It’s been a week.
What do you do for a writer’s birthday? Well, if you’re Claire Willett, former celebrity guest judge in our Fiction Super Challenge, you get the Kitchen Overlord to show up at your house and cook a The 100 themed meal. So that’s where I was last night (BRAGGING, y’all) when the vote opened, and between that and prepping to announce the winners of Super Challenge #5 (3pm Eastern today, stay tuned) I only just realized how thin the nonfiction grid was this week.
Sometimes when Something Big happens in the world, writing nonfiction can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s Charlottesville or the flooding in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, we struggle to get the words out. Writing about anything else feels selfish; writing about the Something Big feels like one more hot take on the matter, or we may not have processed it yet. So I wanted to let you know that it’s okay. It’s okay to write the little things, even when you feel overwhelmed by the big ones. In fact, it’s at times like these that sharing the small, intimate moments of our lives and hearts can be the most important. That’s how we remind ourselves and each other that we’re human.
Whew. After that, it’s hard to write a chirpy sentence about the popular vote. Fortunately, it’s not all about the popular vote at YeahWrite, 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. Our editors comb the grids to find, not just the best writing on our grid this week, but what we think is pretty darn great writing anywhere anytime. 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.
The other benefit of the editors’ pick, of course, is that unlike the popular vote we’ll tell you why we liked that post. So don’t just skip reading the blurb if it’s not about your post; you’ll pick up some handy pointers about what makes good writing great that you can apply to your own work. For more of that critical feedback, 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 Editorial 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, Editorial Staff Pick, and Top Three badges. It doesn’t clutter up our sidebar, and they’ll still look pretty on yours!
YeahWrite #332 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Fiction|Poetry
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #332
Ask me anything. No, really. The roundup is supposed to be your space to shine, learn, and occasionally get called out (gently and without naming names) for your linguistic tics. But this isn’t the only place I try to give you tips and tricks about your writing, and I never want you to hesitate to suggest a topic for an upcoming roundup or Nonfiction Knowhow. And hey, if you’ve got a school-age kid, maybe they’ve got something they’re struggling with. Drop me a line at rowan@yeahwrite.me, use the general editors@yeahwrite.me email, or leave a comment on a post or in the coffeehouse. This is a labor of love for all of us, you included, and I’d love to give you a hand.
I’ve said before that it’s not as important to write innovatively as to write well. That’s especially illustrated in Asha’s editorial staff pick this week, and I wanted to highlight one extra thing that Hema did well: even though the reader suspected what was coming, they could root for it. If you’re going to go someplace that’s a little predictable, give your readers characters that they can cheer for along the way, and make them invest in that outcome so that they’re hoping for rather than predicting it.
On a completely separate note, congratulations are in order for one of our fiction|poetry regulars. Michael’s new daughter is going to get the best bedtime stories, y’all, and I’d bet she tells her own kids about Mr. Stamper and the crew someday.
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, the Weekend Writing Showcase opens tonight at 6pm Eastern US Time!
Congratulations to the Crowd Favorites at YeahWrite #332
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.
Loading InLinkz ... Loading InLinkz ...About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
