New to yeah write this week? Welcome!

Welcome to the three yeah write virgins on the challenge grid this week! We hope you enjoyed linking up your best stuff and tooling around to check out your gridmates’ posts. And thanks to everyone who came out for the grand finale of our family-free weeks with stories of bicycle rides, bar exams, Beatrix Potter and much, much more. Join us again next week!

Crowd favorite

“In which I am the best exit row passenger ever” by Cindy R at The Reedster Speaks

The crowd favorite this week is by me, Cindy R! It’s awkward to write a blurb for one’s own post, but can I be real for a minute? This means a lot to me.  I’ve been in a writing slump and haven’t published any original content for over six weeks. I also just quit my day job to hang out my shingle as a real writer. I worked this story down over 12 days from a bloated 1200 to a trimmer 584 words. So I’m really thrilled at this crowd favorite win for a piece that is, essentially, about not crapping myself.

We had two votes to cast this week so rounding out our top row is Red Lantern Bicyclist for her post “A Woman Riding Along.”  Congrats! Go grab your top row badge from the sidebar.

The kiwi of the week is…

This week Natalie D awards the editor’s kiwi to Karen Petree’s post “What Rush Limbaugh doesn’t understand about Twitter,” about Limbaugh’s mocking of the #BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign to raise awareness of kidnapped Nigerian girls. It’s a clear, lean op-ed piece that deftly describes the power of social media to flatten the divide between the people and the government, giving power to the raised voices of the many to impact the few in control. See the Kevin the Kiwi badge in the sidebar? It’s all yours, Karen. Congratulations!

Comment Bob is waving those pom-poms

Every time I gaze upon Comment Bob all my troubles melt away because he is so darn peppy. I also, occasionally, hark back to my failed cheerleading tryout in tenth grade. Not to fear, our Bob accepts anyone on his squad, so long as they manifest the yeah write community spirit. This week he’s cheering especially for Samantha M at “This Heart of Mine.” Samantha rarely misses a challenge grid and always enthusiastically comments on posts, responds to comments on her own post, and campaigns fairly for her favorites.  This week was Sam at her yeah write best. Congratulations Sam, Bob loves you so much! Pick up your badge in the sidebar, and thanks for supporting your fellow bloggers.

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. 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

Remember to congratulate this week’s winners in the comments. Give your favorite posts a shout-out in the comments too. Let those bloggers know that their work made you think, or laugh, or relate. Writing can be a lonely business, and here at yeah write we hope to create a dialogue between writer and reader.

This concludes yeah write’s family-free weeks! You are once again permitted to write about your kin. Just keep your mind open to the stories in all the facets of your life.

Yeah write #162 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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