The other side
Last week was a good one for writers. Wednesday was World Storytelling Day, and Thursday was UNESCO’s World Poetry Day. Thursday was also the International Day for the Elimination of Racism; a day that commemorates and honours the 69 peaceful protestors killed by police in South Africa for opposing apartheid laws. Each year UNESCO sets a different theme and 2019’s is: Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies. Painfully significant after the terror attacks at two mosques on Friday, March 15th in Christchurch, New Zealand.
As a brown person, a person of colour, living in the part of the world where the heinous events happened, where the terrorist came from, it has been an enormously emotional week. What sustained me through the political rhetoric and the outpourings of anger and grief were the stories and poetry of those most affected. Reading the work of Muslim journalists, poets and storytellers as they poured their horror and sadness into words has bouyed me in ways I hadn’t expected. It’s also been a good reminder to seek out work that I may not normally access, to seek out work from perspectives that I’m not familiar with. How can we expect to understand our world if we’re not prepared to see that world through the eyes of others?
My challenge to you this week is to read at least one short work of fiction, one of nonfiction, and one poem by writers from marginalised communities that you don’t belong to–that could be a writer of colour, a First Nations/Indigenous writer, a Black diaspora writer, a writer from a religion you don’t practice, a disabled writer, or a trans or other LGBTQ+ writer.
~Asha
Welcome to Week 415
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 Saturday 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.
Technique Toolbox: Year of Fearless Writing – Finding and working with an editor
Ready to take yourself seriously as a writer? Not sure how, or not convinced you’re ready? We think you can, and are, and will be. This year is our Year of Fearless Writing, where we’re going to focus on the craft of writing, not the art, to take you from “I write” to “I’m a writer.”
Our March focus is on finding and working with a professional editor. No matter how good you are at writing, your work needs the final polish that comes from having an outsider review it for your habitual tics, grammar errors, and blind spots. But not all editing is equal: learn how to find an editor who helps you sound like the best version of you, and take this month’s YFW challenge, right here!
Nonfiction: Optional Prompt
The nonfiction grid has no mandatory prompts. However, each week, we will give you an optional prompt in case that helps your mostly-true story juices flow. This week’s prompt is to write about an encounter with an invertebrate. Have fun!
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
Prompt Up is our mandatory weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here's How It Works!
This year is Marching on (see what I did there?) and we’re looking back to go forward this month! Some of you may remember when there was an Ultimate Question to answer as a prompt for all three grids; Fiction|Poetry, Nonfiction, and Micro. Some of you may also remember a time before Google and online searches, when librarians were our go-to source of all knowledge. In July of 2015 the New York Public Library began releasing its records of the questions that librarians were asked. You can check out all the questions at their Instagram account, at their Twitter account, or by following #LetMeLibrarianThatForYou on Twitter or on Instagram. You can also find compilations of the questions in this article from the Daily Mail, or this one from The Guardian.
For March we’re asking you to answer one of these questions (chosen by the weekly winner) somewhere in your story. We’re leaving the interpretation of the question and how you answer it up to you. You only have one prompt this month so be creative, surprise us, but you must answer the question in a way that will be obvious to others who know the prompt.
The question prompt, chosen by our YeahWrite #413 fiction|poetry winner, Jen, is: Is it proper to go alone to Reno to get a divorce?
View this post on Instagram
Poets: In March we’re working with synesthesia – playing with sensory input to pack additional meaning into your work. Write a poem using this device (learn more about it here). Or you can write a poem that answers our question prompt. Or both!
Poetry Slam - Synesthesia
This month’s poetry “slam” isn’t going to focus on a form, but on a technique. Learn about incorporating a literary device called synesthesia to pack more meaning into your poetry this month!
Loading InLinkz ...
Loading InLinkz ...Looking For Microprose?
Our tiniest challenge with the biggest bang is open the first Wednesday of every month from midnight to 10 p.m.
YeahWrite Super Challenge
Super Challenge #12 (fiction!) is now open for registration! Early registration is open until April 3, so sign up today to take advantage of the discounted rate. Make sure you also sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss 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.
About the author:
Asha keeps moving from one side of the world to the other. Her most recent move has taken her back to Perth, Western Australia where she grew up. She lives near the beach but hates sand between her toes. It’s a real conundrum. Asha began blogging at YeahWrite in October 2014 with this post, and YeahWrite was lucky to pull her on board as a Contributing Editor in December 2016. She is currently working on a novelette that grew from a series of flash fiction pieces. Asha is published in a variety of places including Modern Loss, PANK, Dead Housekeeping, and SheKnows. You can find her inconsistent blogging at Parenting In The Wilderness, or at her fiction blog, FlAsha Tales.
