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There’s a phrase often used in talking about journalism and essays: burying the lede. It means to ramble on and on without giving the reader enough information to tell what the piece is really about. I won’t bury this one though: we’ll be moving twelve (not ten) writers on to the final round of the competition, where they’ll be writing for $225 for first place, $175 for second, and $125 for third!
But to get those prizes, you’ll have to make it to the short list of writers. That means getting past the first round. In this round we’ll be working with both personal and persuasive essays, so let’s take a second to talk about what those are:
Personal essays are the mostly-true stories of your life. You’ll be writing within the framework of an assigned subject. Make sure that you center the subject, although the entire essay doesn’t have to be about the subject. For example, if the subject were horses, you could write about your first horse, about how much you wanted a horse, about a plastic toy horse, or about your summer camp experience in the Rockies. What you can’t do is write about a road trip your family took and casually mention that you drove past a horse in Nebraska along the way.
A persuasive essay utilizes logic and reason to show that one idea or position is more legitimate than another. It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt the writer’s point of view on the topic. The argument must always use sound reasoning and solid evidence. It can do this by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and quoting experts- but it can also be underpinned by personal experience. It can utilize emotion effectively, but it should not depend on emotional appeal or require the reader to find the writer sympathetic in order to make its point. Our prompts are open-ended questions. We’ll be judging these essays on how thoroughly and convincingly the author answers the question. The judges don’t have to agree with the answer, but the answer will need to be supported by more than my mom’s old standby of “because I said so.”
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get to the prompts:
Group 1
A textile memory
We’re looking for an essay centered around your memory of a textile – “a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibers. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, hemp, or other materials to produce long strands. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting or tatting, felting, or braiding.” This can be a piece of cloth, a piece of clothing, a rug, etc. To fully incorporate this prompt, your essay should require that particular item to function the way you want it to; the textile shouldn’t be interchangeable with any other item.
Group 2
What is the difference between “a place you live” and “a home”?
There is, as promised, no “right answer” to this question – we’re looking for your answer. Why does (or doesn’t) your living situation feel like home at any given time? What would need to change to make it a “living space” or “a home” and why?
Group 3
They didn’t mean it that way but…
Tell us about the time you or someone you know said something that came out all wrong. Did your dad say “it’s ok, stupid people do this all the time” when you were trying to learn something? Did your spouse say “you’d need an umbrella the size of Texas” when you were complaining that the sun was burning you and you needed to cover up? We want to know about the contrast between what you/they meant, what came out, and the consequences (emotional or actual) of the difference.
Group 4
They told me so.
Tell us about a time someone earned the right to tell you “I told you so.” Did you eat the thing that they said was too spicy? Feed a Mogwai after midnight? We want to hear about a situation in which you ignored advice and had no choice but to shake your head slowly and admit: they told you so.
Wait, wait, there’s more!
Don’t post your story anywhere on the Internet until after our judges are done and you get your feedback! But if you want to talk up the competition or live-tweet your writing process, use the hashtag #YWsuper. Just remember not to include identifying details about which story is yours!
Your essays are due Sunday at 10pm US Eastern Time. Remember to check the rules for formatting, including all those fiddly details like title page, font, and filename. Don’t get disqualified on a technicality! We know it seems really useless at times, but all those rules have a purpose, from helping get your file where it needs to be to making sure you’re read anonymously and fairly.
Email your questions to superchallenge@yeahwrite.me—we will not be reviewing other email addresses or social media for your questions over the weekend and we want to make sure you get the answers you need! Don’t use the contact form, don’t email an editor you know, just use the superchallenge address. It preserves your anonymity and ensures your answer.
You’ll receive your feedback on August 14, and we’ll announce who’s moving on to the next round that day at noon US Eastern Time.
We hope you have as much fun with the prompts as we had picking them out. Good luck, and good writing!
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
