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Happy New Year!
I, for one, am happy to put 2015 behind me. How about you?
I’m not saying there weren’t some great things that happened last year. I got to meet some amazing people and go to some amazing events – sometimes at the same time. (Long Beach Comic Con, I’m talking about you.) But this year, I’m hoping for more. More writers on the grids. More meet-ups and hang-outs with fellow yeah writers. More conversations in the coffeehouse and more opportunities to dig deep for the best damn writing we’ve got. Let’s shine this year, yeah writers. Invite your friends to join us. Start ’em small, on the micro grid. It can be a gateway to bigger things. If they won’t write, get them reading, commenting and voting–and spreading the word. We’d love to end this next year even bigger, better and more fabulous than the last one.
Start the New Year with some good feels
Giving up booze for 2016? Cigarettes? Unicorn-collecting? I bet your pocketbook will thank you. If you’re looking for a better home for your spare change, please consider becoming a yeah write member or donating to support the site. Members get some great perks and help us keep this place open. Yeah write is 100% volunteer-run; membership fees are used to pay the bills, not the staff. It’s a labor of love. If you love us too–and we know some of you do–please consider joining.[/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 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: narrative hook
The narrative hook is exactly what it sounds like – the thing that grabs the reader’s attention and keeps them wanting more. This month–with Rowan’s help–we’re going to help you play around with the concept. It’s a great complement to the oh-so-important “so what.”
Is fiction more your thing?
The fiction|poetry grid opens on Tuesday. Grab a mic and join our monthly poetry slam or check out our weekly prompt up!
Prompt up!
Prompt up is our 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 kickoff. 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 nonfiction essay is I’ll Take You There by Meg. In it she tells of the Very Important Person who taught her how music can add to one’s daily life, so this week’s Prompt Up stood out to me: The music throws me back a bit harder than I expect.
January poetry slam: aubade
It’s the dawn of a new year, and so this month’s poetry slam is particularly fitting. An aubade is a love poem or song – in any form – welcoming or lamenting the arrival of the dawn. It’s the poem that you write for your lover after you slip out the window at sunrise, or the song, full of joy or sorrow, that you sing for the arrival of the dawn. Need more to get started? Rowan has all the details for you.
This week’s ultimate question: when will the icicle melt?
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’s question requires a real or figurative icicle, and the conditions under which it will melt, literally or figuratively. Maybe you are snowed in and hoping to get out before spring training begins. Maybe you have forgotten how to love. Baby, it’s cold outside–give us some heat.
Remember: do not include the question in your title or your answer. Do not include extra words – no footnotes (except for photo credits), 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.
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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]
