A little peace and quiet
The dog had surgery Monday and has spent most of the week doped up on her bottomless prescription of narcotics (I legitimately don’t understand the difference between the anodyne principles for pets and those for cancer patients, but that’s another rant: TL;dr if you’re dying of cancer in a month, who cares if you’re hooked on smack as long as you’re not in pain). In one sense I’ve been worrying about her, checking her stitches every couple hours and giving her expensive wet food. In another sense I’ve been like “yes you just sleep the sleep of the very doped up, there, pupper, mama’s got work to do.”
Peace and quiet can be hard to find, and writing without them is a challenge. Remember to carve out a few minutes of “white space” in your day even if you don’t use the time writing. Whether that’s on a bus with your headphones in, setting your alarm 10 minutes early, or curling up on the couch (sofa, davenport, whatever) after everyone’s in bed, you-time is important to your writing.
Speaking of writing, let’s check out this week’s grids! Besides the popular vote, we also have the option of handing out an editorial staff pick to any post on our grids. Picks are based on writing quality, how successful the author is in conveying information, and just plain style. 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- and we’d love to, so keep that great work coming!
On weeks when we don’t award a staff pick, keep an extra close eye on the Roundup. That’s our rundown of trends we see from week to 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 Roundup, 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!
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #417
750 words can be kind of an odd cutoff. It’s a little bit more room than a super-tight essay, but not quite as much as a standard flash piece. That means you’ll need to pay extra attention to pacing if you’re looking for one of those flashy staff pick badges for your blog. Are you telling a story? Or a story ABOUT a longer story? Does your essay have a narrative arc to follow, or is it just a list of events? Nailing down pacing and narrative arc will make a stronger, more exciting essay for your readers and for you.
Hey, friends, let’s talk about character names! Names can tell you so much about a character before they even open their mouths. For example, on this week’s grid Michael used the tension between a very prosaic name and a very dramatic calling to create humor. Jen set up a rollicking tale by putting character names in her title – and didn’t let you down for the rest of the poem. And whimsicalweasel wove names into a setting, using them to reinforce who and where the characters were. Think about your character names: do they follow a naming convention? Are they appropriate to the setting of your story? What do they say about the people they’re attached to?
That’s it for this week! 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! If you’re more the self-help type, remember to scroll through our writing help section for tips and tricks. Even if a post isn’t directed at your favorite grid, there’s probably a handy hint for you in there anyway! 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 #417
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.
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