Look out below!
Last week we launched a new format for the Weekly Writing Challenges. Instead of hunting all over for your grid to submit your work or having to remember what day it is to know if your challenge is open, we’ve put everything into one streamlined kickoff post each Sunday (that’s the thing you’re reading right now).
Yesterday, we hosted our first online class, Summaries for Pitch and Page, hosted by our favorite writing expert, Rowan. If you missed it, you’ll be able to purchase after-the-fact access to a class replay. Stay tuned for more classes and resources to help get you where you want to be as a writer.
If you’re new here, welcome! We hope you’ll poke around a bit and get to know us. Then hop onto one of our grids by submitting your nonfiction, fiction, or poetry. We can’t wait to get to know you, too!
Ready for this week’s details? Look no further; they’re directly below!
Welcome to Week #339
We’re kicking off the week in style at YeahWrite with both our competitive challenge grids in one post, plus prompts, tips, tricks, and more. You asked, we answered! Keep scrolling down cause it’s all right here.
Submissions for this week’s challenges open on Monday at 12 midnight and close on Wednesday at 10pm ET. Voting will then open immediately thereafter and close on Thursday at 10pm ET. The winners, as always, will be celebrated on Friday.
Having trouble getting started? Hop on over to our quick guide. And don’t forget to doublecheck the full submission guidelines before you hit that button.
Looking For Microprose?
Our tiniest challenge with the biggest bang is open the first Wednesday of every month from midnight to 10pm ET.
Nonfiction Challenge
Reading and Writing
I wish I would write again. I can’t remember the last time I was on any YeahWrite grid, but it’s been a long time. I also have an idea for a novel, which I can’t seem to start, although the sheer scope of that project is so daunting I might remain frozen forever. For now, I am reading instead. Stephen King once said, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” At least I’m doing one thing right. For those of you who haven’t lost your writing mojo, go forth and populate the grids! Tell your stories. Speak your truths. I promise to read what you write.
Nonfiction Know-How: Foreshadowing
“No spoilers” is the perennial cry of the TV viewer. But spoilers can be your best friend in writing. Learn how to effectively fore (and five) shadow in this month’s Nonfiction Know-How. Get your Nonfiction Know-How right here.
Nonfiction challenge grid:
Basic YeahWrite guidelines: 750 word limit; your entry can be dated no earlier than this past Sunday; nonfiction personal or persuasive essay, creative opinion piece or mostly true story based on actual events.
Check the submission guidelines for our full set of rules. If you’re not sure how to link up, hop over to our quick tutorial for getting started at YeahWrite! Otherwise, click that blue button when the challenge is open, and good luck! Come back to vote starting Wednesday at 10pm, and check out our winners on Friday!
Loading InLinkz ...Fiction|Poetry Challenge
This Unexpectedly Turned Into a Paragraph About Leah Remini
Writing takes a lot of will power. I think we’ve all learned that getting your butt in the seat is the crucial part. There’s never time, or you don’t know what you’d write about, or a King Of Queens marathon is on TBS. But the truth is it takes five seconds to write a sentence. Seven tops if you want that sentence to be any good. You can write a sentence while you’re watching Leah Remini. You can even write a sentence ABOUT Leah Remini. One sentence can easily lead to a second, and before you know it you’ve written half a page. Chances are good that in that half a page there is a word or phrase that will make you think, “I can write a whole essay on this” and then excitement revs your engines. For instance, did you know she also has a documentary about her time in the Church of Scientology? Boom. Essay subject. And all it took was a butt in a seat.
October Poetry Slam Techtober: Point of View
If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between first, second, and third person is – and why you should care – October’s technique post is for you. Learn about points of view, narrative style, and when to use which from Rowan this month!
Prompt Up!
Prompt Up is our optional weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here’s how it works: we choose a sentence prompt from last week’s winning nonfiction post. It’s your job to use that prompt in your poem or story and then run with it. The prompt is just a springboard, though: feel free to use it as your first sentence, move it, change it, or float it down to other territories.
Rowan gave us a recipe for a sweet treat while consoling a friend in her essay How To Bake Chocolate Chip Cookies. This week’s prompt taken from her piece is : “You just need to let her know you’re listening.”
Fiction|poetry challenge grid:
Basic YeahWrite guidelines: 750 word limit; your entry can be dated no earlier than this past Sunday; fiction or poetry only.
Check the submission guidelines for our full set of rules. If you’re not sure how to link up, hop over to our quick tutorial for getting started at YeahWrite! Otherwise, click that blue button when the challenge is open, and good luck! Come back to vote starting Wednesday at 10pm, and check out our winners on Friday!
Loading InLinkz ...YeahWrite Super Challenge
Our fifth Super Challenge is officially over! Congrats to our winners! Did you miss out? Sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for Super Challenge #6. Registration is open now!!!
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 last Friday’s winners’ post. Leave the winners some love in the comments. They will love you right back, we guarantee it.
Last call: This week’s Weekend Writing Showcase is still open for business until the challenge grids start at midnight! 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:
Michelle submitted her first entry to YeahWrite in March 2012 and they haven’t been able to get rid of her since. After nearly 20 years in the insurance/employee benefits industry, she decided to give it all up to pursue writing full time. Her work has been featured on The Huffington Post and xoJane, as well as several local sites near her northern NJ home. She blogs at Michelle Longo.
