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Welcome back from family-free month

Fine. Tell us about your kids. Don’t forget the so what. Kidlet themed posts will attract the most scrutiny in the moderation queue mainly because people think they are the first ever parents of a cute two-year-old and assume we all want to hear about it. If you can come up with clever turns of phrase and an interesting perspective to share your toddler’s first steps and your teen’s first dance, lay it on us. If there’s nothing new under the sun in your post, it’s still family-free month for you.

Grab this week’s badge over in the sidebar.

Change is coming to yeah write, and you should be used to that by now

Erica is constantly fine-tuning the yeah write franchise for your benefit. The hangout was born to accommodate those who didn’t meet the criteria for the challenge grid. Then, it morphed into the speakeasy, for those who didn’t want to meet the criteria for the challenge grid.

Lately, the challenge grid has been going in a new direction because many of you are branching out and taking risks with your writing. While we love, applaud and encourage that, short fiction is being judged against anecdotes and humorous commentary. It’s not fair to either group.

The challenge grid is going back to its roots, hosting traditional blog posts and personal essays. If you submit to this grid and your post is returned to you, your choices are to either skip the week or edit your post to meet the challenge’s guidelines. The speakeasy won’t invite your post to its grid because the purpose of that grid is changing.

The speakeasy is turning to a fiction-and-poetry-only format

This week will be the last free-for-all, park-whatever-you-like at the speakeasy. At the end of the week, I will send a reminder email to speakeasy participants that, beginning October 9, your post only makes it to the grid if it is short fiction or poetry. Next Sunday, I’ll fill you in on the the speakeasy’s criteria for these submissions.

While you’re thinking about that, think about this

We’ve done some of the thinking for you with regard to what you can write about in October.

Three days ago, Eric Sipple, of Saalon Muyo and yeah write alum, released his self-published novel, Broken Magic. He’s graciously agreed to host a four-week celebration of spooky fiction at the speakeasy, beginning October 9. His success is your success, because he has four copies of Broken Magic to give away to each popular vote winner over the four weeks.

The theme for yeah write #78 through yeah write #81 will be “Tales of the Strange, Supernatural or Unexplained”

The meaning of words like “strange” and “supernatural” is interpreted differently by everyone , so don’t feel dejected about this not being your style. Mysteries, like that of the missing sock, cat or spouse can be spooky. Recounting a favourite home-made Halloween costume could fit the theme. Ghost stories, close encounters, twilight zones – I won’t argue with how you interpret the theme. Be playful, be terrifying, be creepy, but bring us your best stuff, accompanied by a clear so what: fiction at the speakeasy, creative non-fiction on the challenge grid.

There will be a pictorial prompt each week to get your brain going, and it will be vague enough for you to refer to it as you feel appropriate. Moderation will look for properly dated entries, central conflict and some reference to the theme. Popular voting will arrive at the speakeasy and winners will receive a copy of Broken Magic delivered to their tablets or mail boxes. Pretty fancy stuff, right?

The first two chapters of Eric’s novel can be found on Saalon Muyo. Broken Magic is available for purchase at Amazon.com and goodreads.com

Helpful links

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When the grid gets back to 50 published entries, we’re offering one writer a $100 Amazon gift card

Once we get back to a full grid of 50 published submissions, we will kick off a four-week challenge for the blogger with the most accumulated points to earn a $100 Amazon gift card which I would recommend go toward the purchase of these 10 books suggested in this Brain Pickings article How to Read Like a Writer. We’ll get there with or without you. May as well be with you ‘cuz you’re witty and can tell a pretty good story.

Yeah write #77 opens Tuesday.

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  • Do not mention anywhere in your post, either as intro or footnote, that you are writing to a prompt.
  • We want the story the furthest away in your imagination from the original prompt. Let your imagination loose.
  • Keep your writing style! Do you tell stories with humor? Prose? Verse? Photos? Illustrations? Keep doing that.

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photo prompt

 

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color prompt

 

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