Round One Closes in:
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Have you ever had to find an image for an article? I can’t recommend choosing “start” as the word to search on stock photo sites, because those images are terrifying. Blank pages, open computers with no words on the screen, empty journals… I’m getting stressed out just thinking about it. That’s no way to start a writing competition!
Instead, enjoy this lovely photo of a play button and have a little faith that you’ve got an essay in you this weekend. You should have received your group assignment already, so all you have to do is pick up your topic or question right here.
But first: a few tips.
If you’re writing a personal essay: these are the mostly-true stories of your life. Don’t get hung up on if the thing happened on a Wednesday or a Friday, but make sure the central events actually are events that hang together into a coherent narrative. Make sure that you center the subject, although the entire essay doesn’t have to be about the topic. For example, if the topic 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 shouldn’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.
If you’re writing a persuasive essay: 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. It can also 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. This doesn’t mean that you should write yourself completely out of your essay! Your voice, personality, and thoughts are all part of your persuasive toolbox, so relax and try not to be too traumatized by that book report you had to write in Grade 8.
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get to the assignments:
BUT FIRST, A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT
We’d love to think you were just here for the love of writing, and you are, but let’s face it, we all love money, too. So here’s how much money you could go home with in just over a month:
First Prize: $175
Second Prize: $125
Third Prize: $75
With the number of participants enrolled in this challenge, we’ll be moving the top four writers from each group to our short list! Writers, grab your keyboards and get ready for a super challenge!
Group 1
A piece of furniture that you associate with a specific person
The furniture doesn’t have to actually belong to the person, but it should have a strong emotional connection for you. For example, if your grandfather always had to have a (brand name only!) La-Z-Boy recliner, you don’t have to write about that EXACT recliner. You could write about seeing one in a thrift store last week – as long as the emotional connection that the furniture holds for you is clear to the reader. But you could also write about your sister’s couch that she gave you when you got your first apartment.
Group 2
L’esprit de l’escalier
You may not have known there was a phrase for that feeling of coming up with the best comeback in the world… at 2:00 am the next morning. But now you do. Remember, to understand why l’esprit de l’escalier applies, your reader will need to know the situation you would have responded to perfectly if you’d just come up with the answer then instead of later. Although you don’t have to do this, you might consider exploring what the consequences were for not having the right thing to say, or what might have gone differently if you’d been a little more on top of things.
Group 3
Serendipity
Sometimes things just… turn out right. Did you find a $20 bill just in time to pay for something? Couldn’t get the car to start, but the meeting was cancelled anyway? Missed your bus, but that bus broke down? That’s serendipity. But watch out: just because everything’s going to be ok in the end doesn’t mean you should skip the narrative structure or fail to deliver any dramatic tension.
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! And emailing the wrong address can get you disqualified if a judge sees your email. Nobody wants that!
You’ll receive your feedback on February 26, 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.
