[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]2016 is drawing to a close (don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya, as my Southern grandmother used to say) and most of us are thinking about time, and how it runs out.
Time ran out for a lot of our heroes this year. Among them, and less noticed than some, was Richard Adams, who had this to say about time running out:
“I was 52 when I discovered I could write. I wish I’d known a bit earlier. I never thought of myself as a writer until I became one.”
Adams, of course, wrote Watership Down, which as a movie ruined my childhood and as a book gave me a sense of wonder again. But he never stopped writing and he never stopped trying new things. Although much of his work, like Plague Dogs (I’m serious, you guys, read these books, and not just because Amazon will give us a tiny amount of sweet cash money if you buy them through our link – but maybe skip the movie, holy crap), features intelligent animals who behave like actual animals *coughunlikeredwallcough* he also tried realism.
“I just thought I’d better try to write a novel about real people in a real setting, so I made myself do it, but I didn’t expect it to be an outstanding success, and it isn’t. I can’t write about real people. I proved that to myself with Daniel. I’m a fantasist.”
TL;dr it’s not too late and never stop trying new things, ok? You have like 36 hours of 2016 left. How will you spend it?
Trying new things may not take you to the top of the popular vote each week, although I guarantee it will pay off eventually. But 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. Some weeks, the editors will comb through the grids and nothing really stands out for us. Maybe the best stories had a bunch of typos or the grammatically perfect ones didn’t have much there there. You’ve really got to nail the details of both elements – structure and storytelling – to earn a staff pick. 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.
On weeks when the grids are unmoderated, you can check out the Roundup, where I try to identify trends and troubles that show up for more than one writer on the grid. If you’re curious why there’s no pick, there’s usually a clue in the Roundup why that post you liked didn’t make the cut. Then keep scrolling down to check out who won the popular vote on both grids. If you earned the highest number of votes in either 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? Our challenges share 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]
Rowan’s roundup: yeah write weekly writing challenge #298
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_single_image image=”19872″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_circle_2″][vc_column_text]Ed’s Note: I thought I’d try wrapping up 2016 instead of addressing this week’s specific grids. If I really blew it, don’t tell me, ok? /RBG[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
nonfiction
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]As a writer or a blogger, what’s on your year-end checklist? If you’re not going back through your work for your favorite posts and essays and making sure they’re entered in 2016 roundups like BlogHer’s VOTY, you should be. While you’re at it, do someone else a solid and nominate their piece too – just, you know, if it’s mine don’t tell me. It makes me neurotic.[/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]For 2017, promise me you’ll find a mean friend. Please? You need one.
What’s a mean friend? That’s someone you can hate-read with. Someone who will tear into an essay or poem on a visceral level. Ask if the writer meant to use a euphemism for nipples. Point out that the writer has narrated every single action the character has taken since the start of the scene whether it moved the plot forward or not, or show you how 48 of 56 chapters in this book start with “I woke up….”
A mean friend doesn’t necessarily do this to your work. And you should never, ever, ever disclose to an author what your mean friend said about theirs. It doesn’t help anyone. But having a mean friend can help you get better at constructive criticism, because instead of trying to figure out how to nicely explain where a poem missed the mark you are instead thinking of a nice way to say “do you even know what water sports means because you should be aware that in some circles it is not ‘jet ski.'”
And having a mean friend will start to help you avoid mistakes in your own work, even if they’re not your beta reader (never ask your mean friend to be honest about your work; you might get back a stern critique that quotes Sappho and then never touch your poem again). Because the first time you write a sentence that has five nouns, each of which is paired with exactly one adjective, you’ll think of her snarky comment about how that writer was playing Mad Libs instead of writing a story, and you’ll write a better sentence instead.[/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, so let’s move on to the popular vote results. 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 #298
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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