[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Sometimes things don’t go as we planned.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that most of us are not full-time, living-wage-earning writers. Most of us have day jobs (or night jobs), families, friends, other responsibilities. We don’t just sit in our garrets all day pouring our hearts onto the page. And so one of the most useful traits we can develop as writers is adaptability. Sometimes that means giving up writing time for a well-deserved date night. Sometimes it means taking advantage of a long grocery line to jot down notes for your next story or essay. And sometimes it means jumping into something new, crossing your fingers, and hoping it will turn out okay. (Like, for example, tackling a winners’ post on the fly.)

In the context of yeah write, adaptability means being open to change. It means grabbing the mic at our poetry slam even if you don’t consider yourself a poet. (Four nonets on the grid this week!) It means really taking to heart the editors’ advice and suggestions as well as the feedback from your fellow writers. This kind of adaptability will help make you a better writer and improve your chances on the grids.

Speaking of the grids, keep an eye on our roundup for a quick rundown of trends we see each week. We try to highlight the good stuff and point out problems that more than one writer is struggling with. This week’s roundup will be a little delayed as Rowan had to adapt her schedule to accommodate an emergency dentist visit. [That was an exciting and unappetizing look into the US medical system. No, but what WOULD you have charged me for if I’d used up my prophylactic visit already? Jerks. -RBG]

Once you’re done reading through the staff picks and roundup (and congratulating the winners in the comments), keep scrolling down to check out who won the popular vote on both 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? Both grids 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 #287 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry

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the dentist’s house by ruby bastille

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Ruby’s sleek short story had it all: conflict in the first paragraph, a blossoming suspicion, a character who transforms before our eyes. The misleading idea that dentists give sugar-free gum to explain why the girls didn’t want to go to the house added humor to an off-putting situation. After I finished it, I read it again to see how Ruby introduced us readers to an everyday situation and then pushed us into something more sinister.

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Rowan’s roundup: yeah write weekly writing challenge #287

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nonfiction

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][For realz, Rowan will be back this afternoon to add her roundups! -ch]

For realz, I swear I read more of the essays than just the titles this week, but that’s what we’re going to talk about anyway. The title is the first chance you have to grab a reader’s attention, to draw them in and make them want to finish those next few hundred words. It often takes me as long or longer to pick out a title than it does to write the story or essay that follows. Take a look back through your last few stories or essays. If you saw that title on a bookshelf would you pick the book up? Does the title lead you into the essay with a clever clue or a pun or even a misdirection to set up the twist at the end? Or is it a dry, robotic “this-is-the-hundred-forty-second-story-i-have-written-and-in-it-i-walk-to-the-store-and-buy-milk” sort of title? If your reader comes into your essay already bored, it’s hard to reinvigorate their interest, so grab them with the first words they read![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”29344″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

fiction|poetry

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][I’d just like to reiterate: four nonets on the grid this week. I love that you all are taking advantage of the poetry slam! -ch]

In the spirit of continuing to riff off of Christine’s placeholders here, let’s talk about those nonets. When you’ve got several structurally similar stories or poems on a grid one week, it’s a great chance to stretch your muscles not just as a writer but as a reader. Don’t merely say to yourself “I like this one better” – think about why! Let’s look at Nate and Cyn’s nonets for a quick example of how to compare two poems. Nate uses more traditional sentence structure in his poem, breaking lines to make the syllable count work. Cyn, on the other hand, tends to make each line an individual fragment that could stand alone, taking more advantage of the breaks between lines to separate her thoughts. Nate’s line breaks function as a briefer sort of punctuation, an eyeblink or strobe instead of a full breath. Whether you prefer one or the other, you should be able to see if each poet is successful in accomplishing the thing they set out to do or capturing the image they meant to convey. That’s what being a good reader is about, and ultimately it will make you a better writer.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”29345″ alignment=”center”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text]That’s it for this week! Remember, we don’t always give out a pick on both grids; if we were impressed by several posts on one grid we’ll give them all picks, and if nothing really stood out for us we’ll hold off. If you didn’t get a pick this week, read back through the roundup to see if you can use some of this week’s tips and tricks.

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, and don’t forget, our weekend grid opens tonight at 6pm Eastern US Time![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Congratulations to the crowd favorites at yeah write #287

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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