[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Winner winner chicken dinner!

Look. It’s hard to write every week. It’s hard to write every day. Sometimes it feels like you’re grinding a topic to dust in your teeth as you shove that one more mixed-metaphor post out into the universe.

But it’s worth it. Learning to write when you don’t want to will make you a better writer when you do, when the words are flowing easily and the inspiration is coming freely. That’s when your best pieces are written, that marriage of hard-won skill and momentary illumination

Speaking of great pieces, we saw some on the grid this week, and now  I’m going to give you the popular vote results on both of our grids – nonfiction and fiction|poetry – 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 challenges 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 #264 weekly writing challenge staff picks: nonfiction

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i took after him by anusrini20

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Anusha’s essay may be short, but it does everything right. She starts in the right place, without unnecessary preamble; she uses one small, personal story to illustrate the larger relationship; she doesn’t get sentimental – which in and of itself is kind of an illustration of her point – and she stops when she’s done. Instead of a potentially cloying description of how well she resembles her mother, we get a stark, honest look at how she takes after her father, for better or for worse.[/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=”22657″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_circle” title=”christine”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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lesbians and oreos by lisa

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Like last week’s ed pick, this week’s stands out for its voice and description. I find humor hard to write, so I’m always impressed when someone does it well. In her essay, Lisa takes issue with Mother’s Day, an easy target for sharp-tongued moms who want only to be alone. Lisa’s voice, though, is what distinguishes her humor. She is self-aware without being self-conscious. The delivery isn’t forced. She shows, not tells: with one hand texting her husband to warn him not to take her to Chuck E. Cheese for Mother’s Day, the other hand spins her 7-year-old on the merry-go-round. This demanding, colorful merry-go-round of motherhood, balancing relationships, roles, and rites. [Ed’s note: this is getting to be a habit, Lisa! /rbg][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22653″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”meg”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]

 

Yeah write #264 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry

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der urselbach by jennifer

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Jennifer’s poem seems to peacefully yet playfully call to the reader. It captures the melancholic nature of the rondeau, a pondering of ancient subject matter with this medieval poetic form. The poem’s use of rhymes give it the characteristic musical quality, and the refrain varies only slightly, enough to always bring back the poem’s connection between the natural world and the pastoral world that man thinks he has tamed.[/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=”natalie”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column_text]
That’s it for our staff picks this week! Remember, we don’t always give out a pick on each 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

I’ve completely run out of post ideas, so come see my fish down on the moonshine grid this weekend. He’s a betta and I won him in a white elephant gift exchange. Hopefully he lasts longer than my last fish – I think he might have done that already. Good luck Carstairs the Fish! Natalie promised to feed him this weekend while she was pouring drinks for all of you down at the friendliest little unmoderated grid we run. It’s so friendly that the only rule is no commercial posts.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Congratulations to the crowd favorites at yeah write #264

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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