L’esprit de l’escalier
It’s a French colloquialism for coming up with the perfect response to something well after the moment to say it has passed. We’re here to save you from that feeling, but don’t let our moment pass you by. After seven years, YeahWrite is hosting its final Super Challenge. Will we see you there?
The Super Challenge was originally the brainchild of some very frustrated writers. We were tired of submitting stories to competitions that were more concerned with the volume of entries than the quality of judging. We were tired of paying extra for feedback. And we were tired of finding stories that jammed in prompts so specific and contrived that the stories themselves were useless to us afterward no matter how good we thought they were, because any market we submitted them to would know immediately that they were old competition stories, if we were even lucky enough to meet the other requirements for submission. So in 2016 we launched a competition that ensured fair and competent judging by having only writing professionals as judges, and having each judge read a full group of stories so that nobody got the “low scoring judge penalty.” We offered free feedback from these professionals, and designed anthology-friendly prompts, to make sure writers could take their stories to any market they wanted with the best chance of meeting that market’s standards. And it worked! Super Challenge stories and essays get published every year in a variety of markets.
But it’s not 2016 anymore. The cost of ensuring submissions aren’t AI-spammed, the price of paying a fair wage for judging, and even the costs of hosting our website have gone up exponentially both in labor and in cold hard cash. Meanwhile, we don’t know about you, but our day jobs aren’t paying much more than they did in 2016 and we don’t want to charge a sky-high entry fee. It’s time to put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights, and lock the challenge behind us when we leave.
In the meantime, though, it’s last call. Last chance at solid prompts designed by writers for writers, a tight but not so-tight-you-can’t-eat-dinner-with-your-family deadline, feedback from industry-professional judges to help you get your story publication-ready even if it doesn’t win the round, and cash prizes! Whether you’re an experienced flash fiction writer or you’re just dipping your toes in for the first time, this is one special competition. If you’re not already hooked, let me tell you the same thing again, but in more detail and with more exclamation points. If you already know you want in on this, scroll to the bottom and hit that button to get registered!
I’ve had so much fun participating in Yeah Write’s Super Challenge competitions! The prompts are unique and often surprising. I’ve found the judges’ feedback to be helpful, especially in terms of enhancing the clarity of my stories. My contest entries, in both fiction and CNF, have gone on to find publication in respected journals, anthologies, and podcasts. The prize money is a wonderful bonus, but I believe the most important aspect of the Super Challenge is the sense of community among participants. Definitely worth the modest entry fee!
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). 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 in 1,000 words or fewer. The judges read all entries blind (anonymously) and provide detailed feedback on each piece. The top 10 or so writers move on to a second round with new prompts. And for our final round this time we have a parting gift from us to you: an extra 500 words! That’s right, our final round of our final challenge will have a 1500 word limit! You don’t have to use the extra 500 words if you don’t need ’em, but they’re there if you want ’em.
Super Challenge #29 is for flash fiction, 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: $200 for 1st place, $150 for 2nd, and $100 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!
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 Abyss & Apex, Luna Station Quarterly, Shoreline of Infinity, Sunlight Press, Tall Tale TV, Fiction on the Web, Pure in Heart Stories, 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 #29 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?
The first round of Super Challenge #29 runs from April 5-7, 2024. Shortlisted writers will move on to the final round, which runs April 26-28, 2024. Winners will be announced on May 17.
Who are we?
The YeahWrite team is made up of professional editors, writing instructors, and authors! 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 April 3, 2024. Visit the Super Challenge #29 webpage to complete the registration form.
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.
