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Say goodbye to yesterday
Hard as it is to believe, 2015 is almost over. Don’t worry, we’re not going to ask you to share your New Year’s resolutions or your writing goals for 2016. Nobody needs that kind of pressure.
But we are going to ask you to think about the year to come. Is there an essay you’ve been meaning to write? A poem hovering at the edge of your consciousness? Are there words you want to tease out, issues you’d like to tackle? Me, I keep a file of snippets, phrases and ideas I’d like to come back to. This might be a good time to pull it out that file and take another look. Make a list, if it helps. Hang it in a place you can see and refer back to it whenever you’re stuck. And don’t forget, we’re here to support you and cheer you on no matter what.
Stress-free writing
It’s another week of unmoderated grids! Shake off the holiday blues and get typing. As long as you follow our basic guidelines, you’ll be eligible for voting on Thursday.[/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. Most weeks, the challenges are moderated, which means that 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. This week, all of the challenge grids are unmoderated!
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 EST. 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: flashbacks
Flashbacks aren’t just a cool special effect or a momentary sense of deja vu; they’re an effective literary technique that can really help set your story in context. This month we’re encouraging you to try it out in your own writing – but it’s completely optional. Need a little more detail? Read Rowan’s writing help post on flashbacks.
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!
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.
This week’s winning post was Mamarific’s This Old House Is Not Mentally Tough, her post about self acceptance. This week’s Prompt Up is: It will open.
December focus on fiction and poetry slam
Tune in to the fiction|poetry opening post on Tuesday to read all about what’s in store for December. You’ll want to polish up your sword and shield for this month’s focus on fiction–myths! And check it out: we’re revisiting the poetry form that started it all, the tritina.
This week’s ultimate question: who dropped the ball?
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
You can approach this week’s question two ways: a literal dropping of a literal ball (or ball-like object), or as the idiom for making a mistake or allowing something to fail. In either case, make sure we know who is responsible.
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]
