Penny for Your Thoughts?
You know how we roll around here, so before we embark on more changes, let me ask you this: What do you love about the YeahWrite posts? I’m talking kickoff, voting, winners, weekend – all of them! What could you do without? Send your thoughts to editors@yeahwrite.me!
Welcome to Week 375
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
Bunny Rescue
I have two baby bunny nests in my backyard, one of which definitely contains bunnies since I just removed one from my dog’s mouth five minutes ago. Don’t worry though. I acted fast and the bunny is undamaged and back in its nest with at least one sibling. I am going to have to be very vigilant when the dogs are in the yard, at least until the bunnies graduate from nestling status.
On another note, are you planning to write a mostly-true story for the nonfiction grid this week? We don’t have mandatory prompts, so you can write about any subject you want. But if you need a little nudge, how about a story about bunnies or any encounter with a wild animal? Alternatively, feel free to ask for prompts in the YeahWrite Coffeehouse on Facebook!
Technique Toolbox: Writing About Writing (Part II)
Ready to start reading critically, and learning how to describe what you see when you do read? Check out Part II of our vocabulary and skill-building critique series in this month’s Technique Toolbox! We’re focusing on structural and grammatical issues this month, and teaching you gentle ways to break the news to your friend that their writing needs a little polish, and where.
Nonfiction Challenge Grid: Basic YeahWrite Guidelines
Loading InLinkz ...Fiction|Poetry Challenge
The Needle Always Points North
I’m a prompt guy. I won’t write for months on end, but give me a prompt and I’ll churn something out in a few days…
Wait, that’s not necessarily true. Some prompts are so expansive that they feel to me like drifting on a sea instead of the open ocean of writing with no prompt at all. “Write a story that takes place in Canada.” “Write a story where a character sneezes.” See what I mean? With prompts like that it will take me a while to find a direction to paddle to a plot. And seeing as our challenge is only 4 days long we can use some sort of compass to get to a story idea. That’s what this month’s object prompt is functioning as: a compass.
June Poetry Slam: Ae Freislighe
Who needs meter when you’ve got rhyme? In this month’s poetry slam we’re working with syllabic quatrains to build an ae freislighe (say “aye freshly”), an Irish poetry form with a straightforward rhyme scheme and a twist at the end. Join us!
Prompt Up!
Prompt Up is our mandatory weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here's How It Works!
June is all about being smooth. We’re giving you two prompts that need to be worked into your story without sticking out like a broken mop in a garbage bag. One way to know if you’re smooth is to leave off any notes that tell people the prompts you wrote to. That way if someone leaves a comment saying, “I’m not sure why there are piggy banks in your story at all” (ahem–that might be a direct quote) then you know your story still needs some fine-tuning.
The first prompt to incorporate into your story is the following object: a magic wand.
The second prompt, from YeahWrite #373 fiction|poetry winner Oonagh, is to use the following sentence as either the first or the final sentence of your story: She missed the bus.
We’ll let you decide how much you want to practice prompt inclusion. Stronger pieces will match the verb tense and writing style of the sentence prompt, and use it verbatim rather than adding words. They will also use the object prompt in an integral way. In other words, in a way that the story wouldn’t make sense if the object were replaced with another. You may add quotations around the sentence, but those wanting a challenge may want to leave the sentence as is and find a way to work around it.
Poets: Use the object prompt, write a poem using the required sentence, or write an ae freislighe (or any combination of those three).
Fiction|Poetry Challenge Grid: Basic YeahWrite Guidelines
Loading InLinkz ...YeahWrite Super Challenge
Early (discounted!) registration for Super Challenge #9 (nonfiction) is open now! Make sure you also sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any Super Challenge announcements.
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.
