What’s Your Excuse?
Every time I have to correct my 10 year old, he has some kind of excuse.
“I was just gonna…”
“But, I was {doing this other thing}…”
“That’s not what I was doing…”
“Sigh. Eye roll.” (Okay, he doesn’t actually say that.)
He can’t do the thing I ask or he wasn’t doing the thing I asked him to stop doing. I’m sure you know this tactic.
If I asked you what keeps you from writing, do you have an excuse? If an editor tells you there was a mistake in your work, do you have a reason for not fixing it? Do you pretend it’s not actually there? Do you roll your eyes where no one can see you? It’s easier to make excuses and give your reasons than it is to do the hard work, learn the thing, overcome the obstacle. I know this, because I do it too. I can give you a million reasons and excuses. I wonder where my kid gets it from.
How about this: Let’s make a pact to stop avoiding the difficult and unpleasant things? I will if you will.
YeahWrite Super Challenge
The third and final round of Super Challenge #4 is officially underway! Good luck to all of our contestants as they frantically finish up their pieces. If you’re ready to get in on the action, registration for Super Challenge #5 (nonfiction) is now open! Also, be sure to sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for upcoming challenges.
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: Saving your darlings
Reading someone else’s journal (unless the entry is about you) is about as exciting as looking at photos of a vacation to a place you’ve never been and didn’t want to go. But our journals are an important record of our lives, and as nonfiction writers we need that record to tell our stories. If you’ve ever wondered what to do with your old journal entries, or wanted to turn them into the kind of stories a reader wants to know more about, Rowan’s got some tips for you right 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 heard The Music in her post about self-doubt. This week’s Prompt Up taken from her essay is: “Something is waiting for me outside.”
May ‘Poetry’ Slam: Constructive Criticism
Writing poetry is great, but reading it is better… right up until you’re asked to give feedback. This month instead of trying out a new form, Rowan gives us her hints and tips about what makes poetry poetry, how to read it, and how to offer feedback that’s more useful than “I thought it was pretty.”
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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