[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tag! You’re it.
Working in a team really isn’t my thing; it’s mostly like herding kittens. But working in pairs? Yeah, baby. See, when there’s two of you, you’re never really out of ideas and there’s always someone to pick up if you need to leave off – as long as you’re ready to do the same for them. That’s how I write novels, it’s (apparently, as of this week – who knew that was in my job description) how I design marketing materials, and it’s how Cindy and I agreed to work this month.
In case you haven’t read either one of our posts so far (shame on you), check out this month’s nonfiction knowhow and Cindy’s opening post for the nonfiction grid this week. We’ll be touching on a different bit of the knowhow post each week, Cindy at the beginning and then me in the roundup. It’s a great chance to apply last month’s knowhow too- treat it as a mini-class just for you! Then take that nonfiction practice to the next level in our super challenge! I can’t stop using exclamation points! I’m sorry?
Doing your homework can take you to the top of the popular vote. But it’s not all about the popular vote at yeah write, folks. We also have our editorial staff picks to hand out. 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_separator][vc_column_text]
Yeah write #299 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry
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up and down by michael
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In a week of strong fiction and poetry, Michael’s story popped out at me. Not only did he make the prompt up a natural and crucial element to his story, he also showed the reader exactly how much fun he was having with it. Humor writing is not an easy art to pull off. Too earnest and the laughing feels like an act of pity. Too flamboyant and it takes away the credibility of the plot. Michael’s humor is well balanced, clever, and genuine. I could see this story in any number of sci-fi/humor Web sites or magazines.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22650″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”nate”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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Rowan’s roundup: yeah write weekly writing challenge #299
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nonfiction
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]When Cindy and I were batting around the idea of a mini-class for January we thought “wouldn’t it be nice if we had candy or something to give people when they really got it right?” Turns out we do have something – it’s a little 200×205 pixel badge that says editors’ pick on it. See, it turns out that working on improving your writing will actually improve your writing. And we want to give those picks out. So for week 1, here’s some helpful hints:
- DO read the knowhow posts. Especially if you’re trying something new. They’re all right there in the writing help section, and they’re free. Why wouldn’t you use that information? It’s written by the judges you want to impress.
- DO take the time to proofread your post. And maybe have someone else do that as well. We know you want to see (and get) more picks on the board, but if you don’t care about your post enough to even proofread it, well, why should we? When you don’t care about your end product, it shows.
- DON’T skip the “so what.” Know what feeling, image, or viewpoint you want your reader to take away from your post… but
- DON’T tell your readers what to think. Persuasive essays are more effective than prescriptive ones. Think about it like this: were you ever likely to agree with your parents when they said “because I said so?” Or are you more likely to be convinced by someone who says “I vaccinated my children because I understand how herd immunity works. I want to protect the children and immune-compromised people who can’t be vaccinated, and I think that the infinitesimal chance that my child will have a reaction to a vaccine is far outweighed by the risk of death and disability if they actually contract polio, measles, scarlet fever or whooping cough.”
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fiction|poetry
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]I usually write technical advice under the nonfiction roundup, but this week y’all get to talk about the not-writing part of your writing: formatting. This can be a gorgeous part of your writing, of course (looking at you, dirae), but it can also be frustrating, especially with this month’s poetry slam. A couplet isn’t very big, so you’ll want to be thinking of ways to make it obvious that these two lines are the thing on the page the reader should be looking at. Is your couplet dwarfed by your theme or image? Try adding a little white space, or shrinking the image. Maybe play a little with font size (but don’t make the couplet huge, nobody I know likes Facebook’s new STATUS TOO LOUD feature). Just make sure that your reader knows and can see immediately what on the page they need to pay attention to.
This goes for longer works, too. Think about paragraph spacing, placement of dialogue, page breaks, everything that draws or refocuses a reader’s attention where you want it. Of course, mixing a bunch of formatting turns your entire post into a bunch of noise.
Focus.[/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 #299
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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