There are two more weeks left in the 2012 yeah write summer writer’s series—Week 6: general structure, including that pesky beginning, middle and end we’ve been talking about and Week 7: versatility and flexibility in blogging. 

Once we’ve completed the series, the challenge grid will return. Although they will no longer be required by the submissions guidelines, prompts will be available for those who appreciate defined borders while writing. The maximum word limit will be increased to a hard count of 1,000 for those who were all crusty about being forced to limit their awesomeness to 500 these past few weeks.

Editor’s pick by Erica M will make its comeback and the lurking judges’ favorites will be renamed to better reflect the expanded roles of Flood, Kristin and Jen here at yeah write. Kristin and Jen’s favorites will become contributing editors’ picks and Flood, our third contributing editor, will shift from judging to moderating the grid full-time. Yes, she’s now the gatekeeper. If you bring her your best stuff with a central conflict, beginning, middle, end and your “so what”? You got 99 problems, but the grid ain’t one.

Until then…

Flood’s honorable mention

This week, I vote for Mute by Courtenay at  IASoupMama. A touching story of the silent reality of miscarriage. The writing is stark, giving the reader a sense of the foggy here-but-not-really-here atmosphere the protagonist is floating through. Not one word is redundant. (Television character) The Fresh Prince witnesses the event noiselessly without losing any of his goofy demeanour. “Even in the silence, I knew what was happening.” A peek into a sad, but never overly sentimental private scene, and it was hard to look away.

Kristin’s honorable mention

Reading IASoupMama’s Mute was like intense pain as felt through layers of cheesecloth. I knew it was there —on many levels —but it didn’t chisel away at my resolve. It was told as a matter-of-fact occurrence, reflected in the nurse’s seemingly cold (but perhaps just routine) behavior. The details from beginning to end heighten the sense of the everyday. Groceries deliberately purchased despite knowing their rotting future in the car, Will Smith jumping over a couch and witnessing a private moment of loss, and the images of “life goes on” as seen through the eyes of a would-be mother and cancer survivor. I was also impressed with the ability of the main character to hold a conversation without saying a word.

Crowd favorite

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Thank You, Stranger by Louise at Raising Ivy demonstrated how seemingly random encounters can heavily influence our lives. In her post, we meet a younger, heavier, miserable Louise struggling to recalibrate her brain chemicals after childbirth. On one of her worst days, she is lifted by the words of a stranger, finds renewed strength, then carries the stranger’s kindness with her into perpetuity.

Much like Mamarific’s first crowd favorite win last week, Louise’s first place showing on a condensed grid is encouraging for those of us who use yeah write as a writers’ commune—celebrating the art of writing— instead of using yeah write solely as a blog traffic portal, pursuing the business of writing.  

Yeah write #68 jury prize winner

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Hey there, Courtenay. Again. You swept all three editors’ first place selections this week with Mute, your moving and well-written piece. Please email me with me with your shipping address so I can send you a copy of Henriette Anne Klauser’s Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthrough Techniques for People Who Write, the jury prize selected by Flood G, this week’s guest editor. Thank you for being such a faithful part of yeah write. Congrats.

Win-Win

The thumbnails are now sorted in the grid from most yellow star votes to the least. The top row five badges will return the first challenge week we fill the grid with 50 bloggers. For this week, because the grid had 29 entries, the array highlights the top row three.

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; 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. 

With Deb Williams as the guest editor, yeah write #69 prompts will be published Monday, and the grid will open Tuesday.