[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I just flew in from Toronto and boy are my arms tired.
That joke wasn’t funny even the first time I heard it, but right now I’m giggling madly at the dog, which is a good sign that maybe I might conceivably have Halloweened just a little bit hard. Five days, four costume changes, three nights past 3am, two women and one big love for the best holiday EVER (I will fight you) made for a truly incredible trip. And, erm, not much writing, although I did set a day aside to work on stuff for the super challenge. I’m excited to be releasing the last round of prompts tonight and absolutely stoked to be working with our celebrity guest judge for this round.
So, uh, apparently I’m that editor that gets all overwhelmed and reads the entries as they come in while completely forgetting to participate in the vote on voting day. Blame it on the 35 minutes I had to make it from one end of the Vancouver airport to the other AND clear Customs. Fortunately, it’s not all about the popular vote at yeah write, folks. We also have our editorial staff picks to hand out. See, while there’s a popular vote winner every week, we don’t always give out a staff pick. 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! The great part is that we don’t have a finite number of picks to hand out. That means that if two, three, five, or even all the works on one grid are fantastic, we can give them all kudos.
Speaking of reading 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. There’s probably a handy tip in there for you right now, so check it out!
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 #290 weekly writing challenge staff picks: nonfiction
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in this otherwise normal day by laura
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Writing dialogue can be an exercise in frustration. It sounds inauthentic, or it busts up the forward motion of our plot, or it becomes too cumbersome to identify the speakers. This week, in her exquisite post on death and dying “In This Otherwise Normal Day,” Laura from The Unraveling Yarn gives a master class in how to write dialogue that activates one’s story. Look at how in her opening conversation she develops character using simple dialogue tags – one partner “sounded groggy, as though she had just woken up.” She then deftly interweaves setting with spoken words as the other partner “pushed back the chair and moved to the window,” noting that “[o]utside, the sun bounced off the bright picket fence.” Later, Laura balances the cashier’s running monologue at check-out with her own interior dialogue. All of this is contained within a lyrical elegy in which the simple act of buying flowers illustrates a lifetime of love and a chasm of loss.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22658″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”cindy”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Rowan’s roundup: yeah write weekly writing challenge #290
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nonfiction
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]There are two ways to write about terrible things happening (well, more than that but these are the two at the end of the spectrum in either direction): unsympathetic and purple. What do I mean? Well, unsympathetic writing does not mean bland or callous writing. Instead, it’s writing that presents the author’s reality in clean, cutting terms without telling the reader how to feel about it, trusting the reader to understand and empathize. “The phone rang at 11:43 pm. The phone never rang after 9pm in our house. We had rules.”
On the other hand, there’s the purple prose zone. “It was the worst day of my life. I heard the phone ring and I knew immediately that something terrible had happened. It was 11:43 pm and the sky outside was as dark and cold as the feeling in the pit of my belly. Horrified, I lifted the receiver in my chilled hand and held it to my numb ear.” By the time the writer lifts the phone in this example, the reader not only doesn’t share in the feeling of dread but wishes the writer would get to the point already.
This week we had a lot of personal stories about tragedy real, imagined, and avoided on the grid. Take a minute to skim back through and see which methods the writers used to engage you and let them know how successful they were in the comments![/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]Some weeks I sit down and do all the critical thinking in the world. This week I’m seriously jet-lagged, so I’m going to give you some homework instead:
Blame and Girly Burger use a lot of the same tricks to generate a feeling of guilty unease in the reader, despite being in completely different formats. How many of these tricks can you identify, and which do you think will be of use in your own fiction and poetry?[/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 #290
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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