Yeah write, the speakeasy, the gargleblaster and the moonshine grid all in one place every Sunday

Every Sunday, we kick off a new week of challenges. If you’re not already a subscriber, sign up here to receive our weekly email blasts, and be one of the first to know what to expect for the week. Written by our new managing editor Christine, we also detail the week in a tidy Sunday kickoff post while congratulating the winners from our previous challenges. Stop by if you get the chance. It’s good stuff.

Welcome to our new submissions editor Rowan G!

Hey, we have a new submissions editor! Please extend a warm welcome to Rowan G., who will be taking over the moderation queue. Instead of being published immediately to the challenge, each challenge grid post is sent to moderation. If the post isn’t quite right for the grid, you’ll receive a love letter from Rowan.

That’s right, it’s a love letter, not a rejection letter. We never reject outright any submissions here at yeah write—if it’s not a good fit for the challenge grid, you can always hang out with us on the moonshine grid over the weekend. Plus, the love letter is specifically designed to improve your submission. With love. Don’t be intimidated!

Brevity recently featured this topic  in a piece called Wooing Brevity. It’s a quick essay, please take some time to read it. Learning to write well takes persistence, and it’s important not to take rejection negatively. Feedback should help you grow as a writer, especially when you don’t give up.

First time here? Welcome!

Did you follow the link from the badge on a friend’s blog? Welcome! Please check out our submission guidelines, then jump right in. We’d love to have you.

Did you land here out of curiosity because you saw a whole bunch of hits from yeah write in your wordpress.com stats? Welcome! That means somebody at yeah write stumbled over your post, thought it was a good fit for us, and submitted your post for consideration. We hope you don’t mind!

If you like, please grab the challenge badge from our sidebar, install it using the HTML view of your post, then visit the other entries on the grid. Did we mention there will be a vote for the best submissions on Thursday? That’s the fun part. Please stick around.

Kevin, Bob, and the invitational

Everyone knows Kevin by now! He’s that stylish kiwi with the scarf and hat, rooting around for an exceptional post on the grid. Each week, we’re under 30 posts entries in the challenge, a randomly selected editor will choose her favorite post and award that post the week’s kiwi badge.

If we hit 30 entries, the invitational grid, which is exactly what it sounds like, will be unlocked. Editors will select the posts they feel most represent the yeah write way and move them to a special grid where they will compete for the jury prize. This honor has its own badge, too, so there’s always a chance for bling.

What’s the one word you hear around here all the time? Community! We love the community spirit here at yeah write and to foster that, we like to offer up a badge to someone who personifies community. Comment Bob, our spirit mascot, loves it when you comment on or share the other entries on the grid. Support your fellow writers and share the yeah write love, and you may just end up with a Bob badge of your very own!

More entries means more votes

The crowd favorite is determined by a moderated popular vote. That means it’s never a clicking contest. We expect our readers to vote for the best on the challenge grid based on technical and artistic merit. here’s the scale:

• 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. Write a blurb beside your yeah write challenge button inviting your friends to join us. Send a personal email. Talk us up in your writing circles. 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.

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

Voting is open at the gargleblaster! If you have a chance, stop by, read all the 42-word entries, then vote on the best three of the gargleblaster grid. It’s yeah write’s newest challenge, and we’re quite proud of it. Yeah write #162 traditional challenge grid is open right here… [hr]