We’re back!
The polar vortex sent everyone inside to their computers to write and bring their best stuff to the grid this week. Your yeah write editors are back in full force after a winter break, along with 37 writers. Thanks for showing up, reading, commenting, and voting for your faves.
Editor picks and invitational grid
Our challenge grid tipped over the magic 30 post requirement to unlock the invitational grid this week and the editors selected seven posts to compete for the yeah write jury prize. Congrats to Greg, Quinn, Obed, Samantha, Cyn, Christi, and Bill. You get bling! Go grab your editors’ pick badge to display on your blog.
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Jury prize winner
“Benevolent Tree Ghost Forces Local Hipsters Up Steep Incline” by Greg Garner at BlueGoo Studios
First time yeah writer Greg Garner impressed the editors this week with a photo essay that gracefully weaves together technical description, gorgeous images, and a whimsical story. It’s not an easy task to create a memorable narrative while slipping in phrases like “Ilford sfx 200 film” and “Mamiya 645AFd medium format camera.” But Greg achieves this in “Benevolent Tree Ghost Forces Local Hipsters Up Steep Incline” by inserting himself as a photographer/narrator and winds up with a tale of suspense about urban climbers possibly fleeing danger. The result: A tale that effortlessly pulls together his images and his technique.
The photos themselves provide a timeline, but the writing here is what elevates this to a Jury Prize winning post. It’s clever without going over the top, and just good fun to read. To describe his choices in shooting, he says, as though speaking to a climber: “I had to switch to a portrait orientation so I can fit your whole body in. This will help the police match you to the body that will be floating shortly in the James.” And it takes a creative mind to animate a tree quite like this: “Fresh off a breakfast of gluten-free blueberry pancakes and rich maple syrup, he must’ve been crashing hard.”
Congratulations, Greg, on your jury prize for your first yeah write outing. We hope you’ll be back! Go grab your badge from the sidebar.
Crowd favorite
“The Layered Look Only Works When You Wear Layers” by Cindy Reed at The Reedster Speaks
Hey! Thanks everyone! My post “The Layered Look Only Works When You Wear Layers” — in which I essentially bare my breasts in front of a roomful of children — takes Crowd Favorite. I’d like to thank my declining estrogen, Target, and my husband Matt, who directed my dramatic re-enactment. Whoa! There’s a shiny badge in the sidebar to grab! Don’t mind if I do…
Congrats also to the rest of our top row 5: Bill, Greg, Samantha, and Obed! We have top row 5 badges for each of you—grab one if you earned one.
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. Show us the other side of your blog – those posts that might not meet our submission guidelines for the weekly challenge grid but are awesome nonetheless. Link up or just visit, read, and comment. We’re serving drinks, hard and soft. Catch up with Natalie starting at 6 p.m. eastern time today. Closing time is midnight on Monday. You don’t need to go home, but you can’t stay there.
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.
Pay it forward…
Before you leave, remember to congratulate our winners, editors’ picks, and the top row 5. And let your the other writers you voted for know that their post moved you, inspired you, or made you laugh on a rough day.
Join us next week for yeah write #144. Tell us a story in about 600 words. We love those.
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I’m still pinching myself over the jury prize. I was really just looking to connect with some writers and hoping some of your talent would rub off on me! Loved reading all the other blog entries and looking forward to more writing!
I fell off the wagon for a month, but it feels good to be back! Thanks for the inspiration, everyone! And Cindy, your post was butt-clenchingly hilarious!
I totally agree, I loved the photos in the Tree Ghost. And the Layered Look made me literally LOL. I loved reading every single post this week. I’m so happy to have found Yeahwrite!
Congratulations to Greg and those who made the Top 5. I really enjoy this challenge and intend to keep plugging along to qualidy higher as time goes on.
So glad you’re enjoying it, Joe. We’re looking forward to reading your best stuff for a long time to come.
Congratulations, Greg. Your post was delightfully unexpected. Grats to the rest of the Editors’ Picks, too. Honored to be among you.
Cindy-you know how to deliver a laugh just when I need one. Grats on your Crowd Fave win and kudos to the rest of the Top Row 5.
Congratulations, Greg. Those photos were absolutely stunning!