Always Winter, and Never Christmas
The first book I remember analyzing was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, after my mother took it out of my hands — I must have been all of nine, I think — and said scornfully “You know Aslan is just Jesus, right?”
Look, it blew my tiny mind. All of a sudden, books were metaphors. There were words, and then there were things between the words. Still, it would be years and years before my critical reading skills were good enough to destroy my ability to enjoy the Dresden Files. It’s good to be able to turn critical reading off and on, I think: we all need brain candy sometimes, and I’d love to read urban fantasy without trying to figure out if that’s the character’s or the author’s homophobia.
But I’m losing my actual topic, which was that it’s winter, and like the White Witch, if I had my way it would be always winter and I’d always have a box of lokum on me. Is that really so bad?
The White Witch may not be popular, but you are! Or rather, we’ve got your popular vote results right here. 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 #452
In memoir we often write about our younger selves. But it’s hard once you get a few years’ distance from that to remember what it felt like – and how it sounded in your head – to be young. Often, writers over- or under-estimate the sophistication of how kids think and feel. I know I harp on Stephen King a lot, but I read his books AT the age of the characters in the books and remember thinking he had captured it really well where a lot of authors missed. Speaking of captured well, though, go back and re-read this grid (skip mine, it doesn’t fit the pattern) and see what you think. More than one editor noted this week that the memories felt solid, that the perceptions and descriptions and voice of the writers’ younger selves were authentic. And authenticity is one of the highest praises for memoir, isn’t it?
You know, every now and then I get to yell THIS! THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! So that’s this week’s roundup. Shannon and Melony’s stories didn’t start differently – they couldn’t, with that first line prompt. And they didn’t go TOO different of a place, with the ghosts getting email. But WOW were they different ultimately, right? So yeah, this is what I’m talking about: don’t WORRY about whether you’re going someplace unique. Go to the place the story takes you, and trust that only you will write it in this particular way.
So, I keep meaning to try someting new: I want to spend a minute the first week of a new prompt style talking about how people nailed it and what nuance might be needed. This month’s first line prompt is demanding, because you have to match the voice of your story’s narration to the prompt sentence. Both stories did this really well, though, so I’m kiiiiiind of at a loss to discuss nuance. Something to watch out for as the month rolls on: stories that start with the first line and then abruptly shift voice or tense as the author looks for their comfort zone. Don’t. This prompt isn’t about your comfort zone, it’s about stretching your voice. This won’t just make you a better narrator, it’ll make you more able to shift voices between characters in stories that are in your natural narrative voice. And it’ll make you a better editor, because really good editors can make word changes while still letting the sentence, paragraph, or story stay in the original author’s voice.
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 #452
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
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