Something in the air tonight
I live in the city now, but I grew up in the country. We didn’t have air conditioning; we had one box fan and lots of screens. There’s something about listening to the world fall asleep around me that is incredibly soothing. I love the sound of the wind and the patter of rain. I even love the occasional drone of a car driving by, reminding me that the world exists. Here in the city I sleep with the windows open whenever I can, but for the last few months or so it hasn’t been possible – there’s been too much smoke in the air from wildfires around the state and even British Columbia, and when it wasn’t smoky, it was hot. We just grumbled and turned down the AC.
This week, we finally reopened the windows, and it was a literal breath of fresh air. So it’s no surprise that windows are on my mind.
Come to my window
Yes, that’s right. This month, we want you to give a story in exactly 48 words that includes a window. The window must be literal, not figurative; that is, an opening in the wall of a building, the side of a vehicle, etc., for the admission of air or light, or both. You do not need to use the word “window” in your microstory, but it must be clear to the reader that the window is there.
This is the badge you need:
Below is the YeahWrite badge you need for this month’s microprose challenge. Under the badge is a few lines of code. See that? Copy it and then paste it into the “text” or HTML view of your post editor. If you don’t copy it exactly, the image will not appear correctly in your post, and you will receive an error message when you submit the post to Inlinkz. If you have any questions regarding adding this code to your post or website, please contact us at editors@yeahwrite.me.
Need a hand?
Microprose sounds easy. After all, how hard can it really be to write a story with fewer than 100 words incorporating a prompt or two? But it turns out it’s our hardest challenge to really get right. Whether you’re a seasoned micropro or a brand new microwriter, it’s worth taking a minute to glance through the tips and tricks our editors have put together, like this quick refresher on what makes a micro great, or this one on how to incorporate mandatory prompts into adjudicated challenges. Make sure you make it to the vote this week: check your wordcount (we count those footnotes!) and prompts!
The microprose challenge ends in:
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How to submit and fully participate in the Microprose Challenge
Basic YeahWrite guidelines: must be in response to the prompt found in Microprose #386 post; your entry can be dated no earlier than Wednesday, September 5, 2018; nonfiction, fiction, whatever, told in exactly 48 words. (No poetry, please.) You may enter only one microstory per weekly challenge.
How to submit and fully participate in the challenge:
- Please grab the code beneath the microprose badge in the body of this week’s post and paste it into the HTML view of your entry;
- Follow the Inlinkz instructions after clicking “add your link” to upload your entry to this week’s challenge grid;
- Your entry should appear immediately on the grid if you don’t receive an error message;
- Please make the rounds to read all the entries in this week’s challenge; and
- Consider turning off moderated comments and CAPTCHA on your own blog.
Submissions for this week’s challenges will close on Wednesday at 10pm ET. Voting will then open immediately thereafter and close on Thursday at 10pm ET. The winners, as always, will be celebrated on Friday.
Thank you for sharing with us your hard work! Good luck in the challenge…
Loading InLinkz ...About the author:
Christine Hanolsy is a (primarily) science fiction and fantasy writer who simply cannot resist a love story. She joined the YeahWrite team in 2014 as the microstory editor and stepped into the role of Editor-In-Chief in 2020. Christine was a 2015 BlogHer Voices of the Year award recipient and Community Keynote speaker for her YeahWrite essay, “Rights and Privileges.” Her short fiction has been published in a number of anthologies and periodicals and her creative nonfiction at Dead Housekeeping and in the Timberline Review. Outside of YeahWrite, Christine’s past roles have included Russian language scholar, composer, interpreter, and general cat herder. Find her online at christinehanolsy.com.
Now I have a Melissa Etheridge ear worm, which I’m sure you fully intended!
Sure did! 🙂