I’ve been conned
Conferenced, that is. I’m writing to you from sunny Denver, where there’s GLORIOUS snow on the ground and the air is thin enough to breathe and not full of disgusting water and what I’m saying is that Christine, who is also here, is miserable and hiding indoors. We’re not getting enough sleep and we had ice cream for dinner last night, but more importantly we’re taking a few days to connect with ourselves and with other writers, editors, agents, etc. (Well, Christine is connecting. She’s the extrovert. I’m just hiding in a corner solving the occasional tech problem for Hugo-nominated authors and trying to figure out exactly which of our alien races were supposed to be signatories to the Far Treaty.) If you have a chance (meaning the funding and vacation time), taking the time to do a workshop or conference can be valuable even if you don’t necessarily come away from it with a sense that it’s made you a better writer. Learning how to market yourself, give an elevator speech, and just say “I’m a writer” in the company of other writers has value, too. And if you don’t have the means to get to a conference or workshop (lots of people don’t!) there’s a ton of opportunities on the ‘net now as well. Including, if I may say it, this little community of ours. So take a minute to not only think about the popular vote, but about how you’re connecting in the coffeehouse and the comments! You’re building relationships here that will take you way past the popular vote results.
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 #445
One of the hardest things to do as an essayist is not write yourself out of your own story. A lot of us have been praised for perfect grammar, clinically correct structure, and readable vocabulary. But… what if that’s not you? Making sure that your personality stays in an essay that’s readable and accessible isn’t easy, but it’s so important. More important, frankly, than not ending a sentence with a preposition or starting it with “but.” There are some great examples on the grid this week, so if you haven’t read those you probably should, even if you don’t consider yourself an essayist.
Did you read the nonfiction roundup? I’ll wait.
Now that we’re all on the same page… voice is as critical to fiction as it is to nonfiction. And not just narrative voice. Each of your characters needs a different voice and personality. Because they’re different people. If all of your characters and the story’s narration speak and think alike (not necessarily in terms of agreeing to like pineapple on pizza, but in terms of processing, what makes them angry, what they do when angry, etc.) your story is going to feel flat no matter how much action is in it. And when you have one fully developed and unique character against a background of flatter ones, it might even be worse: now the reader knows you can develop a character. As we move out of October and into November, spend some time thinking about the character development you’ve been playing with. Can you do it for every character? If not, can you do some sort of truncated version of it? Many novelists have boards on Pinterest for each character, even, with some visuals for what they like, don’t like, who they are, what they look like and where they’ve lived. If you don’t do that, maybe give it a try! We’d love to see your character boards.
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 #445
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.
