Friday is the first day of the second work week
One of the hardest mental shifts for a lot of people this year is that they don’t get their ordinary weekend. Time that would be spent at home from work, for folks working remotely is just… more time at home, but now there’s a mess to clean up because they were home all week. We can’t stop talking about and protesting police violence just because it happens to be Saturday. Many essential workers never got traditional weekends anyway, but now the days they have off they can’t spend running the errands that a Tuesday-Wednesday weekend usually makes possible. And with everyone’s kids home 24/7, nobody gets the break from each other that makes weekends special family time.
So this weekend, while I work, you take the time to figure out what a break would look like for you in this brave new world. Maybe it’s walking the dogs, alone. Maybe it’s a class in the park. Maybe it’s just being able to close the bathroom door, dogs, I cannot believe that at ten years old you still need to see me every minute of every day. And then figure out how to get that for yourself or make it happen for someone else. Can you video call someone’s kids and let them talk your ear off about Minecraft or Terraria for an hour? Do it! What’s the worst that can happen, you get some material for an essay? Hey, you could make it a two for one win with a trip to the top of the popular vote.
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!
But we don’t limit kudos to posts: our commentariat commendation goes to a writer who has gone above and beyond to offer help and community to authors with work on the grids. You can check out our Critic’s Guide for examples of what we mean, but we don’t limit the commentariat commendation to posts with the concrit badge on. There are definitely still ways to help and support authors who don’t feel confident asking for robust criticism, and we trust our community to find them. On weeks when we find a comment to commend, we’ll let you know in the Roundup section.
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 #480
So I’m assuming we’ve all heard of foreshadowing. But have I talked to you about fiveshadowing before? That’s where the reader knows what the payoff for the essay will be within the first two paragraphs and spends the rest of the time making that “get on with it” hand-rolling gesture instead of really reading what you wrote. Remember: the beginning of the essay is for setting the hook. You’ve got about two sentences to make the reader want to read. Then write your essay. Then wrap it up, usually with a little bit of a callback to the hook. Answer the question that’s floating in the reader’s mind, or resolve the problem. You don’t need to tack a paragraph of moral or summary on at the end – it’ll feel artificial and a little like your reader has already heard it in the essay – but you do need to finish saying what you came to say. Somewhere in there you should have your so-what: the reason the reader should care. Sound like a lot of moving parts? Well, if you’re fiveshadowing you managed to get them all into the first two paragraphs, so you already have them. Now spread them out over the course of your essay. If you catch yourself fiveshadowing, try just… cutting those paragraphs off the front of the essay and jumping in where the action is.
It was quiet on the fiction|poetry grid this week, and we get it, we really do. Sometimes the words just don’t want to flow. That’s all right. Don’t beat yourself up over it. On the other hand, if you’re struggling to finish (or even start) a piece, the default answer doesn’t have to be “I can’t”—especially here, in this space. Give yourself room to be imperfect! Try something new, or rehash something old, if you prefer. Dust off some characters you already know, and you’re halfway to a story with much less initial effort. Use a setting you’re familiar with. You don’t have to make everything up from scratch every time. We’re all here to stretch our writing muscles, and a blank page will get you nowhere. Pro tip: whether you scribble something out last minute or spend a few hours on it, it’s a lot easier to accept criticism if you aren’t so invested in your work being perfect.
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 #480
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.
