Countdown to…
Well, if you’re on our fiction|poetry grid, that’s a little nervewracking. If you’re in the Super Challenge, though, you’re counting down to your next prompt tonight. GOOD LUCK. While you’re trying to stave off that impending ulcer, why not take a peek at the weekly grids to see if you can score a few ideas for literary devices to use from the pieces that rose 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 the trends we’re seeing. 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 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 #391 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Nonfiction
It’s not always easy to write about day-to-day experiences without boring a reader – after all, it’s something they may also do every day. But that is not what happens here. In this essay, something as mundane as reading the newspaper is transformed into an Event. But more than that, we get a snapshot into the author’s life – both at home with her parents and later as an adult. We see the life of the paper – from initially being opened and read, then folded to perfection “with the tip of his nail,” and picked up again later in the day before being placed with older newspapers. The details make this story, both the ones we’re given and the ones we are not. For example, when Father is preparing for his “journey to the other side of life” it would have been easy to go off on a tangent of sentimentality and derail the story. Not here though. The essay gives the reader enough details to make them care, and then trusts the reader to feel, as well as see, what’s happening.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #391
750 words is… not a lot of room. (I know, sometimes it feels hard to write that much. You don’t have to have 750 words to say about everything.)
Actually, let’s address that parenthetical, because you probably don’t have 750 words to say about everything. On the other hand, you also don’t have room for four things that you’ve got 500 words each to say about. Your writing will be cleaner and more focused, your so-what more available to your reader, and your essays more memorable, if you pick something to focus on and say all the words you have to say about it, rather than casting a wide net and editing the so-what out of several ideas in a quest to cut words.
Theme isn’t an easy prompt, is it? It’s not your plot, it’s not something concrete that you can check off a box and know you’ve included it. It’s a feeling. It might help to think of theme as a genre, or at least a little part of a genre. Theme is what bookstores look for when they’re setting up displays. When you’re checking your story or poem (or idea) for theme, ask yourself if it would feel at home on a bookshelf with other works where the “theme words” were included in the blurb on the back of the book.
That’s it for this week! Remember, we don’t always give out a pick on each grid; 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 #391
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
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