The Most Important Thing

You can have all the tools in the world, but they mean nothing if you’re missing one critical element every writer needs: snacks. I live in a house with an 11-year-old, so there’s no shortage of snacks here. However, trapped in a house, trying to be productive, with only the wrong snacks available can seriously hamper your creativity. Different projects call for different snacks, and individual tastes also play a role. So, tell me, what snacks do you need to get your writing done?

Welcome to Week 388

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

Allwritey

Well, I didn’t write last week even though I’d been writey for a couple of weeks. Hmmm, maybe I didn’t have the right snacks. When my writing stalls, often it’s because I’m reading a lot. Last week, I had a book club deadline so I read during the time I might have written. I also tend to read when I feel uninspired to write. At least I’m looking at words and how they’re put together, what works and what doesn’t. If you feel writey, you can write about whatever you want as there are no mandatory prompts on the nonfiction grid. If you’d like an idea, feel free to ask in the YeahWrite Coffeehouse on Facebook.

Technique Toolbox: Pseudonyms

Every writer wants to build a brand – but what’s your brand name? Should you use your legal name? Pick a pseudonym? When and why might you want to use a name that isn’t your legal name, and how do you pick a good one? This month’s Technique Toolbox has you covered!

Nonfiction Challenge Grid:  Basic YeahWrite Guidelines

Fiction|Poetry Challenge

A Writer Is A Chameleon

Blending your own writing into a pre-determined opening sentence isn’t easy.

The easy way to use it is as a summary statement that foreshadows events at the end of the story. But then it must be a major theme of your piece. When I use a prompt sentence that way I often forget it’s there and flitter away from the crux of the prompt. Stories that do well in the vote will find a way to come back to the sentence and use it to resolve the story.

Writers who find creative ways to use the statement, like Michelle did in last week’s challenge, will also do well in the vote. She embraced the point of view of a queen and used the prompt as a sort of internal criticism of an underling.

This week, pay special attention to fitting the prompt sentence in seamlessly. I promise it will pay off in any future contests you enter.

September Poetry Slam: The Golden Shovel

With Back-to-School in full swing, we’re learning about two poems for the price of one in this month’s Slam. The Golden Shovel requires two things: a line from an existing poem, and a little patience to write your own using those words as a prompt. Join us!

Prompt Up!

Prompt Up is our mandatory weekly writing prompts for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here's How It Works!

In September we’re experimenting with voice. The first prompt is a mandatory opening sentence. Your job is to match your writing to it. If they use a word or phrase you would never use, then create a writing style that would use that phrase.

The first prompt, from YeahWrite #386 fiction|poetry winner Margaret, is: Garrett wasn’t what Susan expected.

The second prompt is the Narrator’s Point of View. It will always be a specific person, animal, or object. This mandatory prompt may or may not have a descriptor attached. For instance, the prompt could be “the main character’s dog” or it could be “the main character’s sarcastic dog.” The Narrator’s Point of View does not have to be a character in the story, but it should affect the way the story is told.

The second prompt, from the YeahWrite editors, is: a sarcastic inanimate object.

Poets: Write a poem using the opening line somewhere in your work, or write a poem written from the Narrator’s POV, or use the opening line to write a Golden Shovel poem.

Fiction|Poetry Challenge Grid:  Basic YeahWrite Guidelines

YeahWrite Super Challenge

Super Challenge #10 (fiction) is now open for registration – Sign up today! 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 YeahWriters.

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.

michelle@yeahwrite.me