Is it Sunday again already?
Memorial Day, a federal holiday here in the US, was last Monday, so most people had the day off from work. That made it a short week at my day job. I don’t know about you, but short weeks somehow always feel longer than regular weeks (which already feel long enough, amirite?) And somehow, my weekend has seemed extra short as well.
There was a time in my life when a wonky week meant I had more to write about. I could whip a post out of the nonsense, or it jogged some memory of some other past nonsense and a memoir chapter was born. Lately? I don’t know. I’d kind of just like to go to bed with a bowl of spaghetti. (Don’t try to tell me you don’t eat food in bed. I don’t buy it.)
So, I’m going to keep this short and sweet and pose a question to you: When life gets all wonky, what happens to your writing? Do you find inspiration in the chaos? Do you let your writing practice slide while you catch your breath? Do you just manage to stay on track while a storm swirls around you like some sort of superhero? Your response to disaster in comments.
Microprose is here! Microprose is here!
The first Wednesday of the month means Microprose! Our lightning fast challenge is back this week. Are you excited? You’ll have 22 hours to give us your best short-short story. We’ll announce the prompt and word count at midnight (US Eastern time) in a special Wednesday post, so stay tuned! If you’re new to Micro or just want a refresher, we’ve got you covered.
YeahWrite Super Challenge
Our fourth Super Challenge is officially over! Congrats to Eva Schultz, Jennifer Noga Davinroy, and Trish Tuthill on their top three finishes. Did you miss out on registration? Don’t fret! Early (discounted!) 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: Think Outside the Thesaurus
Word overuse plagues most writers but the solution isn’t always as simple as grabbing a thesaurus. Learn how to avoid the most common traps in both overuse and trying to correct overuse in this month’s Nonfiction Know-How. Fictioneers, you might want to glance at this one, too! 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.
Sarasid told us what immigration has cost her in her essay The Real Price. This week’s prompt taken from her post is: “The dreaded phone rang.”
June Poetry Slam: Filk
On summer (or winter) vacation and looking for a new song to sing around the fire? How about a new song to an old tune? We’re combining poetry and music in this month’s slam as we teach you to write a filk song. Sure, it’s just a sneaky way to make you write a poem that rhymes and scans, but it’s also a fun way to apply everything you know about poetry and show off a little in the process! 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.
About the author:
Whenever I have a twist in my life, I write more than before. My writings never drowned away in chaos. Mostly, I spend my time with books, going for long walks alone, and putting all of my intakes in a diary. However, I do not share my writings with people. I feel my words chirp to people around me like an insect chirping in autumn. They are way too busy. I have abandoned my several paid blogs and tossed my journals into Indus River. This proves that I get weak when a storm whirls around me. I am no hero.
I love that you keep writing through chaos, even if you don’t show anyone. That keeps your practice up without having to worry about form, grammar and other nuances. Excellent!
I find it kind of sad that no-one left a comment so even though it’s late I’ll post one anyway.
When things are rough I always try to find the bright side of life and I try to have at least one thing to look forward to each day, if there isn’t something then I’ll create it like I’ll say “if I go to school and work, in the evening I can play overwatch” or “I’m seeing this person today so that’s cool”.
When I’m really not OK I try to make life as simple as possible and kind of leave all the messy stuff to one side and that includes writing unless I get a great inspiration. I can spend days sitting on my bed watching videos and films, playing and eating whatever I have lying around. I try not to though because I know being with friends can help, I’m lucky enough to live 5mins away from uni and I know there will almost always be friends there at any time ^^
I like writing though so I’m trying to get back into it.
That sounds like a great plan! I think sometimes things will go wrong and writing can be cathartic, and other times it’s just one more thing to do. Living 5 minutes from friends is fantastic! Thanks for responding!