Surprise!
One of my favorite parts of collaborating with other writers is handing them little surprises. Nothing big, just a moment or two in the story that’s designed to delight them. Most of those end up on the cutting room floor, of course, being darlings that don’t necessarily advance the story, but some – a spouse’s name on the spine of a book, an egg that hatches after all – stay, and shape the story to come. Sometimes the way around writer’s block and into a story or essay, too, is to leverage that technique. Don’t just tell your story; imagine telling it to someone. That can shape how you describe things, what you leave in or take out, and ultimately can help build those bridges to your readers that will keep them reading, and launch you to the top of the popular vote.
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 #436
I say two things a lot (well, fine, I say a lot of things, but I say these pretty frequently): trust your reader, and trust yourself. That means trusting yourself to be able to write about the difficult things, even when they’re not resolved neatly with a satisfying plot arc. Trusting yourself to scrape away a little more of the veneer and push through to examine why this is important to you. But also trust your reader to be able to follow you to those uncertain places, to cope with the complex questions you want to explore. Sure, set them up with the easy ones, but then go ahead and ask the hard ones. Even if you don’t have the answers yet, those questions are a part of the dialogue between writer and reader. (Also, I’m totally spoiled by writing in the YeahWrite format, because I know that if I shoot for the difficult questions I’ll at least get feedback that tells me if I missed, and by how much, so I can calibrate better the next time.)
Bookends! They’re not just for holding up… you know. What do I mean? The things a reader will remember the most about your story or poem are the beginning and end. So make them both strong and clean. Think of Melony’s opening this week, or Sanch’s – you’re already invested in the story, so you’re more likely to stick with it if the middle gets a little “swampy” (as a certain Hugo-winning author has described every one of her books). Then if you stick the landing, what the reader remembers is strong, clear writing. Not the swampy bits. Get it? Good.
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, next week’s challenges kick off at midnight tonight!
Congratulations to the Crowd Favorites at YeahWrite #436
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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