Helllllllooooooo Writers!
Raise your hand if you’re doing NaNoSomethingMo. Novels, blogs, poetry? November is a big month for writers who want to commit to producing a large volume of words while possibly also cursing, crying, or tearing their hair out. You’re almost to the half-way point, so I hope you’re still going strong and still in relative good health over it. If you opted not to, like me, I hope you’re still making some time to write as often as you can. As we writers know, it’s very hard to finish that piece of work, regardless of length, if we don’t sit down and actually write.
Welcome to Week 344
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 10 p.m.
Nonfiction Challenge
NaNoWriteAtLeastOnce
Speaking of NaNoSomethingMo, I did the blog version a few times and it almost killed me, as I think I mentioned last week. Like Michelle, I’m out this year. But rather than blowing off the entire month, how about doing a little writing? Why not pull a mostly-true story out of your brain archives and submit to our nonfiction grid? You can do ONE piece, right? Feeling like you have to write every day can be intimating. Don’t overcommit if that stresses you out. Start by saying, I’ll do my best to write one thing this week. And then go from there. Hey, that’s good advice. Maybe I should listen to myself and dust off my own keyboard!
Nonfiction Know-How: Rhythm
Writing – like music – demands a strong sense of rhythm if you want to get and hold your audience’s interest. Learn how to drop the beat from Rowan in this month’s Nonfiction Know-How.
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
Try, try, try again
Do you know the story of Robert the Bruce of Scotland and how he watched a spider make its web? The story goes that, the day before the Scots took on the English at Bannockburn in 1314, Robert the Bruce found himself hiding in a cave from his English pursuers. As he stood there, considering the magnitude of the battle, he noticed a spider building its web. Each time the spider would spin a portion of its web, the wind would blow and tear the web. The spider would return to the damaged portion of web, and rebuild. Robert watched as the relentless arachnid returned to each damaged section of the web and patiently rebuilt it, until eventually the web was whole. The moral Robert took away from this little spider was that no matter what obstacles life put in the way of achieving your goals, persistence is the key to getting through.
Do you have a loved story lying around that you haven’t been able to get published? Why not submit it to the grids for some critical feedback, and, like the spider, try again?
November Poetry Slam: Cascade Poem
A cascade poem has no required rhyme or meter scheme, but is built on a simple structure that recycles lines from the first stanza into each succeeding stanza, dictating both the length and content of the poem. Learn more about cascade poems and how to structure them from Rowan.
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.
Janelle celebrated a new life in her essay One Year Later. The Prompt Up taken from her piece is: “I think a part of me wanted to face my past.”
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
The final round of our sixth Super Challenge is officially underway! Best of luck to all our participants as they furiously finish their final submissions. Did you miss out on registration? Sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for the next Super Challenge.
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.
