slash-and-burn
The last few months have been tumultuous for me.
In January, I quit both running and attending the book club I’ve helmed for 14 years. I significantly dialed back other groups I’m heavily involved in. I seriously considered at times quitting my job, some hobbies, and, yes, even YeahWrite. It definitely scared me. I had a lot of heart-to-hearts with myself and my loved ones about depression. And that could have been a factor—it was a very long winter—but I don’t think so. I still genuinely looked forward to very specific things: holidays with family, going to the movies with my partner, getting together with close friends. I realized all the things I wanted to burn down were writing-related. I started calling what I was feeling “write-hate.”
A glimmer of relief came last month when I joined an in-person LGBTQIA+ writing community. I met an Iranian screenwriter, a novelist writing about the Iroquois Theater fire of Chicago, a playwright who only casts animals as their characters. I met a memoirist, a fellow poet, a spoken word artist. So many new perspectives I hadn’t been exposed to yet. In the few conversations I’ve had with them since our first meeting, I’ve felt my motivation returning.
So I’m trying to reframe my write-hate as normal-ish. A sign of growth, like in slash-and-burn agriculture: the cinders from the burned vegetation replenish the nutrients in the soil and make the future crops heartier.
-Nate
Welcome to Week 421
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 – Your Bio and Website
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.”
In May we’re talking about you and how you can get more people to do that. That means having a meaningful bio and website. You’ll need to tell people who you are and what you write, and what’s better than having all that information at your fingertips any time you want it? Plus, the next time someone asks “what do you write? would I have read it?” at a cocktail party you can shrug and say breezily “oh, it’s all on my website” and hand them your card with the URL on it. Wait… you do have cards, right?
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. With May Day just past, we’re thinking about work: what’s something unfair that’s happened to you while working?* How did you handle it? (And if you want to write a persuasive essay, how do you keep that from happening to someone else?)
*Reminder: if your story is a #MeToo story, please consider adding a content warning so that your readers can engage with it when they have the time and energy to give it the best read.
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
Prompt Up is our mandatory weekly writing prompts for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here's How It Works!
It’s May, and we’re sticking to the two-prompt format. The first will be an object; the second will be a setting. Both prompts are mandatory for short story submissions.
The object prompt, chosen by our YeahWrite #419 fiction|poetry winner, Ruby Bastille, is: a cast iron skillet. The degree to which you incorporate this object into the plot is up to you, but objects that are integral to the story are more likely to impress the editors.
The setting prompt, chosen by the YeahWrite Editors, is: an airplane. The setting must be integral to the story (obvs).
Poets (and microprose fans!): May’s form reminds me, Nate, of how the genie in Aladdin describes his lamp: “Phenomenal cosmic powers . . . Itty bitty living space.” The lune will have you telling epic stories in just 13 syllables. Read up on how this form differs from a haiku. Or you can bypass the featured form and write a poem that incorporates either of the short story prompts.
Poetry Slam - Lune
If National Poetry Month has you a little worn down, don’t worry: May’s poetry slam is worn down to only 13 syllables!
Unlike many short-form poems, which were invented in other languages and only nominally work in English because they lack the layered meaning available when you can (for example) write the same sound three ways, the lune – a 13 syllable, three-line poem – was invented in English to take advantage of its linguistic flexibility. So get your counting fingers out and join us on the grid this month!
A QUICK NOTE REGARDING OUR GRIDS: Inlinkz, which supports our grid format, is currently upgrading its offerings and may not be able to support image-based grids for a brief period of time. Don’t be worried if your link and other links appear as text over the coming weeks (or perhaps even months) during this transition. Thank you for your patience!
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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 officially underway! Good luck to all our competitors as they anxiously await their first round results. Did you miss out on registration? 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:
As a professional editor and writer, Nate has published his work in numerous English and history textbooks and in online reading programs. In February 2014, he found his way back to creative writing and began submitting to YeahWrite. Soon after, he became an editor of the Fiction|Poetry challenge. You can read his work at northwest journals, a blog that has been recognized by WordPress Discover, Five Star Mix-tape, Genealogy á la Carte, The Drabble, and BlogHer’s Voice of the Year. He lives in Chicago with his partner and a mini-Bengal tiger.
Loved the Challenge! I’m glad you didn’t quit.
Thank you, Heather!