We made it! 104 consecutive weeks…

No breaks, no hiatus, no downtime, no holidays off, just being here each and every week for two years, all in the name of turning your blog into a pretty good collection of personal essays and interesting stories. Happy birthday! 

We’ve been giving away birthday gifts to random readers and writers since yeah write #100, and the party is still going. This week, we have gifts for our writers, readers, voters and lurkers once we get to 30, 40 then 50 bloggers on the challenge grid. 

30

Writers’ awards if we get to 30 on the grid

For every entry on the grid, up to 50 entries, we are giving away one dollar in gift card loot to the jury prize winner from the invitational grid and the crowd favorite from the challenge grid. Each winning blogger could win up to a $50 gift card to the U.S. or Canada retailer of his or her choosing.

• The jury prize winner comes from the invitational grid which is selected by the yeah write editors.
• The crowd favorite is the blogger who ends the Thursday voting period with the highest number of votes from the entire Internet (around 400 people, the Internet is not as big as you think)

The offer will only happen if we hit 30 entries, which will open the invitational grid. Fewer than 30 entries? No invitational grid and no dollar per entry prize for either winner. At least 30 entries? The writers’ awards will start at $30 and go up to the maximum grid entry of $50. The challenge grid closes to all entries on Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. U.S. eastern daylight time.

A winning yeah write post

We know you know this already, so this is for all the friends you’ll be sending to yeah write to boost your writer’s award gift card to $50. Adapted from a blogger’s guide to writing a yeah write post:

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• This week and next, your entry is to be 500 words or fewer.
• Instinctively, each yeah write editor is using a standard spreadsheet to select submissions from the challenge grid to the invitational grid. Our readers should be using that same standard when choosing the five best on the grid for the popular vote. Feel free to review it or download it if it will help focus your writing before you start.
• Your post needs to have one clear idea, the angle, a central conflict, the reason for telling the story. You can’t simply list events or detail a conversation. You need a so what.
• It needs a strong and inviting beginning. Never attempt to explain to your audience why you’re writing the post, just start writing it. 
• Show passion for your subject. Why is it so important? We need to feel it.
• Write creatively without trite phrases and clichés. Even if there’s no such thing as an original story, it’s up to you to tell yours differently than anyone else.
• Watch for how you’re shifting subjects within your post. Honor your audience with proper transitions instead of hopping from place to place, abruptly interrupting yourself with “but I digress”.  If you are digressing, refocus, then start over.
• Write a strong ending supporting your original reason for sharing your story. Endings are tricky. Don’t just tack one on. Don’t ever negate your entire post by ending with “but that’s just my opinion”. Also: keep in mind your conclusion doesn’t necessarily have to wrap things up neatly for your protagonist or whatever/whomever was the focus of your post.
• Does anything on your blog interfere with the readability of your post such as an overzealous application of freakish typefaces? As a writer, your content should be the focus of the space, free of distraction.

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40

Family treasure to a random winner if we get to 40 on the grid

Yeah write supporter Jacqueline Bryant Campbell has generously donated one $60 gift card toward any doll or custom design in her studio. The non-ballerina dolls are $60, and you can choose hair color, skin tone, clothing style or even send Jacq a favorite t-shirt or fabric and she’ll work her magic and dress your new treasure with it.

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• If yeah write #104 reaches 40 on the grid and if yeah write #105 reaches 40 on the grid, anyone involved will be eligible for the drawing for the gift card
• On the challenge grid? You’re in the drawing
• On the speakeasy grid? You’re in the drawing
• Not on either grid, but you’re reading, commenting, sharing or voting? Leave us a comment on any post this week letting us know you’re hanging out, and you’re in the drawing
• Sent a yeah write virgin? Let us know who belongs to you. You’re in the drawing
• As long as the grids get to 40 each week, your name is in the hat

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50

Want your own supporting subscription? If we get to 50 on the grid…

Thirty bloggers on the challenge grid will open the offers of the gift card loot. Forty on the grid (this week and next) will open the drawing for Jacq’s custom dolls. Get us to 50? It’s our standard offer: if we hit 50 entries to the challenge grid this week and you’ve recruited a yeah write virgin to the challenge grid, you’ll be eligible for a random drawing for our 12-month, $10 a month supporting subscription donated by one of our yeah write editors. At that level, you would receive at your request:

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• a wet and sloppy kiss on the mouth from your yeah write editor of choice
• a text link in selected weekly sponsor highlight posts
• a custom editorial on one selected yeah write challenge grid entry (worth $40 USD)
• a quick and dirty evaluation of 12 planned submissions to the challenge grid, an average of one planned submission each month, before the weekly challenge grids open
• an evaluation of your blog itself on content and design with clear direction on what’s working and what can be improved (worth countless USD)

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60

The best of yeah write coming tomorrow

The best of yeah write grid will be revealed on Wednesday. Your favorite yeah write editors selected 60 posts out of more than 3,500 grid submissions from lovelinks #1 to yeah write #100 and put them all on one grid. Watch this space for awesome.

Odds, ends, reminders

• Your post can be no longer than 500 words
• Your post can be dated no earlier than April 7th, the day the yeah write #104 badges were officially posted
• The grid is open from Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. to Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
• It is limited to 50 bloggers
• Voting will take place all day Thursday from midnight to Friday at midnight
• The winners’ post will be published at noon on Friday
• Our new weekend moonshine grid will open Friday at 6 p.m. and close Monday by 12:01 a.m. 
• No self-promotional posts are allowed on the yeah write grid, including those containing links to other blog events and Internet contests
• Combining your yeah write post with other blog events meant to maximize your exposure and minimize your effort is a no-no

Bring us your best stuff.  Bring your friends to read, write and vote. Yeah write #104 is open. . .

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