Bodies in motion stay in motion
Hello from the Windy City, where it almost, kinda, sorta snowed this week. You know who I get to see tonight? THAT’S RIGHT, it’s a YeahWrite party for not just me but Nate. We’re splitting our birthdays and going out. And it’s been good to see all my friends, but….I’ve been on the go for quite a while now, and it’s nice that I can work remotely, but: ONE, I am VERY ready to see my cats and dogs (ok and spouse) again, and TWO, it would be nice to have time to write as well as work. After all, if you don’t write, you’ll never make it to the top of the popular vote.
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 trends we see each 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 Editorial Staff Picks and Roundup (and congratulating the winners in the comments), keep scrolling down to check out who won the popular vote on all three 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? All our 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 #447 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Fiction|Poetry
Parker gave us not one kimo, but a cycle of three related but—and this is important—independent poems. As opposed to a poem with three stanzas, which must be read and understood together, each of these kimos stands on its own as a perfect snapshot of a scene. At the same time, the poems support each other, illustrating an even larger scene over time. Structure aside, Parker’s imagery is emotional and resonant: “pregnant with unblown tempests,” “prideful in its new coat.” There’s a vibrancy in each scene that hints at imminent action. I would love to read an even longer cycle, perhaps incorporating the whole calendar.
YeahWrite #447 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Microprose
Dark Netizen’s micro gives us everything we asked for in the prompt, including a clear sense of the before (“it’d made him invincible”) and the after (“his vitality rose”). Starting the piece with “relief” immediately sets the stage for the story and provides insight into the emotional struggle the main character must have faced while carrying the sword. We don’t need to know all the details of his life with the sword; the aftereffects are enough. The vocabulary sets the mood, and we can guess that his past is a dark one. Netizen gives us a tiny, cinematic glimpse into the main character’s growth and possibly even his redemption, or at least the first steps along that path.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #447
Balancing acts. I’m going to talk about tension in all three roundups this week, so I’ll start here in nonfic, my old home on the grid. With only one vote, it’s hard to tell how close the essays are to each other in execution and readability, you know? But looking at our bookends in first and last, we can still see a pattern: good essays balance in between two points for most of their space. Sometimes that’s between THEN and NOW, sometimes it’s between what we’re told and what we understand instinctively, and sometimes it’s between who we are and who we thought we could be. The ways we reconcile those tensions in our lives provide plenty of so what for an essay.
Having begun talking about tension with the nonfic grid, let’s keep on. One of the things that makes a photograph an interesting prompt is the “plot” in it, right? As you look at this week’s prompt photograph, and next week’s (you are going to write next week, aren’t you?), look for the tensions in the image. Think about the ways that this week’s writers built tension into their work even though you already have at least one image in your head. Art raises questions, has some kind of rhythm and tension, and this photo was no exception. Where was the person going? There’s a lot of movement in the image, but toward what ambiguous end, off the side of the photo?
Wait, guess what? I’m gonna talk about tension. The micro prompt this month set up the tension for your story already: the pull between ownership and lack, happiness and “the object” at the heart of the story. And it paid off, didn’t it? Using that built-in tension, y’all filled the grid with great microprose. As you move forward, think about how you can use this type of tension as a microplot or character motivation in bigger works: what does your character want and can’t have – but also what do they have and can’t want?
That’s it for this week! Remember, we don’t always give out a pick on every 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 challenge grids will be kicking off right here at midnight!
Congratulations to the Crowd Favorites at YeahWrite #447
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
Loading InLinkz ...Fiction|Poetry
Loading InLinkz ... 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.
Thanks so much Rowan!
Means a lot to receive such words for my writing!