Hurtling toward…
500. That’s right, it’s been almost 500 consecutive weeks of YeahWrite. OK, it’s been like 38 weeks of lovelinks and a couple hundred of yeah write and then the rest as YeahWrite but our point is, Captain Nitpickersons, that we’ve got a few surprises in store for you that week. Mostly good, we think, but you’ll want to be here when it happens. Sorry, I’m not spectacularly quitting. I know we were all hoping that would happen. But no, what would I do with myself? Sleep? Write? Ugh, it doesn’t bear thinking about. Anyway while you’re waiting, here’s wonderwall. I mean, 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 #498
I know I’m supposed to write some kind of advice but frankly I’m so excited that everyone listened to me saying “if it means something to you, you can make it mean something to your readers” that I can’t pull any other advice together! Whether it’s a sense/emotion impression, the long draw of curiosity, an unanswered question, or just wanting to sleep, ok? you can make it mean something. Trust yourself, trust your readers.
Some days even a story that’s half filled in with prompts seems like too much creative energy. So what can you do? Grab some old characters and take them for a spin. You don’t have to stop spending time with good characters just because you finished their first story!
Find the comment on:
Everywhere. Seriously, go click on any post on the grid.
Our commentariat commendation usually goes to a single comment. But this week we’re dedicating it to a pattern: Write My Fire‘s consistent, thoughtful comments. Each one pointed out something great in the post and explained why it was great, compactly and enthusiastically. And each one offered a suggestion, a spot the reader got lost, or a point of confusion — carefully calibrated for the presence of that concrit badge. This kind of careful reading is as valuable a skill as good writing, and the rest of y’all should be taking notes. Grab that badge from the sidebar and wear it with pride!
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 #498
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.
