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!
Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone that made it through NaBloPoMo!
Congratulations 😀
First of all, I admire everyone who linked up this week. While everyone else was busy getting ready for the holiday or burnt out from NaBloPoMo or whatever the reason, you all took the time to craft a story and share it here. Kudos to you!
Congratulations to Rachel on her Crowd Fave win. You definitely had one of those posts that I had to read more than once to pick up on all the details.
Grats to the rest of the Top Row 5: Cindy, Christie, Linda and Courtenay.
Congratulations to all of the winners. There are so many great writers here that it seems impossible to choose any as a winner, let alone five.
It may be that I am just getting elderly, but I had a great deal of trouble trying to figure out the vote tracker. I could have also just been hopped up on pumpkin pie. I think that I will explore it a little more over the weekend and see if it that helps.
Congratulations, Rachel, Cindy, Christie, Courtenay and Linda! Also, great stories, everyone. You’re all winners to me. 🙂
congratulations Rachel yours was actually my top choice. But thank you so much for the shout out I really appreciate it! You have a really lovely way with words and I really look forward to reading more of your stuff.have a peaceful weekend Zoe
Thanks guys for the top row 5 finish!! In addition to Rachel, I want to give a special shout-out to Courtenay – I loved your post with its rich symbolism of the chair. Also, I love that chair (and have it in rust).
Thanks everyone – it was fun this week to use the vote-o-rama tracker the editors use to judge our posts. The process gave insight into the time-consuming task the editors undergo each week and appreciation for the dedication they have for writing. (It also gave me an excuse to have some “me time” on Thanksgiving!) I’d like to give my own little shout out to Zoe, whose post this week was my top choice. Congratulations to my fellow top-row-five, I am in awesome company. Also – thank you Cindy, for a beautiful write-up of my post.