Micro what now?
We love stories of all shapes and sizes. Flash fiction and creative nonfiction – stories and essays under 1000 words – have been our mainstay for over seven years. But sometimes we like to shake things up a little, and this summer seems like a great time to do just that! Get ready for our second MICROfiction Super Challenge, where it’s not the size of your story that matters, but the impact.
The micro challenge is just like our usual competition – only smaller! We’ll give you a word limit range (not to exceed 100 words) and a super fun prompt, and you’ll have 48 hours to write and submit your story. One round of writing, one round of judging, and boom—you could win big money for your little story.
The 5 W’s: what, why, where, when, who? (Plus a bonus “how”)
Let us break the competition down for you!
What is it?
The Super Challenge is a prompted, 48-hour flash competition alternating between fiction and creative nonfiction (and the occasional microfiction contest). While our usual flash fiction and creative nonfiction competition runs over two rounds, the micro competition is a fast, furious, one-round contest. Prompts are released on a Friday night at 10pm US Eastern time, and at that point writers have 48 hours to craft their best response within the assigned word limit range. The judges read all entries blind (anonymously) and provide detailed feedback on each and every piece. The top 10 or so writers will move on to the shortlist, and winners and honorable mentions will be chosen from there.
Super Challenge #25 is for microfiction, and we’d love to see you there!
Why should I enter?
There are literally hundreds of writing competitions on the internet (and beyond). Some are even free. So why should you choose ours? Here are a few of the biggest reasons.
- Unique, anthology-style prompts that are fun to write to and broad enough for your work to remain relevant after the competition is over.
- Personalized feedback on every entry from professional editors and writers.
- Cash prizes! For micro, that means $150 for 1st place, $100 for 2nd, and $50 for 3rd!
- A wonderful and supportive community of writers on Facebook and Discord, plus access to a special Discord channel on our server that’s guaranteed judge-free so you can compare prompts, ask questions, and find beta readers for your stories!
- Not to brag, but the YeahWrite Super Challenge was recently named one of Reedsy’s Best Writing Contests of 2022!
Bonus: you retain ownership of your work, meaning you can turn around, polish it up (based on that professional feedback!), and send it out for possible publication in your favorite markets—like many of our participants have gone on to do. Past Super Challenge entrants have published stories and essays in Luna Station Quarterly, Shoreline of Infinity, Sunlight Press, Tall Tale TV, Fiction on the Web, Pure in Heart Stories, Eucalyptus & Rose Literary Magazine, Gingerbread House Literary Magazine, and more!
Where does it happen?
The schedule (and all the details, like the rules) are online on the Super Challenge #25 webpage. But that’s not all – we also have a robust online community on Discord, where participants can ask the admin team questions, find beta readers, and panic in solidarity with other writers. Best of all, no judges are allowed, so you can feel free to speak your mind without worrying about compromising your entry’s anonymity.
When does it take place?
Super Challenge #25 runs from August 5-7, 2022. The shortlist will be announced on August 24, and overall winners and honorable mentions will be announced on September 16.
Who are we?
The YeahWrite team is made up of professional editors, language instructors, and writers! The judges who read your stories have oodles of experience writing and reading for publications (yes, you’ve heard of some of them) and contests. We believe in paying our judges what their time and thoughtful consideration of your work are worth, which is why we charge a registration fee. This helps us ensure that you’ll always have professional, valuable feedback that helps you take your work to the next level even if you don’t win.
How do I enter?
Registration is open until 10pm US Eastern on August 3, 2022.
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.
