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two-oh-eight

two hundred eight

Fun fact: two hundred and eight, in US standard usage, means there’s a decimal in there. 200.8

But without the decimal, you have the number of consecutive weeks yeah write has been an active writing challenge. Some of you have been with us for years; others are just finding our little corner of the web. But we hope you’re having as much fun as we are, and finding that this community of ours fosters not just sharing but improvement in your writing. Over the past four years we’ve had yeah write alums find the voice and confidence to publish books, articles, and memoirs. Yeah writers have been Voices of the Year at BlogHer (stay tuned for an exciting announcement about that, by the way). The only thing yeah write won’t do for you is turn you away unchanged. From our comments to our love letters, we’re still striving, four year later, to nurture you all as writers, editors and critics of your own and other people’s writing.

But you’re not here to listen to me wax on about how awesome you are. You’re here for the winners’ post. So since it’s Friday, I’m going to give you the results on all three of our grids – nonfiction, fiction|poetry, and microfiction – right here!

But it’s not all about the popular vote, folks. We also have our editorial staff picks to hand out. Who remembers Kevin the Kiwi? Raise your hand. Well, Kevin may have retired, but every week our editors still comb through your submissions looking for their favorites. Picks are based on writing quality, how successful the author is in conveying information, and just plain style. If you got a staff pick this week, grab your badge from the sidebar and wear it with pride!

Once you’re done reading through the staff picks (and congratulating the winners in the comments), keep scrolling down to check out who won the popular vote on all three grids.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Yeah write #208 weekly writing challenge staff picks: nonfiction

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magic beans by snapper

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“I wouldn’t know how to tie up loose ends if I tried.” That’s how Snapper ends this brief post. And yet, in only a handful of words, she manages better than most writers do in thousands. One of the things I see so often as submissions editor is that writers with a strong story forget to return to their central themes, to remind us throughout the post that what they’re talking about isn’t really their dog, or their car, or the way their shoe didn’t fit quite right, but is some larger, more universally human story that you can see in the shadows cast by their seemingly simple words. I’d tell you how to do it better, but as Snapper said, “[y]ou ask me for advice on tying up loose ends, and I tell you that I’m not sure I’ve ever in my whole life tied up a pair of loose ends, that my life is not tidy in that way.”
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Yeah write #208 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry

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esther’s visitor by rubybastille

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Esther’s Visitor is a great example of melding research with literary devices to make a tight little scene. The leaded glass, the tied-up horse, the word choices of “pottery” and “basin”—these details succinctly establish the setting and time period in the first few paragraphs. Through carefully executed colloquialisms, we get a vivid sense of Esther’s strength and intelligence. Ruby’s choice to mention the slap of the British soldier and her husband’s murders left me wanting to look further into this incredible character’s story. 
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Yeah write #208 weekly writing challenge special guest appearance: comment bob!

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Hey, yeah writers! Remember Comment Bob, the penguin with the… did you know that very few words rhyme with penguin? Yeah. Well, unlike me, Comment Bob has been known to give a cheer or two. He’s popping back in for our anniversary and going home with a writer who’s really impressed us by making the rounds consistently every time she’s on the grid, reading and commenting on every single post. You may not think we’re paying attention, but Bob sits in his cubicle with a spreadsheet every week noting who’s actually taking the time to read and give thoughtful feedback. So when he asked to make a guest appearance for our birthday, who were we to say no? Take it away, Bob![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”24663″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_circle” border_color=”grey” img_link_target=”_self” title=”bob” img_link_large=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

That’s right. I never went away. The call is coming from inside the house. Before you die, you see the pompoms. And other horror movie quotes. Here’s the thing, though. Nothing’s more horrible than writing a post and putting it out there and… crickets. Consistent feedback doesn’t just help you grow as a writer, it feels really really good. So this week I’d like to talk briefly about a writer who really makes the rounds to make sure that everybody hears something back when they post an essay, story, or microstory: Kathy of The Giggling Trucker’s Wife Writes. Every time she enters, whether she makes it to the voting grid or not, she takes the time to read every post and give thoughtful comments. I know you’ve seen her, because I know she’s left you a comment too. Thanks, Kathy, for setting a great example of community spirit. Grab your picture of li’l ol’ me from the sidebar there, and know that even if I’m not in the winners’ post every week, I’m shaking my pompoms for you!
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Congratulations to this week’s winners! If you earned the highest number of votes in either challenge, you are this week’s crowd favorite. If you came in first, second or third, you get “top three” honors. Grab your badge from our sidebar!

Looking for your badge? The fiction|poetry, nonfiction and microstories challenges all have the same winner, staff pick, and top three badges. It doesn’t clutter up our sidebar, and they’ll still look pretty on yours!

Everybody: before you go, please take some time to leave your favorites a little love in the comments.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

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

Natalie

Nat-a-leeeeee.

She was a thief, you got to belief, she stole my heart and my cat.

Betty, Judy, Josie and those hot Pussycats… they make me horny, on Saturday morny… girls of cartoo-ins will leave me in ruins…

I want to to be Betty’s Barney. Hey Jane… get me off this crazy thing… called love.

And into the weekend, where cartoo-ins run rampant and there’s no rules to the grid. Just leave the ads at home. Yes, even the ones for shrinkydinks and Legos. And if you can name the movie this little poemlet came from… I feel bad for you son. I got 99 problems but IMDB ain’t one.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

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