Speaking of Dialogue…

The Write Life is a great resource for all things writing. I get their emails so I often have some words of wisdom waiting for me when I finally get around to cleaning up my email. They recently sent out some information about writing dialogue that I thought was useful and pretty succinct (I’ve got limited time, friend). So take a look if you’re so inclined. Also, they make a little joke about ejaculation so if you’re secretly a 12-year-old like I am, perhaps you’ll also giggle.

Welcome to Week 358

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

Oh Hi From Key West, Florida, the warm part of the Eastern USA!

OMG how can I possibly follow Michelle’s ejaculation comment? I won’t because I’m short on time and also sex jokes. I’m not actually in Key West as I’m writing this, but when you read it, I will be. It’s like my title is in the future! Whoa. I’d really like it if you kept writing while I relax this week. After all, I’ll have plenty of time to read!

Technique Toolbox: Design

There’s no point in writing – at least, not in writing and posting your writing online – if nobody’s reading it. Find out some things you might be doing to accidentally make your writing harder to read in this month’s Technique Toolbox, where Rowan unpacks blog design and reader interface for everyone!

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!

Fiction|Poetry Challenge

WAKANDA FOREVER!

I’ve just come home from seeing Black Panther with my eldest, and I’m so excited and fulfilled (no spoilers, I promise)! The sets and costumes were visually opulent. The acting was wonderfully understated, natural, and captivating. The vision of a never-colonised, technologically advanced, futuristic African nation was inspirational. Listening to people speak in Xhosa organically and unapologetically in a major U.S. film was thrilling. The actors were all beautiful beyond measure (yes, even Bilbo and Gollum).

If all of this wasn’t wonderful enough, the storytelling was exquisite. It was a rich, mesmerising tale of power and challenge, of right and wrong, of different paths and personalities, of cultural clashes and co-operation, of empires and revolutions, all told in the most compelling non-Western ways. The writers and director used traditional pan-African and non-Western story telling methodologies, themes, and narrative arcs (shoutout to the Hanuman reference!). There was intrigue, magic, conference with dead ancestors, and travel to the afterlife, all surrounded by the most incredible technology fuelled by vibranium. It was a terrific validation of so many narratives and storytelling styles we don’t often see coming out of Hollywood. And it’s a good reminder to celebrate the narrative styles that you know, and to learn some of the ones you don’t.

February Poetry Slam: Kyrielle

We know February is traditionally given over to sonnets, but Rowan hates sonnets. What’s a poet to do? Well, our answer is to explore a different rhyming, metered form, the kyrielle. Taken from old church songs, the kyrielle has not only a rhyme but a refrain, which saves you the trouble of writing at least one line per stanza. Get lyrical this month in about 12 lines.

Prompt Up!

Prompt Up is our weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here’s how it works:

For Fiction

• there will be two prompts each week: a prompt generated by the YeahWrite editors and a prompt generated by a previous winner of the fiction|poetry challenge. That’s right! Winners decide one of the prompts! If you’re a crowd fave winner on the fiction|poetry grid, keep an eye out for an email from us. If we don’t hear back from you by the deadline, we’ll pick our own prompt, and what fun is that? Generally, winners will decide the prompt for the challenge two after the one they won (so 349 picks 351, and so forth).
• the two prompts are MANDATORY for flash fiction submissions.
• the two prompt styles will vary month to month; they may include emotions, specific words, a specific sentence, genres, photographs, etc. There is no limit to how we can change it up.
• the prompts will be posted in the kick-off on Sunday. Submissions will be accepted through Wednesday at 10pm EST (same as before). Everyone will have a little less than 4 days to write and edit a story.
• YeahWrite editors reserve the right to alter the winner’s prompt. We’ll give you some suggestions for what makes a prompt inspiring and functional, but we’ve noticed that some work better than others, and if we think folks will struggle with yours, we might need to tweak it.

For Poetry

• You’ll need to incorporate at least one of the three possible prompts. Each fiction prompt counts as a single prompt, and the poetry slam counts as a prompt.
• This means you can write poetry about one of the two fiction prompts, in any form you like, or about anything you like, using the form given in that month’s poetry slam.
• Yes, you can use more than one of our prompts in your poem!

We’re very excited about our new challenge, and we hope you are, too!

The first prompt, a photo prompt, is:

Image credit: Skitterphoto/Pexels

The second prompt, a three-word prompt, comes from YeahWrite #356 Fiction|Poetry winner, MM Schreier. The three words that your story must contain are: “astonish, finite, crimson.”

Poets: write a poem that incorporates the photo prompt, a poem that includes all three words of the word prompt (“astonish, finite, and crimson“), or a kyrielle poem.

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!

YeahWrite Super Challenge

The second round of Super Challenge #7 is currently underway! Good luck to all our participants as they anxiously await their results. Did you miss out on registration? Well you’re in luck! Registration for Super Challenge 8 opens THIS WEEK! Make sure you also 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.