[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Some things are a mystery: who’s going to win our super challenge; the location of the Holy Grail; why I can’t have nice things.
Others aren’t: maintaining a regular writing practice where you hear and incorporate useful feedback will make you a better writer, and being a better writer will get you closer to the top of the popular vote each week. How do you do that? Starting this month. Check out our March Nonfiction Knowhow – yes, even you fictioneers and poets – for some tips about what to look for when you’re reading and how to give feedback that will be well-received and useful, as well as a teaser for our big upcoming changes.
And 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 #307 weekly writing challenge staff picks: fiction|poetry
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homecoming by cobwebsandconfetti
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]A good memoriam stanza is more than just an ABBA rhyme. Like this poem, it evokes a sense of loss and longing. The choice to structure the poem in a way that also evokes children’s poetry is just one more conscious decision that led to me choosing it for my editor’s pick this week. In just four lines this poem is visual, tactile, and able to overlay present and past in a way that re-evokes the way we trace carved initials in a desk.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”22657″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”christine”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
goodnight, verretek by ruby bastille
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][Ed’s note: Asha lives in Australia. Between that and Google’s login bug, this editor’s pick reached us after last week’s winners’ post went live. We wanted to make sure it got the attention it deserved, so here’s a Flashback Friday to, uh, last week. /RBG]
Ruby Bastille gets my editor’s pick this week. She has again imbued an essentially simple story with a wonderful richness. The actual events are pretty simple and we only know the main character by her age, sex and last name, but Ruby draws on both the reader’s understandings of the world and the reader’s wider literary understandings to develop this short fiction into a gripping story. The world she’s created is only minimally described, yet it’s obvious that it’s some kind of a dystopian future through the casual mentions of scanners, biomonitors and sentry bots. She builds the setting of an oppressive world and juxtaposes that with the clearly illicit activities of the main character so you’re rooting for Miss Palmer from the very beginning.
On a personal note, I hope Ruby expands this story or builds this world even further.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”31947″ style=”vc_box_circle” title=”asha”][/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 #307
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nonfiction
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]It looks like everyone took Cindy’s message to heart this week: there’s a lot of technical correctness on the grid and it’s awesome! The trick now is to marry that technical savvy with the ability to break the rules. Voice is the way in which each writer deliberately breaks rules to sound like themself. I could probably spend all day listing sample authors, but I’m sure you have a few favorites, too. Why not share them in the comments? I’m looking for writers who could say “This is unacceptable” but instead throw in a resounding “hellnaw” as well as those who break up their writing in unconventional ways. Who’s your best read?
Speaking of reads, those of you who’ve read the nonfiction knowhow for this month have a head start on critical reading and constructive criticism. Hang in there – that badge will show up in the sidebar in just a couple weeks, and you’ll be able to add it to your posts! (Right now Arden’s proofreading my long and official concrit guidelines, because she’s the actual best and because everyone, no matter how cool, needs a proofreader to make sure they didn’t make a damn fool of themself in one way or another.)[/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]You know what’s hard to edit? Poetry. You know what still needs to be edited? Yeah, you guessed it. Sometimes it’s as simple as making decisions about whether to put a comma at the end of a line. Other times it’s a judgment call about whether you’ve said the same thing twice or gone on longer than necessary. I know it can feel emotionally fraught to edit a poem, but do it anyway. It’s hardly fair to ask someone else to edit your poem, although you can certainly do that, because others are often hesitant to edit emotionally raw material. Get your poem in the best shape you can before you pass it on to your betas. Then, instead of asking for edits, consider asking what they got out of it. What they read in it, and where they hesitated, got lost, or wanted you to get on with things. Remember that even in poetry the essence of writing is communication, so if most of your readers aren’t getting it, you may either be missing some information or else you or they are taking a cultural shortcut that you should be aware of.[/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 #307
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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