[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sometimes when I get really stuck for a post idea, I go google “today in history.”
Sometimes that’s a mistake.
So, uh, happy birthday, Leonardo da Vinci!
Let’s get on to better news. Like the news of who won the popular vote on all three of our grids!
Just like every Friday, including Fridays that aren’t the 15th of April, I’m going to give you the results on all three of our 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 #261 weekly writing challenge staff picks: nonfiction
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writing while mothering by lisa
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Sure, I could talk about Lisa’s unflinching look at herself and her child, her brutal honesty about the kid next door, or the little details like tantrums not just existing but existing specifically in Target as a way to anchor the reader strongly in place and time with very few words. But instead, I want to talk about the fragmented structure of the post, and how Lisa has a perfect grasp of exactly how far down each storyline to go before it’s time to circle back to the other one, how long she can talk about each thing and still have the other fresh in her reader’s memory, and exactly how small a fragment to interrupt with to connect us not just intellectually but emotionally with the jittery rush she’s describing, the constant tension of mothering a young and defiant child. Against this structural backdrop she also provides us with a moment of welcome relief–I felt my shoulders actually relax when I read it–that keeps the post from being a litany of complaints. It’s exactly the right format for what she’s trying to communicate, and it’s well-handled all around.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22652″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”michelle”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
a shard of glass by laura
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The art of building suspense is tricky to craft. The writer either risks giving away too much too soon, failing to create enough interest, or failing to build that interest at a pace that works. Laura’s piece manages to hit the mark, though, keeping the reader moving along briskly with interest in the characters and their plight, weaving in childhood anecdotes to establish their relationship. The fact that she is a child helps increase the dramatic irony, as we know what kind of hospital houses Vietnam vets with PTSD, even though Laura does not. She never explicitly states the issue with Kathryn, but instead builds enough around the issue so that we get the idea. This was a successful attempt at showing us, rather than telling us, which is the aim of any successful story.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22651″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”natalie”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Yeah write #261 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry and microstories
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]Probably my least favorite part of this job is the one where I get to sound like your fifth grade teacher. But here goes: When I polled the editor’s room this week looking for staff picks, I heard back from nearly everyone that “Gosh, I would love to choose [title] but there are just so many typos and spelling errors and the punctuation is so messy that I can’t in good conscience put a ribbon on it, you know?”
We love a good story, well-told. But we also love it when you take a few extra minutes to remember that you’re in an adjudicated competition. Doublecheck the submission rules, doublecheck your periods and commas and look for that lingering “teh” in your work. And come in when the recess bell rings; I’m tired of yelling at you.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22649″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_circle” title=”rowan”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/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
You kids get off my lawn and go play on Natalie’s! I hear she’s making Stove Top stuffing down on the moonshine grid starting at 6pm EDT tonight. You can watch cartoons on her big screen TV and talk about anything that strikes your fancy, in any format you like. Except commercial.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Congratulations to the crowd favorites at yeah write #261
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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