Sprucing Up the Joint
You’ve probably noticed by now that we slapped a fresh coat of paint on the walls of YeahWrite. We may have changed the look, and even how we write the name (two caps, no space), but we also updated the site’s navigation and threw in a few fun things. We’re introducing the new concrit badge which not only lets people know you welcome constructive criticism on your work but also tells them how to do it. We’re bringing a new microprose challenge into the mix soon (stand by for details!). We’ve also created a brand new page for newbies, which will be the perfect place to direct people who aren’t sure how to jump in around here.
I hope you like our new look. The editors have been working really hard to make this happen and I’m so proud of the team here (I always am!). We have a few more changes and announcements coming up, so stay tuned. Thanks for being a part of our community. We truly are so glad you’re here.
YeahWrite Super Challenge
Our third Super Challenge is officially over! Congrats to Robin Quackenbush, Tamara Oliver, & Amy Palen on their top three finishes. Did you miss out on registration? Sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for our Super Challenge #4. Next time, we head back to the land of fiction!
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 Challenge 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.
Melony sent us to the principal’s office in her post this week. The Prompt Up taken from her essay is: “I stared straight into his eyes and drove the lie home.”
March 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 YeahWrite 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.
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