Every day, I bring you eight posts you should think hard about upvoting and supporting. These are quality posts, well written and good examples of the best the community has to offer. Please consider checking them out, and if you agree, love them up.

Some good fiction today from a couple of new voices. Steemit is a solid blogging platform, but there are relatively few voices that are writing consistently original fiction. Since that’s my jam, I look for those, and today I was rewarded. There are some great nonfiction pieces, too, so you will all be rewarded as well. On with the show.

Writing (Fiction): IT by @shortiecats. A new voice makes their debut on BestOf. This isn't the most polished piece of fiction you'll ever read, but the wild set of possibilities, the excellent character voice, and the power of the ending makes it a winner in my book. I'm hoping for more. Don't let this be the end of this story, or of this universe.

Writing (Nonfiction): Top 10 World’s Most Poisonous Animals by @ilonavnijnatten. I love lists like this. It’s not just a list, though; you’ll learn a lot from the descriptions, I think. I certainly did.

Writing (Craft): Fifty-Word Story Contest Week 16 by @literature-trail. One of the longest-running contests on Steemit gets another plug. It’s fifty words, people. Anyone can write that. The winners are always great, too.

Steemit community: I Did 10 Posts In a Day: Here’s What I Learned by @brianphobos. Good look at what happens if you blast out the content as an experiment. You make money, is the answer.

Introduceyourself: About Myself and Hellosunshine by @hellosunshine. If you think I always pick women, and usually non-US women, to highlight in this space, that’s not true. I only ALMOST always choose them. I think Steemit needs the female voice.

Steem: How Much Steem Power Makes An Upvote Worth $1.00 by @hodaid99. You can’t tell me you haven’t wondered this. Since my upvote is currently worth a penny, I was VERY curious.

Award for Courage: The Post I Thought I’d Never Write by @shespeaks. This is, for me, what this platform can do best--reward people who take risks and open themselves to the world, so we can appreciate their amazing character. Do give this a read.

Special Prize: Oh Henry! The Riveting Asinine Tale of the Most Extraordinary Banal Name In History by @dber. Just for fun. And it is fun, this story. Great tale by a good writer.

As always, suggestions for posts to honor are gratefully accepted.

Rules of the Best Of:

I don't like grammar and spelling errors. I make them, but I hate them. Unless the post is supremely brilliant, even a couple of these--especially in the title--will mean it doesn't make this list. NOTE: if you're writing in your second language, significant slack will be given here. When I write in my second language, I'm lucky if I can be understood at all.

Minnows--I am a minnow, and I'm all in on support for the newbies. Doesn't mean I won't curate a whale post, but it's unlikely. If your rating is over 70, you don't need my help (for whatever it's worth).

I don't do porn, however artful.

Original content only.

I take requests. Gratefully. But not for your own work. Push someone else into the spotlight.