In like a lamb, you mean?
Stacie may be snowed in, but over here on the Best Coast we’re having such an unbroken run of good weather that editor Christine and I met up for lunch and a long walk in a local garden… in tshirts. Usually we try to squeeze in a few extra words on lunch break, edit one more paragraph, but sometimes it’s good to get away from the screen and, well, and talk about our characters, their plot arcs and backstories. Getting to know your characters off the page makes them behave more like real people on the page: messy, unpredictable, and with their own motivations. That feeling of realism, those elements of actual humanity, can help take your story to the top of the popular vote.
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 #361 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Nonfiction
We often talk about showing and not telling in writing, and this essay really illustrates what that looks like. From the first tentative strokes astride her kayak, the author draws the reader with her on her adventure. Mirroring the rhythm of actions with her words, she shows us the melding of her body, and the kayak and paddles. Through vivid metaphors and carefully noticed details, she paints a picture for us of the mangroves marching along the shore, the torpedoing mullets, the suspicious egret. By enticing us with nothing more than an ominous shadow in the deep water and a realisation of how flimsy a plastic kayak really is, MM evokes a frisson of tension before providing the relief of a dolphin’s nose breaking the surface of the water. She brings the reader out of the reverie with the dolphins by introducing the harsh, mechanical disruption of a motor boat and the exertion of paddling out of its wake. By focussing on key features, the points of greatest action and interest, the essay shows us the setting through the author’s eyes. We really haven’t missed a photograph.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #361
I love a long, lofty, compound sentence as much as the next author. In fact, I’m probably the editor who’s taken out the fewest commas over her lifespan. Is there an award for that? On the other hand, nothing slows a reader down like parsing one long compound sentence after another. As you write, think about the rhythm of your work. Are you creating long, lyrical sentences and paragraphs where you want the reader to linger? Are you using short, punchy ones where you want the reader to remember a key phrase like “I leave without honey” that will stick with them later?
I bought dolls last week.
Okay, they’re artists’ figures, and I didn’t exactly make them outfits so much as attach scraps of cloth to them so that I could tell one from the other. But I’m in the middle of editing a long complicated scene where two characters stand, sit, kneel, and interact, and I had to move some dialogue around and now I can’t tell who’s doing what to whom so I’m going to walk back through the scene with the dolls, moving them as the characters move, so that I can see if I’ve suddenly got someone standing across the room when they were kneeling at the other character’s feet a moment before.
You don’t have to go THIS far, but pay attention to blocking in your fiction. If your character reaches for something in a particular way, try doing that yourself. See what it really looks like. Your family will think you’re nuts but other writers will understand. It’s like a secret writers’ handshake.
I watched someone contorting their arm in a coffee shop the other day. “Working on a scene?” I laughed. They grinned sheepishly.
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 #361
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.
