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We’re all winners
It’s Superbowl Sunday. But you’re here at yeah write, which means you win at writing. Yay, you!
It’s a friendly competition
While I love me some sports, I’ll spare you the metaphors. (Whisper note: I’m writing this while watching my Ohio University Bobcats play b-ball, currently on a streak of three-pointers as they edge closer to a win.) Suffice it to say that yeah write is all about bringing our best—microstories, short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction—to the writing challenge grid. But you gotta come back, week after week, to get the most out of your writing practice. Be sure to check out some of our special features this month: learn about introspection in nonfiction or try your hand at Spenserian sonnets for the poetry slam. Read on for details.[/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: introspection
Sometimes the biggest changes in our lives are sparked by the smallest things. It’s natural to want to share your moment of epiphany, but how do you fit a thousand words into two seconds without becoming pedantic and repetitive? Rowan tells you all about it here.
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, change it, or float down it to other territories.
Erica discussed the challenges of being in a relationship with someone who has OCD in her post keeping one hand to myself. This week’s Prompt Up from that essay is: I may have to start making my bed.
February poetry slam: Spenserian sonnets
When we think of sonnets, Shakespeare usually comes to mind. But The Bard isn’t the only one to play with the form. This month we’re revisiting sonnets, but with a twist. We’ll be writing our 14 lines Edmund Spenser-style. Look for Rowan’s post here.
This week’s ultimate question: where are your socks?
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
I know it seems obvious, but what we’re looking for this week is the current location of your socks.
You can answer this one in the first or third person (“my socks” or “his socks”) but it has to be present tense. We want to know where they are now, not where they were or will be. A better answer will contain, implicitly or explicitly, who the socks belong to. When you’re writing, consider whether your answer sounds direct. “Jerry’s socks are in my car” seems like an answer, but if you’re writing in first person, is the reader/asker expecting to know where Jerry’s socks are, or yours?
On the other hand, both the location and the socks can be literal or figurative, so long as they’re something that is generally recognized as a location or socks. That is, they can be your gym socks, the crust of mud that covers your feet to the ankles, or the white markings on your kitten’s feet. They might be in your locker, down the drain, or “over the hills and far away.” Heck, we’re not going to strictly limit you to “socks” even if you’re feeling literal: you can use socks, stockings, or hose. What you can’t do: no leggings! Socks cover your feet.
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.[/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]
