[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Prepwork
Google is a rabbit hole and I can disappear for hours researching info for a story or essay. Research is the prepwork for writing—the collection of ingredients that contribute to a great dish. (I won’t keep up with the cooking metaphor—not a cook, won’t pretend to be a cook, no time to research how to avoid mixed metaphors. Hah, get it? “Mixed” metaphors?)
Thank our lucky stars we live in the age of Google, where answers to nearly every question are found with a few keystrokes. Although I love me a good library, I have yet to find one open 24 hours.
Whether I am researching details of a historical period or statistics on a social issue, I want to be accurate. But there is another reason to do research: to find connections that may lead to a powerful essay or story. Example: digging up stats on poverty may lead to facts about your community. Maybe homelessness is high but you hardly ever see people sleeping on the street; do a little more research and you learn that they sleep in the woods and in cars, changing how assistance services reach those in need. This nuanced perspective is just the thing that can make for distinctive writing.
One caveat: check the sources of your sources. While you can find reliable information about swamp biology, you’re just as likely to find an expert web site devoted to the nocturnal habits of the Ohio Grassman.
Who’s on fourth
This month we invite you to learn more about our very own Cindy Reed! The interview will publish Monday at 12pm ET, but in the meantime, head over to the Reedster Speaks and read all of her awesome.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Nonfiction know-how:
writing emotion without crutches
Writing about the most difficult – and exhilarating – times can be cathartic. Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down in the emotion of it all and we “tell, don’t show” or rely on crutches to convey our feelings. It’s those times when we don’t do that when our work stands out. This month, Rowan offers up some advice on avoiding those crutches and really showing the reader how you feel. Fictioneers, there’s some good stuff in here for you, too, so don’t miss this one!
Want more info?
Is this your first time here? Check out Sunday’s post which kicked off the week here at yeah write. Our email subscribers can also join us in the yeah write coffeehouse at its home on Facebook. If you’ve never taken the time to read them, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our submission guidelines. The rules are a little different for each of our challenges and we’d hate to have to send back great writing on a technicality.
Did you happen to end up here because you suddenly saw yeah write in your stats? Sometimes members of our community spot excellent writing and they send those posts on over to us. We hope you don’t mind. Take a look around and get to know our community. We’re sure you’ll be happy here.
Have questions you can’t find the answer to by poking around the site? Email us or find us on Facebook and Twitter and we’ll happily help you out.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
How to submit and fully participate in the challenge
Basic yeah write guidelines: 1000 word limit; your entry can be dated no earlier than this past Sunday; nonfiction personal essay, creative opinion piece or mostly true story based on actual events.
1. In the sidebar of this week’s post, please grab the code beneath the nonfiction badge and paste it into the HTML view of your entry
2. Follow the Inlinkz instructions after clicking “add your link” to upload your entry to this week’s challenge grid
3. Your entry should appear immediately on the grid if you don’t receive an error message
4. Please make the rounds to read all the entries in this week’s challenge
5. Consider turning off moderated comments and CAPTCHA on your own blog
This summer, all our grids are unmoderated which means all submissions meeting the basic guidelines will be published Thursday on yeah write. Those entries will be open to a popular vote with the winner celebrated on Friday.
Thank you for sharing with us your hard work! Good luck in the challenge…[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Loading InLinkz ...
