I’m one of the lucky ones
Hi, I’m Rowan. And like many freelance writers and editors, I work from home. That means that quarantining myself has been kind of a minimum of effort. I also don’t have kids, so I don’t have to worry about them being little infection vectors or about what I’d have to do if their schools closed.
A lot of people aren’t as lucky as I am.
COVID-19, the “coronavirus” (that’s a misnomer, inasmuch as there are several coronavirii), has thrown systemic vulnerabilities into sharp relief worldwide. And here at YeahWrite we have a worldwide community. If you’re struggling right now, we hope you’re finding at least some escape in the grids. If you’re feeling isolated, please drop by our coffeehouse and start a conversation. And if you’re doing ok right now, please take a minute to think of all the people who aren’t, whose livelihood depends on people’s ability to gather (hotels, musicians, artists with shows), whose healthcare depends on their ability to earn money (y’all, the US is such a mess), and who may be affected by systemic racism (hello? Chinese people did not do this to you and most Asian Americans are, you know, from here). We invite and encourage you to drop a line to people you know who may be struggling and to lend a hand with errands or cash for rent, if you have time or money to spare. Share job leads if you have them. And friends? You don’t need all that toilet paper. We promise. It’s much easier to write on notepaper.
PS Wash your hands. I’m not saying it will help you win the popular vote but my hands are pretty chapped and I won so I’m not saying it won’t help.
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 #465 Weekly Writing Challenge Staff Picks:
Microprose
Sometimes stories don’t need to be lyrical or communicate sweeping emotions. A good story, concisely told, speaks for itself. With her characteristic humor, Jenny has encapsulated the kind of anecdote one might tell at a party—many, many years later, once the sting of embarrassment has worn off. Jenny has a natural knack for timing and a bone-deep understanding of what’s funny.
Rowan’s Roundup: YeahWrite Weekly Writing Challenge #465
It’s hard to write nonfiction when it feels like the world is burning down around you. But you can do what the writers on our grid did this week, and use nonfiction just like you would fiction: to focus on other important things, to escape a little, and to weave a many-layered spell that’s not only the story you’re telling, but a story about the story. As you read back through this week’s grid, look, too, for the ways in which each author’s individual voice came out strongly.
Y’all, murder your darlings. This week just about everything on the grid (my poem included, see Nate’s comment (SOB)) seemed to have a line out of place, one that the author just was not willing to edit. If you love that image, you’re gonna get stuck writing your poem and story around it until you don’t make sense and the line sticks out. Let it go, ok? Put it in a separate document and write what you need to, not what you originally thought you needed to.
So this week Christine and I traded joking barbs about a thing we’re writing. She said “not everything needs to be deep and lyrical, no matter what I write” and I asked if her work was actually deep or if it just had a lot of words? Don’t mistake vocabulary for depth; comprehensibility is actually an advantage in storytelling. Likewise, a beautiful lyrical turn of phrase may not be worth saving if it undermines your story. Just ask me: I spent the last week editing these phrases out of Christine’s writing and crying into my chamomile tea over it cause they were so pretty but they made no sense at all. TL;dr if you have 48 words you should be able to understand them all and so should your reader.
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 #465
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
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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.
Well deserved pick, Jen. 🙂 Local government worker here with no option for homeworking. No kids though, and I only work part-time, but I use public transport. *Shrugs* Life has to go on. At least I’m lucky enough to get paid if everything goes belly up, unlike a lot of people. Even more so for those in the States. Stay safe, people.
Thanks so much for the editor’s pick! I work from home also and I am feeling very lucky about that… It would have been very stressful if I still worked at an office. My kids’ school just announced they’re closing next week. Interesting times we’re living in. Everybody please take good care of yourselves and stay safe.
Thank you for the much-needed levity! <3