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When you can’t make art
This has been a difficult time for many. I find that artists, regardless of the medium they choose, are people who feel things deeply. While this may help fuel their creativity, it can also cause them to be drained and emotionally fatigued. Does this sound like you?
When it all gets to be too much, many of us retreat. Some of us may feel like stepping away from creating is like a failure, but I’m going to suggest something different. Taking time for self-care and to recharge your spirit is essential. When you can’t create, I suggest consuming art. Hit the museum or the library. Visit your local comic shop. If the weather is agreeable, get out for a hike and take in the beauty that nature has created for you. And when that’s all still too much, go to a movie.* Binge Netflix.** Because when you consume what others have made, it can fill you with the energy and inspiration you need to carry on.
*This is also a good excuse for popcorn
**Basically all the snacks.
And if your wallet allows, support your local artists. Watch an independent film or a web series. Buy from local stores. Throw some cash at these creators if you can. Soon enough, you’ll be making your art again.
Yeah write super challenge
The first round of super challenge #3 is currently underway! Good luck to all of our participants as they furiously finish up their essays. Did you miss out on registration? Sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements.[/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: connections
This month’s nonfiction know-how is learning the difference between navelgazing and reaching outward. That is, as storytellers we’re at our finest when it’s not about us, it’s about the reader. So when you write an introspective post, think about saying instead of “am I the only one who feels like this,” you should be saying “I feel like this too, you are not alone.” Learn more from Rowan 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 announce a sentence prompt from last week’s winning nonfiction Post. It’s your job to use that prompt in your story or poem in some way. Feel free to use it as your first sentence, move it somewhere else, change it, or float down it to other territories.
Uma’s essay, Awaiting Colours of Change, took home first place last week on the nonfiction grid. This week’s prompt up taken from her essay is: “I had to rush. The bus was here.”
January poetry slam: the couplet
A good couplet acts almost like a microstory. Are you able to set up a scene and an interaction all in the space of two lines? For this month’s slam, you’ll be trying to do just that. Learn more from Rowan here.*
*Check out our website on February 1st to find out what our next nonfiction know-how and poetry slam will be![/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 yeah write weekend writing showcase 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]
