Setting Writing Aside
As I begin to pack up my house to move, I’m trying to first set aside the things I know I won’t need until we reach our new home in early August. It’s pretty easy to tell what I’ll use (flip-flops, mugs) and what I definitely will not (my spring/fall coat). But then, as I sorted through my office, I happened upon the bin that holds my manuscript drafts. If I wanted to, I *could* find the time to work on it. Practically speaking, I probably wouldn’t because I really am busy. For some reason, I hesitate to put it aside and formally declare I’m not even going to think about it for 2 months. But what’s the point in pretending? Who am I fooling?
What about you? Do you lie to yourself about how much writing you’ll get done or do you force yourself to set aside time to work?
Welcome to Week 376
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
Happy Place
By the time you read this, I will be in California wine country, my happy place! I’m so excited. I hope you have some fun plans in your near future as well. At the very least, you can submit a mostly-true story to our nonfiction grid. Remember, there are no required prompts for this grid; you can write about any topic you like. But if you find yourself needing a nudge, feel free to tell us a story that happened in your own happy place. Or if that doesn’t inspire you, feel free to ask for a prompt in the Yeahwrite Coffeehouse on Facebook. Happy Writing!
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
Use Your Words
Horrifying events have unfolded globally in the last week, and I find my attention focused in a multitude of different directions, adrift in a sea of welling emotions. When I feel this way, I turn to poetry. Through poems, I’m reminded of the power, the importance of words to express ourselves. As Rowan said in last week’s round-up, keep writing. Keep putting your thoughts, your feelings, your messages into the world. As writers, it is through our words that the world will know us — this is our legacy.
By words we learn thoughts, and by thoughts we learn life — Jean Baptiste Girard
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: keys.
The second prompt, from YeahWrite #374 fiction|poetry winner MM Schreier, is to use the following sentence as either the first or the final sentence of your story: “His actions all felt rather meaningless now.”
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.
Have the grids opened yet? It says the collection has closed for the poetry grid.
Hello Namratha! We apologize for that. It was a mistake on our end! The dates have been fixed so you should be able to submit now. Thanks for the heads up!