November already?
Well. That means it’s time for my two favorite things.
FIRST: Soul Cake isn’t a Christmas carol, it’s a Hallowe’en carol, so go out and get some soul cake.
SECOND: It’s time for NaNoDoMore. That’s right, YeahWrite’s kicking off November in style, with our own signature twist. While other challenges want you to do something every day, or hit a huge wordcount, we just want you to do… more. More than nothing. Do something. Sound do-able? Head on over to our NaNoDoMore page and check it out. Did we mention there are prizes, and that if you do literally anything you’re just as eligible as someone who did it all? Look. It’s November. It’s my birthday month, and US Thanksgiving, and the start of the winter holiday shopping season, and who has time? You can even get points for getting a friend on the grid, without writing anything yourself. But you won’t get extra if they win the popular vote… besides a warm fuzzy holiday feeling, that is.
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 #446
As I write this, I’ve just gone through a child’s entire bag of Hallowe’en candy, and let me tell you, nobody was giving out full size candy bars in MY neighborhood as a kid. Anyway. Your treat from me (no tricks) is this: Y’all, this was just a genuinely enjoyable grid to sit down and read this week. Essays don’t have to be Super The Most Important Thing, or Wow Over The Top Funny to be good. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit down over a cup of metaphorical tea and share the things that make us quietly joyful, or rueful, or wonderful. And I love seeing the different ways we express our truths and structure the things we need to talk about; what’s hidden in poetry, or explicit, or teased out one way or the other. Thank you all for being here. Sappy Rowan Out.
Well, October’s over, and we’re on to November’s prompts starting tonight at midnight, but I hope you’re all carrying with you the lessons from our September/October prompt set, even if that lesson is “this is really hard.” If you haven’t participated recently, this is a great time to go back and read through the last few weeks, and think about how you would do one of these prompts. Whether it’s with your own character or someone else’s, learning how to take those deep dives into creation, development, and exploration is only going to help your writing.
And of course we move on to our next poetry slam tonight, too – I think you’ll like this one a lot!
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!
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 #446
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.
