Miaou?
Y’all, if this post isn’t totally coherent, forgive me. My spouse wanted a kitten for Christmas, and we’d been talking about it for a while, and well, now we’ve got a 9-week-old bundle of fluff and starlight in our house but it doesn’t sleep oh my gosh when will it sleep this is why i can’t have a real baby please make it… oh it dozed off. So in the five minutes I have before it wakes up again, I’m gonna bring you the popular vote winners for both of this week’s grids. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see such full grids on a holiday week – it was the best present we could have gotten.
But it’s not all about the popular vote at YeahWrite, folks. Speaking of presents, we have 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 #350 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Nonfiction
Cyn’s heartbreaking story this week is a perfect illustration of how to do the most with the least (words). Yes, the subject matter is gut-wrenching to begin with, but notice her very deliberate verb choices, verbs that show not tell. Verb choice is always important for making a story great, but it’s even more important to pick the perfect verbs for every sentence when the story is short. Alliteration comes into play too, using sibilants to reinforce the “slicing” pain in a sentence. Every word counts in a post like this, and Cyn made every word count.
YeahWrite #350 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Fiction|Poetry
Sometimes poetry requires breaking some rules. The first five stanzas of MM Schreier’s poem are like multiple bulls in multiple china shops. The voice in the poem disses some of the world’s most recognized poetry, questions the point of poetry’s often elevated language, plays fast and loose with structure and line breaks, and injects humor into the stuffiest of subjects. Then the last two stanzas suddenly put all of that chaos into perspective. The reader learns that they are actually reading a love poem, and that the clumsiness of the beginning was all an attempt to please the most significant of others. The poem ends with a vulnerable plea for acknowledgment and glues back together all of the emotion it had just taken a baseball bat to. Poetry might “not be her thing,” but she does it well.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #350
Stacie was right the other week – I do talk a lot about anchor objects. But objects are a good way to draw the reader into a scene, whether they’re Danielle’s toothbrush or Jan’s (well deserved crowd-fave-winning) bike – bikes, I should say, a nice series of overlaid objects containing and anchoring specific memories and emotions: loss, longing, joy, freedom- anchor objects give your writing a tactile quality, make it easier to add scent, sound, taste. You don’t have to write heavy when you’ve got an object like a blue bike to carry the weight of your words through sometimes burning fields.
Oh wow, hey, um. This is awkward. It was great to see so many folks joining me in writing a tritina this week! And so many other poems on the grid, too! It’s really neat to stretch your brain into the shape of a poem, especially if you don’t do it often. It’ll help all your other writing, too, from microprose to memoir.
Speaking of poetry, did you know that April is National Poetry Month here in the US? We’ve got a little surprise to get you ready: Editor Nate will be heading up a six-week online poetry class starting in mid-March. You’ll learn the basics, get some inspiration, and gain confidence working with poetry. At least, that’s what he told me. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel confident as a poet but I’m willing to give it a shot if you are. Keep an eye out for registration to open early next year, and we’ll see you – and your poetry – on the grids!
That’s it for this week!
The next time I talk to you it’ll be 2018, and I’ll be announcing the new poetry slam for January (I think you’re going to have fun with this one!) and introducing our new, broader technique feature which will replace the old Nonfiction Know-how.
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 #350
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.
Nonfiction Challenge
Loading InLinkz ...Fiction|Poetry Challenge
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.
