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Greetings from Nashville!
I live in New Jersey, right outside Manhattan, which you can probably imagine is very different from the South. I knew within minutes of deplaning that I was far from home when we asked for directions and a polite person called Stacie ma’am twice in three sentence. In Newark, that scene would have played out very differently.
Community
Why am I in Nashville, you didn’t ask? Well, I’m spending the weekend with fellow editor Stacie and former editor Cindy. Four years ago, when I first started participating at yeah write, I just hoped to gain a few followers on my blog. I never would have dreamed that I would develop friendships like I have. But that’s the power of writing, the power of community. We’re like the Olive Garden – when you’re here, you’re family!
You can hone your craft here. You can practice your skills, try out new things, gain some followers. But you can also read and get to know the work of others. Writing is such a solitary craft, but it doesn’t have to be.
Now if you’ll excuse me, the three of us are off to eat life-changing omelettes with another yeah write alum.
Who’s on fourth
This month we invite you to learn more about our very own Cindy Reed! The interview will publish Monday at 12pm ET, but in the meantime, head over to the Reedster Speaks and read all of her awesome.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The basics
Yeah write gives you two competitive challenge grids — nonfiction and fiction|poetry — both of which are unmoderated. Everyone gets to the voting round on Thursday. (Remember, your post must be dated appropriately, not be offensive to our audience, and cannot be over word count.) 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. 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 know-how: writing without crutches
Writing about the most difficult – and exhilarating – times can be cathartic. Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down in the emotion of it all and we “tell, don’t show” or rely on crutches to convey our feelings. It’s those times when we don’t do that when our work stands out. This month, Rowan offers up some advice on avoiding those crutches and really showing the reader how you feel. Fictioneers, there’s some good stuff in here for you, too, so don’t miss this one!
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.
Last week, Danielle told us about a city close to her heart, Detroit Has a Heartbeat. This week’s prompt up taken from her submission is: a misfit amongst other misfits.
May poetry slam: the rondeau
We don’t usually do two similar forms back-to-back, but this month we’re building on the bop with another “song” poem, the rondeau. There’s a few more rules to the rondeau, some rhyming and some scanning you’ll have to do, but it’s a lovely and lyrical form that uses skills you already have and then shakes them up in fifteen lines and a refrain. Give it a try! If you’ve been feeling intimidated by the poetry slams, this is a perfect time to get your feet wet and get some feedback with the unmoderated grid.[/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]
