One-Upped!
Stacie may have her actual photo of a purple gallinule, but I have this stock photo of an American Coot, which is basically the same if you ignore that it’s an entirely different genus and also kind of goth. But they’re both nicknamed “Moorhen” SO WHO’S WINNING NOW, STACIE? HUH?
Speaking of winning, you can scroll down to see who won the popular vote this week.
But 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 #358 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Nonfiction
The notion of writer-as-introvert is nothing new, but this careful look at the choice to be alone at times is a fresh one filled with vivid details showing just how much we can miss when in the company of others. It looks at the conscious effort it takes find that space and confronts head on the “faint alarm” it brings about in others. It’s also interesting how being alone isn’t seen as the only option and, in fact, the company of others can be a comfort. Details like making sure “the hangers all point in the same direction” give us a glimpse inside, making the story at once familiar and specific.
YeahWrite #358 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Fiction|Poetry
Meter isn’t an easy technique to master, and combining meter and poetry in a poem can so easily slip into children’s verse or bawdy limericks. But unfoldingfromthefog and kathunk sidestepped those pitfalls by using surprising words to rhyme. They also incorporated multisyllabic words with the correct accents on syllables to anchor their topics in complex themes: the gun debate and the wisdom that comes with growing older. They chose strong recurring lines that put a fine point on their messages. Both of their efforts resulted in memorable kyrielles that made me think they’d previously attempted the form.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #358
It’s usually hard to pick out “a trend” when there are only 5 essays on the grid (it was a hard week to write, y’all; we get it), but this week’s crop of persuasive essays, mine included, did a thing I haven’t talked about in a while. See, when I’m editing an essay the way I clearly did NOT edit mine, I’ll often find a really interesting idea lurking in there as a throwaway sentence. That’s the actual meat of the essay. I’ll call my own out – my essay would have been a lot more interesting if I’d drilled down on the notion of an apology being targeted at people who aren’t affected, performatively, to garner support for the wrongdoer rather than to make the injured party whole. Oops. The good news is that if we read back through our own work we can often find those interesting ideas buried in other stories or essays.Then we can extract them and write a whole new essay on that topic. And hey – we’ve already done the groundwork of thinking about what we need to consider to raise that idea! That’s half the effort of an essay right there!
I confess I was nervous about picking the kyrielle for this month’s slam, but folks are really running with it. Metered poetry can be fun and not stilted or boring, look!
If you’ve already written a kyrielle and you want to play a little more with the form, try a kyrielle sonnet. The rules are exactly the same as for a three-verse kyrielle with four lines per verse, EXCEPT: add a couplet at the end. The first line of the couplet is the same as the first line of your kyrielle, and the second line is your refrain. The couplet doesn’t have to rhyme.
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 #358
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.
Hahaha. Mine was iridescent so I win!
I really loved when we were young and by the sea. It reminded me of Annabel Lee.