NaBloPoOMG
Many of us in the yeah write community are taking part in NaBloPoMo, so I do hope you’ll indulge me in making this endeavor a focal point of my post today. Blogging every single day for an entire month is no easy feat and I know I’m starting to feel the burn. How about you? How are you holding up?
I’ve got plenty of stuff to write about
As the popular song lyric goes: I got ninety-nine problems but a blog post topic ain’t one.
My problem is of the sitting down to write variety. There’s never enough time and always something else that needs doing. I don’t want to start something I can’t finish so I just don’t start. Sound familiar? I’ll bet it does. If I were to task you with giving me twenty blog topics right now, I bet you could think of them. If I asked you to stop what you were doing and write, though, what would happen? Well, uh, um… yeah, I know how it goes.
When someone asks me why I wanted to do NaBlo, or why I participate in yeah write’s challenge grid, the answer is simple. It forces me to write.
There is only one way to be a writer, and that is to sit down and write. Excuses are easy. Showing up is hard. Telling your unique story in your authentic voice takes practice and discipline. Neither you nor I will get better if we don’t keep at it.
This is the second year yeah write is blogging alongside BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo for 30 days in November
this is the badge you are looking for
Go here to learn all you need to know about NaBloPoMo. Sign-ups are closed for this year, but you can still visit your old favorites and discover some new to you bloggers. There are random prizes, guest bloggers here on yeah write and 18 more days of fun to come. Make sure to make the rounds and support the writers just nutty enough to take on this challenge.
So for all you challenge grid virgins wandering over from NaBloPoMo, we offer a hearty welcome and a quick tour of how things work around here. In the sidebar is a badge that looks like the badge in this post. Copy the code, then paste it into the HTML or text view of the post you’re planning to submit. Hit publish from that same view.
Welcome to yeah write #135 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
Yeah write #135 is open…
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Michelle, that photo thumbnail looks like a big, white boob.
Do you mean the one at the top? If so, that’s because it is.
By time I get the hang of this, i.e. what I am supposed to do for these link-ups, NaBloPoMo will be over LOL…I ‘think’ I did it right this time, and IN time…?
I sent you an email. For NaBloPoMo, there’s no need to add your posts each day. We are all reading from the NaBloPoMo grid in the daily posts. This one is for our challenge post, which is separate but running alongside our special events this month. Hope this helps!
Gah! I chose the wrong badge (the generic Yeah Write one) before I tried to post to the grid. After that didn’t work, I saw the one for week #135. Maybe it would help us newbies if you put the code in the post or specified which exact badge to look for?
P.S. I didn’t write my post for this challenge, but I’m doing NaBloPoMo, and the post seemed to generally fit. Next week I’ll write something with the challenge in mind. Just wanted to get into the swing of things this time around. I’ll be the first to admit it’s not my best work!
Hi Kylie! Thanks for joining us and thanks for the suggestion. We are adding some new language to make the badge more clear. Also, we found a post on your blog more suitable for the challenge grid. You should have received an email. Glad to have you join us!
Kylie, thanks for the suggestion. The post language has been updated to show we understand we have many many newbies stopping through, so thanks for the reminder. We hope to see you on the challenge before it closes tonight!
Just wrote a NEW post and submitted it. Thanks for the support and encouragement!
Thanks for sticking it out!
Thanks for your help. I’m embarrassed to have needed so much help. I got it … finally. Might I offer to rewrite the directions a bit for clarity? I don’t seem to be the only one who has trouble understanding what they need to do and I’m pretty good at writing directions (40 years writing’em!) … I think it might reduce confusion. No big deal for me to do. Let me know, Willing and able 🙂
Glad to see you made it. Thanks for the offer. You can send what you come up with to michelle@yeahwrite.me and we’ll take a look. Appreciate it!
http://simtasia.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/cleanliness-is-next-to-nah/
Hi Samantha! I don’t see your post added to the grid. In order to be considered for the challenge, you need to be there and not just in the comments. Please let me know if you need any help.
Thanks, Michelle. Sorry. I knew I was doing something wrong. Got it now. Thx!
I switched it. I think it’s right now. I sure hope so!
I Think I GOT it! Let me know if I didn’t, but I think I got it right (be still my heart)!
Is this where I leave a link? If so, is this is? http://wp.me/p2bT5l-1d8na8
I’m not TOO confused. No, only a bit. A wee bit.
I think I submitted a piece. But I don’t know for sure. I followed the instructions as well as I could, including the Zen statement “submit that post to this week’s yeah write” … How? Where? To get the usual “missing a backlink prompt” but this time, I clicked through anyway because clearly, I have no idea how to make a proper backlink. So I may have entered, Then again, perhaps not 🙂
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Hi Marilyn! I will check this out in a few minutes when I get to my laptop.
Thank you. I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Someday. Maybe by Christmas.
You have the wrong badge in your post. Over in the sidebar, there is a reddish badge that says “yeah write #135”. That’s the one you need. Once you switch it, let me know and we’ll release the post from the queue. Thanks!
Yes, this was all exactly what I was going to say 🙂 Thanks Erica!