Whole lotta bloggin’ goin’ on

Here we are, the first challenge grid of November and the first challenge grid of NaBloPoMo. For those of you NaBloPoMoIng out there, we know that you are blogging your little hearts out and you probably just do not have time to write an additional post just for the challenge grid. We hear you, we get it! We understand that your posts are going to have to do double duty and that likely your Tuesday or Wednesday NaBlo posts are going to get submitted to the grid. We don’t have a problem with that, unless of course you’re not following the guidelines.

Guidelines? What guidelines?

If you’re new to the challenge grid, you should take a minute to review the submission guidelines. If you’re not new, you already know that the challenge grid is the place for your best work that falls into the categories of personal essay or traditional blog anecdote. Your submission should have a central conflict, a reason for telling the story. It should also have a beginning, middle and end, and should not simply be a listing of the day’s events or a diary entry. It’s not that we don’t like those, we certainly do! Just not here, not on the challenge grid.

Here’s a simple example. Let’s say you went to the grocery store, bought some stuff, told your kid he couldn’t have some junky snack he wanted, and then you went home. Maybe the punchline is that after you bought food, you didn’t want to cook dinner. That’s probably not really a grid-worthy entry. Sure, most of us can relate, but what’s your so what? Tell me why I want to know.

However, if you were in the store and your kid was whining away and then you were attacked by ninjas whom you fought off with nothing but an organic crookneck squash and a bag of Fritos and, as you wiped the sweat from your brow, your kid was still whining about wanting Fruit Roll-Ups, well, you may be on to something. (For the record, I mean no disrespect to the Fruit Roll-Up.)

It doesn’t have to be over the top, crazy, or gut-wrenching, but that central conflict is a must. Even your every day trip to the store can have that, you just have to be willing to take the time to find it.

Remember this: All challenge grid posts qualify for NaBloPoMo, but not all NaBloPoMo posts qualify for the challenge grid.

This is the second year yeah write is blogging alongside BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo for 30 days in November

Go here to learn all you need to know about NaBloPoMo. There are great prizes, a full lineup of guest bloggers, and the guidelines you’ll need to follow to join in the fun. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can still do so until 11:59 p.m. U.S. eastern time on Wednesday. What are you waiting for?

Just in case you’re thinking this isn’t for you, that it’s too much work, here’s a sampling of what you could win if you join in the fun:

Stephen King’s On Writing
Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird
The 2013 Best American Essays
The 2013 Best American Short Stories
The 2013 Best American Non-Required Reading
A basket of Trader Joe’s non-perishable goodies from yeah write editor Stacie
The book Why We Write (edited by Meredith Maran) from Jake of Jake vs. The City
Two hand-knit beanies from Jennifer of I’m Dancing in the Rain
Two book bundles from regular yeah write guest contributor Deb of MannaHatta Mamma including copies of You Have Lipstick on Your Teeth edited by Leslie Marinelli
The best homemade fudge you will ever know from Alisa of Ice Scream Mama
A book bundle from yeah write editor Kristin including Difficult Mothers by Terri Apter and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
A handmade sock puppet “for moral support” from Laura at phrogmom’s weblog
A book bundle from yeah write editor Erica including The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander
A book bundle from Gina of Does Anyone Care What I Write containing her two favorite books of 2013

Welcome to yeah write #134 weekly writing challenge

Odds, ends, reminders

The badge you will need to add to your planned submission is over in the sidebar
This immediate past Sunday is the earliest your submission can be dated
Your post can be no longer than 600 words
Personal essays or traditional blog anecdotes only
There are no weekly prompts; the topic is yours. Be compelling
The grid is open from Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
There is voting. Voting will take place Thursday from midnight to 10:00 p.m. US eastern
The challenge grid is limited to 50 bloggers
The winners’ post will be published by noon on Friday
No self-promotional posts are allowed on the yeah write grid, including those containing links to other blog events and Internet contests