning yeah write submission
  • 7–9: The author meets more than half of the criteria for a yeah write submission
  • 6 points: The author meets half of the criteria for a winning yeah write submission
  • 3–5: The author meets few of the criteria for a winning yeah write submission
  • 0–2: The author does not meet the criteria for a winning yeah write submission

Crowd favorite

“I explore the ocean for one of Christa McAuliffe’s strands” by Rachel at Calamity Rae

Rachel at Calamity Rae takes the crowd favorite for “I explore the ocean for one of Christa McAuliffe’s strands.” The story of schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who died along with the rest of the astronauts in the Challenger explosion, has been told many times. Rachel demonstrates that you can tell a story many ways, and hers is a deeply personal perspective from a schoolgirl watching the disaster unfold before her eyes. The post soars on lines like “Here, tourists sift sand between toes, not knowing salt makes straw of hair” and “I didn’t know precision could unhinge itself.” With an elegiac touch, she moves seamlessly between her excitement at watching the launch with her classmates and her life with her grandmother, whose character she forms in a handful of skillful strokes. Congratulations Rachel! Your crowd favorite badge awaits you in the sidebar.

Congrats also to the rest of our top row 5: Christie, Linda, Courtenay, and hey! Me! Thanks guys! Go grab your well-earned top row 5 badge in the sidebar.

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

It’s the weekend, and yeah write guest editor Natalie D is setting up her moonshine grid and bathtub gin just for you. Take a break from online shopping and link up! It’s a no pressure weekend frolic where we accept anything except for commercial or sponsored posts. Natalie’s having a twofer special on buttered rum and eggnog just in time for the holiday season. Catch up with Natalie starting at 6 p.m. eastern time today. Closing time is midnight on Monday.

Is it over yet? NaBloPoMo at yeah write concludes tomorrow

Whew! We almost made it. I, for one, am thankful that I participated in NaBloPoMo this year – blogging everyday has proved to me that yes, I do have time to write. I just need the discipline. So while I won’t be blogging every day next month, I’ve gone a long way toward developing a sustainable daily writing practice.

We’re blogging every day here at yeah write too. Visit our growing NaBloPoMo archives.

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, 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…

Remember to congratulate all the winners in the comments, and a big thanks to everyone who came out for the challenge during a busy holiday week. C’mon back next week!



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