What kind of stories do you tell?
Like a lot of people, I’ve been playing more Animal Crossing this year than I expected to. Not because I particularly love pulling weeds and terraforming (although I’m enjoying recreating Hyrule on my island) or because I get to visit friends (although that’s a major draw), but because I’m loving the little side conversations between my villagers. Whether it’s Astrid giving Fauna tips on how to be mysterious – and deciding that her openness is part of her charm after all so she shouldn’t change, or Raddle and Hamphrey asking for my help making up after a fight (I am never going to get Raddle out of that maroon nightshirt, but ok, I guess), it’s refreshing to find a narrative grounded outside of toxicity and cruelty. I hadn’t realized how many stories are rooted in misunderstandings, arguments, and oppressive dynamics until I spent a day or two immersed in a story that makes (sometimes misguided, though) attempts to counteract that style of storytelling. And it reminded me that your stories don’t have to be edgy to be fresh and interesting. Sometimes just using one’s grownup words can be unique enough in this world to be worthy of note.
Or worthy of vote, for that matter. 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 #488
Stakes! I talk about this a lot in fiction, but not as much in nonfiction. Creating a sense of urgency or investment in the outcome or solution of an essay will keep your readers engaged through the whole piece. Melony did that nicely with her looming C in gym class: even if you personally would have been ok with a C, you could see that it mattered to her, and you wanted her to get the solution she was working hard for. Stakes are what’s missing in a diary entry, which is a list of events in chronological order without a narrative arc, told simply because they happened one after another. If you’re having trouble keeping your readers engaged, consider raising the stakes in your essay (yes, even persuasive essays have stakes: what happens if your reader isn’t convinced, and why do you care?).
August’s 2020 Hindsight challenge is to tell the story out loud and transcribe it. But even if you’re not taking part in the Hindsight workshop, telling your story out loud is still a valuable exercise. It’ll help you trim dead weight and figure out where you need more information. And if you’re writing poetry (yes, especially this month, with a form so dependent on sounds) it will help you figure out your rhythm and flow. If you can’t read your work out loud smoothly, it probably can’t be READ smoothly. Now, that can be a technique – use those breaks in flow for emphasis – but do it on purpose, not because you don’t know how to write with flow.
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 #488
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.
