When will be the next time you’ll get a nap? I expect mine to be sometime in 2014. Moving on…

Virgins!

There were seven on the challenge grid and, so far, two on the hangout grid for a total of nine newbies. You guys have been spreading the word and telling your blogging friends about our awesome yeah write community and I really appreciate it. 

Editor’s choice by Erica M

It takes a master of the metaphor to funnel my interest through an entire post, let alone a series of posts, but Deb of MannaHatta Mamma, a practicing New Yorker, managed to do just that with her post on her family’s decision to stay in Abu Dhabi another year or two. Deb is a fantastic writer and a consistent supporter of yeah write, and I love it when she hits them out the park like she did with her post this week. Congrats, Deb, on the win.

Lurker’s favorite by Flood G

This week goes to newcomer Heather (who pens as Violet) of Creative Devolution and her post We’ve had nothing but average neighbors. Her depiction of various former neighbours and accompanying stories was so funny, I’m sure I had ugly face while I laughed. From enthusiastic, early morning cement-waterer to eccentric South African landladies, it’s such a fun read, I was a little bummed that it ended. I’ve since found myself growling “Chardonnay!” whenever something goes wrong, so I’m grateful for the new family-friendly swear word. Welcome to yeah write, Heather!

Lurker’s favorite by Jennifer W

This week I chose One Terrifying Night by the Master Mynd of It’s My Mynd. Wily Guy’s writing grabbed me by the throat from the very first paragraph. He knows how to set the scene, create tension and sustain it while simultaneously giving the reader access to his inner thoughts. The language is powerful, succinct and evocative.

It takes guts to confront how paralyzing it is to witness a terrible event and be called upon to act: “…my arm refused to open the car door, my legs refused to carry me over to his car, my voice failed me to call out.” It takes even more courage to recognize an unsafe situation and reach out for help. I hope that if I’m ever at risk there’ll be a kind person like Wily Guy who crosses my path, watches out for me and alerts the police. Congrats, Wily Guy, on the win.

Lurker’s favorite by Erica M

I’m substituting for the missing lurking judge this week, I’ve already privately notified the randomly drawn winner for the lurking judge of yeah write #59 and the new permanent lurking judge has graciously volunteered to start with yeah write #60. We don’t miss a beat around these parts.

One thing that struck me about Melissa’s post at Musings of a Writer Mom was her transparency as a blogger. Without subterfuge or cute tricks, she thanked her children’s teachers by name along with the name of their elementary school and, as a blogging parent who thinks it’s time we put aside our fears of getting our kids kidnapped by sharing their photos or their surrounding communities online, I liked how Melissa chose not to hide behind hard-to-follow initials for her kids and teachers in her narrative. Well done, Melissa, and congrats on the win.

Popular vote by the entire Interwebs if the entire Interwebs is, like, 250 people this week

The Pish Posh did it again, this time with a post on pizza poop and her barely making it to the potty after a graduation ceremony. I must say, you guys loves you some poop posts. Congrats, Pish, on the win.

Random winner of a week-long 125×125 ad square in the sidebar of yeah write for yeah write #59

Random.org chose Steph at People Doing Things With Their Lives. Congrats, Steph. If you want to advertise your blog, a small business or a pet project in my sidebar for a week, please send me the link along with a 125×125 graphic. If you don’t have one, I’ll whip one up for you. The graphic, not the project. Email me as soon as possible to claim your prize.

Win-win

The thumbnails are now sorted in the grid from most yellow star votes to the least. In the case of a tie, like if four blogs all got seven votes each, the thumbnails are additionally sorted by page views. Do not be discouraged if your blog has landed near the bottom of the grid; it is always a tight race. The fun lies in getting better exposure for your blog and in the spirit of competition as incentive to improve your writing and blogging skills. It’s a win-win for everybody involved.

Thanks again, everybody, for linking up, for reading, for voting. And for making yeah write the most welcoming spot on the Interwebs for writers who blog and bloggers who write.

Yeah write #59 opens Tuesday.