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2-4-6-8

I have the best team in the world.

Seriously, folks. I work with the best people. I’m taking advantage of this week’s microstory prompt to give them a shout-out. There’s nothing better than knowing that somebody has your back; that even if you disagree, there are no lingering hard feelings, no loss of respect; that the ball will keep rolling no matter what. I wish I could tell you everything that goes on behind the scenes to keep this place open, but it would take much more than a paragraph in a blog post to do it. Let’s leave it at this: I love you guys and appreciate you more and more every day.

Coming Monday: who’s on fourth?

It’s not just the editorial team that makes this place work. We wouldn’t be here at all if it weren’t for our writers. For example, this month Arden interviews another one of our participants, Seraphina of Modern Day Dirae. Come back tomorrow to read more about her![/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: phrasing

There are more ways to make your story boring than just having no content. The most interesting story in the world will make a reader’s eyes glaze over if you make every sentence and paragraph the same. Learn to avoid this common mistake with this month’s technique.

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.

Nancy gave us a beautiful introspective look into scarcity and self-denial in her essay Plenty of Saffron. This week’s prompt up is: “The world tilts.”

March poetry slam: haiku

Haiku is not just about counting syllables, and it’s much, much more than 5-7-5. Rowan will teach you to pack this tiny poem with enough imagery and emotion to sustain your soul for days.

This week’s ultimate question: who’s on your team?

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 you to identify a) what makes your team a team–is it a shared goal? a uniform? something else that brings you together?– and b) one or more individuals on that team. Fantasy football, office work assignments, superheroes, softball: it’s all fair game.

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]