[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s still earlydark here where I’m writing this, and I feel as slow as, well, as slow as molasses in January.

Except sometimes molasses in January isn’t slow at all, and does in fact carve a murderous swath of 35mph destruction through downtown Boston. So on this anniversary of the Great Molasses Flood, I’d like to pay homage to the absurd and the unexpected; the real life plot twists that you just couldn’t make up. I bet one of those has happened to you, and we’d love to hear about it next week!

While you’re thinking about that, I’m going to give you the results on all three of this week’s grids – nonfiction, fiction|poetry, and microfiction – right here!

But it’s not all about the popular vote, folks. We also have our editorial staff picks to hand out. Every week our editors comb through your submissions looking for their favorites. Picks are based on writing quality, how successful the author is in conveying information, and just plain style. If you got a staff pick this week, grab your badge from the sidebar and wear it with pride!

Once you’re done reading through the staff picks (and congratulating the winners in the comments), keep scrolling down to check out who won the popular vote on all three grids. If you earned the highest number of votes in any challenge, you are this week’s crowd favorite! If you came in first, second or third, you get “top three” honors. Grab your badge from our sidebar!

Looking for your badge? The fiction|poetry, nonfiction and microstories challenges all have the same winner, staff pick, and top three badges. It doesn’t clutter up our sidebar, and they’ll still look pretty on yours![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Yeah write #248 weekly writing challenge staff picks: nonfiction

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tiny things last by jan

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In her essay “Tiny Things Last,” Jan at Red’s Wrap illustrates perfectly how the “very small thing” (discussed in this week’s post) can make for a powerful story. A single bracelet with a small elf charm becomes the metaphor for sibling bonds that manage to come loose, get lost, but in the end, survive everything. The essay’s opening sentences are especially poetic and lilting in their sparseness: “…the soil underneath as loamy and dark and the tiny elves’ footprints as distinct.” Through this tiny thing, Jan tells us the bigger story of family and love.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”21950″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”meg”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Yeah write #248 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry

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i dream of doormen by shannon

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]We’ve seen bits and pieces of this world – The World – from Shannon for a while now. Her writing isn’t always approachable. Her language isn’t always easy. But that’s a lot of what’s working this week, in this story where two characters without names have a brief conversation. That’s it- that’s all there is to the story. And yet the lushness of the writing itself carries the piece forward with a driving urgency.  There is just enough detail to make the reader really curious about what the characters have been up to outside the lines of the post, without making it so mysterious as to be frustrating.

One of the most intriguing things about this story is Shannon’s knack for describing a thing without ever really using an adjective. Rather than saying a character’s voice is “low-pitched” or “tenor” she says “His voice transfixed me. The velvety promise of good head and breakfast after.” It’s an immediate way to draw the reader in–whatever that means to you, that’s the character’s voice now, not bass or tenor, smooth or raspy. The whole story is written like this, descriptions that hook into the reader’s own experience and make the story’s world just that little bit more real and engaging.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”22651″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_circle” title=”nate”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

That’s it for our staff picks this week! Remember, we don’t always give out a pick on every grid; if we were impressed by several posts on one grid, we’ll give them all picks, and if nothing really stood out for us on another grid, we’ll hold off.

If you’re lost in the middle of the grid and wondering how you can get a little more feedback on your posts, check out our membership perks!

Everybody: before you go, please take some time to leave your favorites a little love in the comments.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Weekend moonshine grid opens today at 6 p.m. eastern time

Whether you’re feeling like molasses, maple syrup or agave today, ooze on down to the moonshine grid when it opens at 6pm. Got a post that wasn’t quite right for the grid this week? More diary than essay, or you just didn’t have time to give it that final polish? Stick it (see what I did there) on the weekend grid! The more the merrier![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Congratulations to the crowd favorites at yeah write #248

The thumbnails are now sorted in order of most votes to fewest. Ties in the overall number of votes are broken by number of editor votes.

Congratulations if you’re at or near the top! Writing well is hard work, and we’re honored you’ve chosen us this week to showcase your entry.

If you’re at or near the bottom, don’t be discouraged. You’re in the right community for learning and growing as a writer, and we are always available with resources for those who ask nicely.

To our readers and voters: thank you! See you next week.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

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