It’s always more than you think
I think we’ve mentioned here a time or two that there are some changes coming down the line here at yeah write. Well. The closer we get to unveiling them, the more I know you’re going to love them. I still can’t quite tell you what they are though for one simple reason. Everything is always more than I think.
I mean, I knew they were going to be big and take a lot of work. But still, it’s more than I planned on so it’s taking longer than I planned. You should know, however, that the editors are working super hard (and truly, it’s more them than me) to put this stuff together and I promise it’s all going to be worth it.
Here are the sneak-peeks I can give you though: First, if you hang in the coffeehouse, you might have noticed Nate mention that there’s big stuff and small stuff. And by small, we could maybe say… micro. Ahem. Also, if you’re interested in getting more feedback from your peers, here’s this new thing. The rest? You just have to wait on that.
Until then, tell us in comments what’s eating up all your time!
Yeah write super challenge
The third and final round of super challenge #3 is currently underway! Good luck to all of our participants as they eagerly await the results. Did you miss out on registration? Sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements.
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.
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: constructive criticism
Enough about writing; let’s talk about reading. For this month’s nonfiction know-how, we want you to take a little break from your own writing. We’re always harping on how being a better reader will make you a better writer. But how do you become a better reader, and what do you do with that reading skill once you have it? Well, it’s for those two little words that strike fear and joy into a writer’s heart: constructive criticism. 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 it down to other territories.
Lisa takes us through the steps of a break up in her post, How You Get Divorced. The prompt up taken from her essay is: “You can’t find the shape of yes in your mouth.”
February poetry slam: blank verse
We want to get back to the basics this month. The basics of poetry, that is. It’s been almost two years since we first delved into blank verse for a poetry slam, and while we’d like to pretend all the new folks go back through our writing help section regularly, even we don’t do that. But blank verse is one of the building blocks of great poetry, and even if it’s not your favorite form, there’s tremendous value in learning to do it well. So this month we’re going back to the blank page to write some blank verse. Learn more from Rowan here.
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.
