Say goodbye to yesterday
And to 2018 in general. Thanks for sticking with us through another year. We hope you had a chance to broaden your horizons, spread your wings, make a little magic – and some friends, too.
You know that we consider YeahWrite to be more than a writing challenge site: it’s a community. Your presence and participation make this job worth it every week – yes, I’m talking to you, specifically! I can’t speak for everyone, but I’ve made so many friends here-not just on the editorial team, but among all of the people who write, read, and vote, whether that’s occasionally or every week. It keeps me going on those weeks I’m nowhere near the top of the popular vote.
And it’s not all about the popular vote at YeahWrite, anyway. 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.
“Subtle” reminder: if it’s been a while since you got a staff pick, have you considered proofreading? Unlike the popular vote, too many proofing errors will cost you that pick, and it hurts our souls as well as yours when we love your story and can’t pick it.
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 #402 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Nonfiction
So you know how we give you 750 words for your personal essays on the nonfiction grid? Well, there’s nothing that says you have to use all of them. Sometimes less is more, as Donna-Louise demonstrated this week. By cutting out everything extraneous, she allows her story to stand out. Note that she didn’t use any emotional vocabulary to express shock, confusion, pain, or relief–and yet they are all there. This is not just the standard “show-don’t-tell” technique; it’s recognizing – thoroughly understanding – the essence of the story and giving us just enough.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #402
I don’t know about you, but there’s something about “whoa it’s almost the new year” that makes me want to sit down and gaze directly into my own navel. But I also have a job to do: when I write something I plan to post, I want to make that as interesting to my readers as to me (or someone who knows me really well and already cares what I think). Sometimes it can be difficult, though, when I’m in an introspective mood, to tell whether I’m working on a journal entry or an actual essay. Fortunately, Past!Me was in a much more ruthless mood a while back and wrote a whole guide on that, so I’m just gonna drop it here in case you find it as useful as Present!Me does and Future!Me almost certainly will. Check it out.
It may seem a little weird to talk about visual effects in a writing format, but bear with me. Today’s vocabulary word is “bokeh.” Bokeh (/ˈboʊkeɪ/ BOH-kay; Japanese: [boke]) is the way a camera lens renders out-of-focus points of light. Look at the cover photo for this post (which, by the way, Christine picked out without having any idea what I was about to write; teamwork makes the dream work) and see how the out-of-focus areas make the clear bright ones even more clear and easy to see, because you know what you’re supposed to be paying attention to and what’s just atmospheric effects?
Now think about applying that to your writing. You don’t need to describe every inch of every scene in excruciating detail, no matter how “pretty” it is or how great the description is. Your reader won’t know what to pay attention to! Instead, focus your talents on describing the most important pieces of the scene: the way the vase fell as time stopped for you, the way closing a door quietly seems loud, the tiny folds in the baby’s hand as it reached up. Let the rest turn into soft points of light.
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!
Congratulations to the Crowd Favorites at YeahWrite #402
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:
Christine Hanolsy is a (primarily) science fiction and fantasy writer who simply cannot resist a love story. She joined the YeahWrite team in 2014 as the microstory editor and stepped into the role of Editor-In-Chief in 2020. Christine was a 2015 BlogHer Voices of the Year award recipient and Community Keynote speaker for her YeahWrite essay, “Rights and Privileges.” Her short fiction has been published in a number of anthologies and periodicals and her creative nonfiction at Dead Housekeeping and in the Timberline Review. Outside of YeahWrite, Christine’s past roles have included Russian language scholar, composer, interpreter, and general cat herder. Find her online at christinehanolsy.com.
