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The very small thing
The so what is the holy grail of writing that earns editor’s picks at yeah write. It’s the yeast that makes your writing rise above all else. For our creative nonfiction challenge, the so what puts the creative into your nonfiction. It is more than a blog post, a diary entry, an opinion.
One of my favorite who’s on fourth interviews at yeah write, posted a year ago, featured Lisa at cheapbohemian. She said, “Focus on the miniature: what makes each experience tellingly unique yet universal is often the very small thing we think has just happened to us alone: that weird thing you remembered when you were slicing an orange, or the smell of your best friend’s house when you were a kid, or the fact that your first kiss was really, really awful. You should always look for the moments that leave you feeling most alone in this life, I think, too—those are the moments that actually bond us all.”
The very small thing. The miniature. Inside those small moments is a world of experience that others have shared, which gives us the so what. Maybe you notice how your mother paces while she is on the phone. Write about that. Suddenly, you may find that her pacing gives you insight into something deeper, bigger, something commonly shared, a so what.
Lisa said, “…How you get from the privacy of your own miniature moment, or the deep confession of your thoughts, to sharing that with us—that’s the elusive ‘so what.’ I think readers love to see the journey of that in your structure. They want to see your discovery of why it should matter to them. The result is an intimate tone, often wildly funny and edgy. Daring. Intimate. Unforgivingly accurate.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Nonfiction theme of the month: the narrative hook
What are we talking about? Rowan gives us the skinny on how to hook your readers from the very beginning. Try to use it in your essay for this week’s challenge, and make sure to read Rowan’s tips. She knows what she’s talking about.
This week’s ultimate question:
Where’s the party?
This optional prompt, which also serves as the ultimate question for the microstory challenge opening Wednesday, is here to serve as your inspiration for your nonfiction submission. Already have your own story thought up? No problem! The prompt is only there if you need it.
Want more info?
Is this your first time here? Check out Sunday’s post which kicked off the week here at yeah write. If you don’t think you can remember to check back every Sunday, you can sign up for our email blasts directly to your inbox. Our email subscribers can also join us in the yeah write coffeehouse at its new 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.
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Submit to the yeah write #248 nonfiction challenge
The yeah write #248 weekly writing challenge is now open for nonfiction: personal essays, creative opinion, mostly true stories based on actual events. You can check out the submission guidelines and join us with your essay using the link below.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
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