Did You Get Your Swag Yet?
I would have a picture of me in my swag for you, but I spilled yogurt on the shirt yesterday and now it’s in the laundry (don’t judge me for how backed up the laundry is). The pants are in there as well because I wore them for about 100 days in a row. They are the comfiest pants ever, and I need to get more so I have some for every day of the week. If you haven’t ordered yours but you want to, now’s your chance to do so and get free shipping on orders of $45 or more in the US ($80 international)! Use promo code FREESHIP418 now through May 7 at 10:00 AM. When you get your stuff, don’t forget to send a picture of you in it or with it or using it to editors@yeahwrite.me because we’d love to add it to our gallery!
Once you get done figuring out what you want to order (HINT: ALL OF IT!), go write something for the grids!
Welcome to Week 368
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.
Microprose Challenge Opens Wednesday
This week has the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means: our tiniest challenge will be open for under 24 hours, starting Wednesday at midnight! Every microprose challenge has different rules, so you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled and your fingers fast. Need a quick link to the challenge? This one goes live when the microprose grid opens.
Micro weeks are moderated weeks!
That’s right – with the microprose grid comes moderation on all three grids. That means that on any grid with more than five entries, we’ll be looking for more than just the bare minimum required to meet the submission guidelines. We want to see your best writing, with a strong so-what on the nonfiction grid and smooth prompt integration on the fiction|poetry grid. We’ll also be checking adherence to the poetry slam form, and keeping an eye out for persistent grammar issues in your work. That doesn’t mean you need to write the way your eighth grade English teacher told you, though! That would be pretty boring. Voice is the way in which a writer breaks the rules of grammar deliberately to advance a point. So break the rules – but do it on purpose and know which rule you’re breaking.
It’s not as scary as it sounds! If your writing is struggling in a moderated week, one of our editors will send you a “love letter” explaining where you lost us and making a few editing suggestions. We won’t move you forward to the vote, but you’ll get specific, personal feedback on your writing. And don’t worry. All of our editors have gotten at least one “love letter” on a post too!
So what are we looking for?
- Posts for the nonfiction grid should be anecdotes that contain one clear idea, the reason for telling the story. More than a journal entry, submissions are required to have what we refer to as a “so what.” Posts can also be personal or persuasive essays that give your perspective on the world and communicate a clear idea to the reader. All nonfiction challenge posts must adhere to the basic rules of grammar and punctuation.
- Posts for the fiction|poetry challenge must be self-contained stories or poetry. Chapters or ongoing work can be submitted so long as the submission tells a complete story and does not require knowledge or understanding of the remainder of the work in order to read the individual submission that week.
- Poetry must be structurally sound within the rules of the form chosen; that is, a sonnet must follow the form of a sonnet and not have errors in rhyme and scansion.
- Posts for the microprose grid must adhere to the microprose rules laid out in that month’s challenge.
- And of course, all the ordinary submission guidelines like word count still apply!
Nonfiction Challenge
What Should I Write?
I often have the issue of not knowing what to write, which is part of the reason I find prompts so useful. Still, we had nonfiction prompts all month and I only wrote once. And I can’t remember the last time I wrote fiction, although there was a time I was writing for the fiction grid every week. I seem to be either in the writing groove or not, mostly not over the past couple of years. Some days, I don’t even know what to say in my YeahWrite posts. What do you do when you feel stuck?
Technique Toolbox: What’s in the Box?
Every time you write, there are three groups of people involved: Writers, Readers, and Characters. The quickest way to confuse all three of them is to forget who knows what at which point in your story. Check out our tips and tricks for keeping that straight with a Se7en inspired question in this month’s Technique Toolbox!
A brand new Technique Toolbox premieres on Tuesday, May 1, so check our archives then for what’s up next!
Nonfiction Challenge Grid: Basic YeahWrite Guidelines
Loading InLinkz ...Fiction|Poetry Challenge
Podcast Playlist
In an effort to construct stronger fiction and creative nonfiction pieces, I’ve recently subscribed to a host of writing podcasts. My favourite ones, the ones I’ve found most useful, have a mix of detailed discussions on the craft of writing and interviews with authors who write in different genres. This particular mix works so well because it uses the classic teaching technique of giving instruction, and demonstrating the point with a relevant example. Some of the ones I’m currently listening to are; Grammar Girl: Quick & Dirty Tips, So You Want to be a Writer, and The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt (this is also available on iTunes here). Do you listen to writing podcasts? Are there ones you prefer over others? Let us know in the comments.
April Poetry Slam: Rime Royal
It’s our seventh birthday and we’re celebrating with a seven-line form, the rime royal. This form’s heyday stretched from Chaucer to Shakespeare, but we think it’s time for a revival. With only three rules, what could go wrong? Stretch your poetic muscles and join us this month!
A brand new Poetry Slam premieres on Tuesday, May 1, so check our archives then for what’s up next!
Prompt Up!
Prompt Up is our mandatory weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here's How It Works!
This month, we’re deviating from the path a little. Both prompts are still mandatory, but this month, instead of having a word or phrase that you must use verbatim, you have an emotion to convey through your writing. This prompt is a good challenge to see how well you can show, rather than tell emotion through your writing.
The first prompt is to incorporate into your story, a photo prompt, is this image by Sam Manns at Unsplash.
The second prompt, from YeahWrite #366 fiction|poetry winner Laura Duerr/Ruby Bastille, is to use the following emotion: Anticipation. Remember with the emotion prompt that you shouldn’t use the word itself in your story. Instead, try to convey a sense of the emotion in other ways; show, don’t tell.
Poets: Use the photo prompt, write a poem conveying anticipation, or write a rime royal (or any combination of those three).
Fiction|Poetry Challenge Grid: Basic YeahWrite Guidelines
Loading InLinkz ...YeahWrite Super Challenge
Round Two of Super Challenge #8 is currently underway! Good luck to all our participants as they furiously finish their stories. Did you miss out on registration for this Super Challenge? Make sure you also sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any announcements for the next one.
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.
YeahWrite in the Wild
You read their words every week, but it's not often you get to see the people behind those words. Browse through our gallery and see if you can spot regular contributors or editors.
If you'd like to be featured in the gallery, simply head over to our Swag shop, make your purchase, then when it arrives send us a photo of you in/with your YeahWrite swag to editors@yeahwrite.me.
About the author:
Michelle submitted her first entry to YeahWrite in March 2012 and was brought on staff shortly thereafter. Over the years, Michelle has been an integral figure at YeahWrite, but in 2016, we were thrilled to have her step into the role of Editor-In-Chief. Personally, she has worked in the insurance/employee benefits industry for over twenty years and also fills her time as a freelance writer. 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.
