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Writers’ high
I am just coming down off of a week-long writing binge, and I feel great. Eight hours a day of solid writing time? What more could you ask for?
On the other hand–don’t everyone yell at once–there’s more to life than writing. After all, where do we find the material we need to create meaningful character interactions, natural dialogue and examples of conflict? How can we tell stories that connect without connecting to our surroundings? November is a busy month. I know you have deadlines and writing goals and story arcs to complete. But in spite of all the pressure to write-write-write, you still need to get out, feel the rain on your face, have actual conversations (in person or online), and give yourself a chance to breathe.
Most of all, don’t forget the people in your lives who fulfill that other part of you: your spouses, children, friends, lovers, even acquaintances who remember to drop a kind word now and then. Take someone out for coffee, pick up the phone, go to a concert. It will do your mind–and your heart–a world of good.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The basics
Yeah write gives you three competitive challenge grids — nonfiction, fiction|poetry and microstories — all of which are moderated. Check them out below. Submissions that meet our guidelines will be moved to the voting grid; those that do not will get a personal love letter from our submissions editor explaining why. Got a question? E-mail us, tweet us, ping us on Facebook, or visit our online community, the yeah write coffeehouse. You can learn more about yeah write in our FAQ.
The rules
Please make sure you are familiar with our submission guidelines before you enter. We don’t have a lot of rules, but we do enforce them across the board. We’d hate to see anyone get disqualified by a technicality.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Bring us your personal essays and creative nonfiction!
The nonfiction challenge grid opens on Monday at midnight EDT. This is the best place on the ‘net to showcase your best writing. Make us laugh, make us cry, make us think, and above all: make us care.
Nonfiction theme of the month: dialogue
This month we are talking about talking. Tune in and see what Rowan has to say, and if you’re so inclined, feel free to incorporate this optional theme into one or more of your posts this month.
Is fiction more your thing?
The fiction|poetry grid opens on Tuesday. Grab a mic and join our monthly poetry slam, focus on fiction or check out our new Prompt Up! That’s right. We now have three…count ’em, THREE features to help you generate posts for the NoMo challenge:
Introducing Prompt Up!
Prompt Up is our new optional weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here’s how it works: we choose a sentence prompt from last week’s winning nonfiction post and announce it in the kick-off. It’s your job to use that prompt as the first sentence in your poem or story and then run with it. The prompt is just a springboard, though: feel free to keep it as your first sentence, move it somewhere else, change it, or yank it out completely.
Last week’s nonfiction winner was Stacie with her post The Gardener, a personal essay about the day she found out the meaning of a small garden in a public space. This week’s Prompt Up taken from that essay is: I didn’t look back.
Focus on fiction
The end of the world no longer nigh, it’s already happened. This month’s focus on fiction shifts from genre to setting as we explore dystopias.
Poetry slam
Love is in the air, and we’re taking on a new form of love poem called the ghazal.
This week’s ultimate question: what did you promise them?
Answer this question in exactly 42 words for the microstory challenge, or use it to inspire your submission to the other competitive grids. The microstory challenge opens on Wednesday.
Tips for your microstories
This week, we’re exploring your fidelity, and the third person neutral pronoun. If it bothers you, go ahead and interpret “them” as plural, but we won’t hold you to that.
To give us a good answer, you’ll need to tell us two things: what you promised, and to whom the promise was made. You can promise to do or be, and you can promise it to any third-party responsive entity, singular or plural. That means you can make a promise to your mom, your dog, an alien, or the collective student body of Yale, but you can’t make a promise to yourself or your writing desk. (The raven is fair game, though.)
Remember: do not include the question in your title or your answer. Do not include extra words – no footnotes, no explanations, no shout-outs. Do not rely on your word processor or blog to give you an accurate word count. COUNT YOUR WORDS WITH YOUR EYES. Posts that do not meet these standards will not be moved to the voting grid.
Questions? Want to talk it through? Grab a latte at the coffeehouse and chat with your fellow yeah writers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Winners’ round-up
In case you missed them, you can find last week’s yeah write staff picks and crowd favorites all laid out for you on Friday’s winners’ post. Leave the winners some love in the comments. They will love you right back, we guarantee it.
Weekend writing showcase
The weekend’s not over: the moonshine grid is still open. Have something to add? Old posts and new are welcome. No moderation, no voting. It’s a laid-back relaxed kind of place. Just leave your commercial or sponsored posts at home. Drop by, share your work, and while you’re there, visit your fellow yeah writers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
