Obligatory reminder thingie
Hey, friends, there’s less than a week left to register for Super Challenge #14. That’s the one where instead of getting a badge for your blog from winning the popular vote, real judges might give you money. You focus on that, I’ll focus on this lingering cough (and thanks for all the comfort food on the nonfiction grid! It warmed the cockles of my cold, bleak heart).
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 #444 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Nonfiction
Something we talk a lot about in creative nonfiction is “relatability, even if a reader doesn’t share your exact experiences.” And that’s exactly what’s front and center in Grampy’s Chicken. It’s not that everyone has a grandparent who can fly coast to coast with live lobsters – although that anchors this story firmly in place and time – it’s that everyone knows someone who makes a dish better than anyone else, even with the same ingredients. And phrases like “[m]y heart sank a little bit, the way it does when someone does something better than you, something more profound” strike the same relatable chord. This is a story about the author’s tender nostalgia, yes, but it’s told in a way that taps into that same nostalgia in all of us. Maybe you didn’t have a Grampy Tibaudo to make Grampy’s Chicken, but I’ll wager you have someone… or that you are the someone, in a story yet to be told.
YeahWrite #444 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Fiction|Poetry
Producing rhyming poetry that doesn’t sound intended for elementary students is difficult. One good way to avoid having your work come out looking like a nursery rhyme is to pick rhyming pairs that are not obvious; another is to use surprising and vivid language. Parker did both excellently this week. I especially liked the lines “while zephyrs feathered in his hair” as a way for the narrator to express adoration and capital L Love, and the casual flirtation of Venus playing at being Mars. Not to mention the spot-on iambic tetrameter of the piece. We encourage poets to follow the featured form strictly, but in this case I think the flashback was necessary for the reader to understand what “He” meant to the writer, and the way the elegy switches back and forth between grief and praise a few times before it hits the solace in the last stanza felt natural to the contemplative nature of the poem.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #444
I’m going to tag in on Asha’s relatability discussion in her staff pick (you do read those, right? I thought so). Because a lot of folks did that incredibly well on the grid this week. Whether it’s things out of a box that still manage to taste different when prepared by a certain person, or the little ways we measure (and are satisfied by the process of measuring as much as by the measured thing), or misreading a sign, there are universal, understandable things going on. Just be careful when you’re writing to examine what you think is universal, because it might be unique to your acculturation!
ELEGIES, Y’ALL. We took over the grid this week, and it was super cool. Poetry forms that dictate content rather than structure always feel a little more like fiction prompts to me when I’m trying to write. I don’t know if it’s the same for you? Having the freedom to focus on content, and then let the form be dictated by the content if appropriate, is fun! If you haven’t tried this month’s form, and you’re feeling a little intimidated by poetry, this is a great time to jump in.
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, next week’s challenges kick off at midnight tonight!
Congratulations to the Crowd Favorites at YeahWrite #444
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.
I’m exceptionally pleased that Parker’s poem was chosen for Nate’s editor’s pick this week. It is deserved.
How very kind of you to be pleased on my behalf. Thank you, Northie, for encouraging me to enter this week.