It’s feast or famine

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’ve got it and others, well, not so much. For about two weeks straight, I struggled to find words for anything that needed writing. Every time I was in front of the screen ready to go, my mind was a complete blank. Usually I walked away having gotten no writing done at all. But then some rare alone time presented itself and I forced myself to sit there and write, even if it was garbage. I was not going to let that free time go to waste. The result? Some pretty mediocre work. But, pushing through that wall knocked something loose and since then, ideas have been presenting themselves left and right. All weekend long I found myself scrambling to find paper and pen to jot ideas and phrases down before they were forgotten and lost forever.

What about you? How do you break through those difficult periods where nothing is working for you?

Who’s on fourth?

The fourth Monday of the month means our latest installment of who’s on fourth! This month, Arden R of Writing While Wineing interviewed Alisa of Ice Scream Mama. Alisa is a regular here at yeah write and you won’t want to miss getting to know her a little bit better. In case you didn’t get a chance to read it yet, you can find the interview here.

 

Welcome to Christine and our newest challenge

The Sunday kickoff post is back! Each week, our newest editor, Christine, will be giving you the scoop about the challenges in the week to come along with a look at the previous week’s challenge winner. In addition, we’re adding a brand new challenge to the mix: the gargleblaster! Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to answer the question prompt in EXACTLY 42 words. The first gargleblaster opens on Monday, March 31. If you missed Christine’s inaugural post, you can read it here.

Say hi to Kevin and Comment Bob

Kevin stands out in a crowd with his fuchsia scarf effortlessly tossed across his shoulder and his top hat jauntily perched upon his head. Are you a kiwi? Will your post stand out in the crowd? Obed M, our submissions editor, will choose his favorite post each week we’re under 30 posts on the grid, awarding that post the week’s kiwi badge.

Bob loves the yeah write community spirit, and cheers on anyone who shows it on each post published to the challenge grid. Do you love to leave comments? Bob says go for it. Are you better at hitting the social media share buttons than you are at leaving comments? Bob says that’s awesome. Go for it. On voting day, do you campaign fairly for the best posts on the grid, feeling inspired by (instead of threatened by) your competition? Bob loves you so much, and will likely visit your blog’s sidebar, pom poms waving. Comment, share, like, vote fairly. Win your own Bob.

Moderated grid and scaled voting

After you submit your work, our submissions editor will review it to be sure it meets our guidelines. If it does, you’ll see your thumbnail appear below. If not, it will be returned to you with a love letter letting you know how you could improve it. Take those notes, and keep at it. We love to see writers who don’t give up. 

When we get to 30 or more entries on the challenge grid, the invitational grid opens and the yeah write editors select their favorites.The jury prize is chosen as the best submission of the week. Invitational or not, we will host a popular vote where you’ll be able to select your favorites from the grid. The number of votes allotted is determined by the number of submissions on the grid:

• 01-10 submissions: one vote
• 11-20 submissions: two votes
• 21-30 submissions: three votes
• 31-40 submissions: four votes
• 41-50 submissions: five votes

The more submissions, the more votes. Now’s the time to tell your writing and blogging friends about our friendly little competition. Write a blurb beside your yeah write challenge button inviting them. Send a personal email. Stumble over a blog post you think would be perfect for the challenge grid? Email us the link, and if it’s a good fit, we’ll add it ourselves.

Spread the word of yeah write weekly writing challenge

Are you a member of a writing forum or a literary blogging community? Please leave a link with your friends over there telling them all about us. If you don’t have another writing home online, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook where you can easily share or retweet us. The more we grow, the more we can learn from one another. Your endorsement of what we’re doing here is invaluable.

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 #154 is open…

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