A second-semester senior already accepted to college, I had to pass chemistry to graduate and I didn’t understand anything.  The homework, the lectures, the labs. . .it all drifted by me like a breeze carrying half-conversations in a foreign language and I didn’t care; I was busy writing single-spaced short stories in which I disguised my family members by using their middle names.  Mr. Gaillard, my English teacher, called me to his office one day after school, walked me down the hall to the lower-school library and found a chemistry book with “ages 8 and up” stamped on the back cover.  He told the librarian to let me have it for the rest of the year and placed it in my hands.  “Back to the basics,” he said.  I passed.

As we party on through yeah write 101, let’s remember our training.  We’re not just slapping up a blog post with a yeah write badge at the bottom and calling it a day, not us.  We’re telling a story in no more than 500 words and making sure it has a so what.  We’re reading it aloud to find the awkward spots. We’re cutting sentences that are self-serving, maudlin or predictable.  We’re not linking up anywhere else because the party is right here.  We have great chemistry at yeah write.

Challenge grid

What you need for the challenge grid: a yeah write post of no more than 500 words that is not linked up anywhere else and the willingness to read up to forty-nine other non-double-linked yeah write posts. If you don’t know what “a yeah write post” is, you need some time to read our submission guidelines and FAQ. And some more time to come back and vote fairly for a crowd favorite on Thursday. If fiction is your thing this week, head over to the speakeasy and yeah write editors Stacie and Courtenay will take good care of you.  Virgins, welcome! We’re glad to have you. 

Invitational grid

If the challenge grid reaches thirty posts, the best posts with the most compelling so whats will be moved by the yeah write editors onto the invitational grid, from which a jury prize will be selected. Please consult this checklist for hints about what makes, or doesn’t make, an invitational-worthy post. Invitational grid posts also remain on the challenge grid. 

Happy 2nd birthday, yeah write! Birthday presents for you

Although we won’t be officially two years old until yeah write #104, we started handing out birthday gifts last week during #100. This week’s birthday gifts as we celebrate your writing, friendship and support:

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• a $50 lululemon gift card donated by yeah write editor Kristin Wald
• the novel Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon donated by yeah write editor Stacie 

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The random drawing is open to bloggers on either the challenge grid or over at the speakeasy AND the drawing is open to our readers and lurkers who send virgins to either grid this week. If you’re not on a grid this week, just let us know in the comments which new yeah write blogger belongs to you. 

“Best of yeah write” coming soon

The editors are combing through 100 weeks of challenge grids to come up with a “best of yeah write” grid from 2011-2013, and we will showcase the selections during #104 and #105. If you’ve ever won a lurker’s favorite, editor’s pick, crowd favorite or jury prize, start waiting anxiously by your mailbox. If you’ve made the “best of yeah write” grid, we’ll send you a “best of yeah write” badge to display on your blog and an invitation to stop by to read what the editors enjoyed about each of their selections. We can’t wait.

Odds, ends, reminders

• Your post can be no longer than 500 words
• Your post can be dated no earlier than March 17th, the day the yeah write #101 badges were officially posted
• The grid is open from Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
• It is limited to 50 bloggers
• Voting will take place all day Thursday from midnight to Friday at midnight
• The winners’ post will be published at noon on Friday
• Our new weekend moonshine grid will open Friday at 6 p.m. and close Monday by 12:01 a.m. 
• No self-promotional posts are allowed on the yeah write grid, including those containing links to other blog events and Internet contests
• Combining your yeah write post with other blog events meant to maximize your exposure and minimize your effort is a no-no

Bring us your best stuff.  Yeah write #101 is open. . .

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