Stuck in the middle with you

Every writer knows that writer’s block is no fun. Most of us are familiar with that feeling of sitting down to write and then… nothing. One thing I find just as bad, if not worse, is the feeling of facing a deadline and being stuck. Maybe I’m at a loss for a topic. Perhaps I know the overall message I want to convey but the right words won’t come to mind. 

Before I became a yeah write editor and when I participated regularly on the challenge grid, I viewed each Wednesday night as a deadline. A good week was marked by an idea that had formed the week before, then by first and maybe second drafts over the weekend, then a sparkly clean post ready to submit Tuesday morning. A bad week? Well, that would be me sitting at my desk on Wednesday during my lunch hour, soaking my sandwich in salty tears of desperation.

The clock is ticking, but not as urgently as you may think

When that “now or never” moment is approaching, I feel like I have two options: throw in the towel or force my way through. With the challenge grid, I’ve done both. It’s never truly now or never here at yeah write because we’ve said time and again how we’re willing to wait for your best work. Sometimes accepting it just wasn’t my week and taking the pressure off was enough to free my mind. My piece the next week would be much stronger because I’d taken the extra days to think, draft and edit.

Other times, I won’t lie, I tried to power through. Some weeks, those posts performed well enough on the grid, but not usually. Are you interested to know how many times I won jury prize or crowd favorite when I whipped out a last-minute post? I’ll tell you: exactly zero.

The problem with forcing myself to write is that most of what I come up with sounds, well, forced. Emotions don’t feel authentic, and cliches take over. I end up telling, not showing, because I’m not putting in the time and care I need to get my piece in order. I know when my heart isn’t in it, and so would you if I were to just throw it into the challenge.

This week’s challenge is open for submissions until Wednesday, 11:59 pm US eastern. If  you’ve rushed your personal essay or anecdote toward the deadline, hold onto it for now. You can always participate as a reader, commenter, and a responsible voter. Take the extra few days to work out the kinks, and we’ll be just as happy to see it on the challenge grid next week. Or the week after that. Bring us your best stuff when you know it’s going to be the best on the grid.

First time here? Welcome!

Hello to all the challenge grid virgins who have wandered over to our corner of the Internet! We offer you 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. 

Yeah write is not unlike any unsolicited manuscript site you may find on the Web. We do have submission guidelines, and we ask our writers to follow them. When a submission falls outside of those guidelines, we will return it with a brief note of explanation. The return is not a critique on your writing style or a commentary on the quality of your grandma’s 100th birthday celebration or a refutation of your career as a professional writer; it’s simply a notification of how your piece would be, perhaps, more suitable for another online collection. Some of our most faithful and accomplished bloggers have had their submissions returned. Do not take it personally. Try again next week.

Still reading this far? We love you so hard. What yeah write editors are looking for in each submission…

1. Does the post have a central conflict? What’s the revving engine moving the story forward? If the story just sits there, then ends, it doesn’t have a central conflict. If it reads like a listing of events, it doesn’t have a central conflict.
2. Is the central conflict, the “so what,” clearly written? The reader shouldn’t have to assume author intent or what the author is trying to say.
3. Is the clear idea introduced early? It shouldn’t be dropped into the story like a drug bust at 3 a.m. or tucked inside a closet somewhere.
4. Is the beginning of the story engaging and inviting?
5. Does the post show the author’s passion for the subject?
6. Does the author write creatively without using clichés and trite phrases?
7. Does the author take care to properly transition new ideas and subjects within the post? It shouldn’t read like numerous, disconnected stories disguised as one narrative.
8. Is the story tightly told without digressions or superfluous adjectives and adverbs? Sunshine yellow, bright yellow and really really yellow are all yellow.
9. Does the post have a strong ending supporting the author’s original reason for telling the story?
10. Does the author write in what seemed to be his or her authentic voice? It shouldn’t sound forced.
11. Is the post free of spelling and grammar errors? Seriously. Is it?
12. Does the post follow the submission guidelines? Word count, prompt (if mandatory), current topic or theme (if provided)

Then we add them up for a score based on the yeah write guidelines, called a YWG

this is the badge you are looking for

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 #138 is open…

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