Thunderstruck
As I write this, a small dog shivers on my lap, burying her head into the fold between my belly and my thigh. Thunder claps overhead, rattling the windows. It’s Djilba; the fifth of six seasons in the Noongar (or Nyungar, Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, Yungar or Noonga) calendar — the time of unpredictable temperatures, potluck weather, and the blooming of new life. Last week I was walking around in t-shirts, soaking up the sunshine and enjoying bush walks (if you ever come to visit me, I will definitely take you here). Today, I’m glaring balefully at the skies as sideways rain buffets the balcony of my house. By this evening, the skies will most likely be clear and it’ll be a still, cold night. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
-Asha
Welcome to Week 435
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 – Pitch Perfect
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 August we’re beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together, looking at how you assemble “this is who I am and what I write” into a tempting pitch or query for editors and agents. Not even sure what pitching means and how to do it? Stop by!
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 a surprise encounter with an animal. Whether it’s waking up under a cat that isn’t yours or finally spotting that rare bird that’s been on your list for years, we want to know about it. Well, or about anything else you feel inspired to tell us. Have fun!
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
It’s August, and while it’s not quite back-to-school we’re getting back to work on the fiction|poetry grid.
This month we’ll have two mandatory prompts: an occupation and the first sentence of your story.
You must use our prompt sentence as the first sentence of your story. No changing tenses or punctuation, although you can add quotes around it to make it a line of dialogue.
One (or more) characters in your story must have the occupation, but it doesn’t have to be the main or point of view character.
Stories that make the prompts integral to the story and use them naturally will be favored by the editors. Hint: You may have to change up your writing style to become an author that would write the opening sentence. We encourage that!
This week’s occupation prompt, from YeahWrite #433 winner, Lisa, is : janitor.
This week’s first sentence prompt, from YeahWrite editors, is: She started finding pomegranate seeds at the doorstep, and knew it was time.
Poets: It’s back to brevity for August with the sevenling. Write this three-stanza, seven-line poem, or write a poem in the form of your choice starting with our first line or featuring the occupation prompt. At least one of these three things is mandatory! But remember, our nonfiction grid also welcomes poetry that expresses your truth.
Poetry Slam - Sevenlings
August’s poetry slam returns to a short form, with strict requirements but not a required meter or rhyme. The sevenling has three stanzas and seven lines, each of which works to affect the meaning of the others. Come play in the sevenling sandbox with us as summer (or winter) draws to an end.
A QUICK NOTE REGARDING OUR GRIDS: Inlinkz, which supports our grid format, is currently upgrading its offerings and website which can sometimes result in a glitch or two. If you upload a piece to the grid and notice it disappears later on, please email us and let us know. This has been happening to one or two pieces each week. We will happily add it manually once we are notified. We apologize for the inconvenience. 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 #13 (nonfiction!) is officially underway! Good luck to all our participants as they anxiously await the results. Miss out on registration? Make sure you 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.
About the author:
Asha lives near the beach in Perth, Western Australia, but hates sand between her toes. She 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. In addition to short stories and personal essays, she is currently working on a novel set in the Perth hills. Asha is published in a variety of places including Modern Loss, PANK, Dead Housekeeping, and SheKnows. You can find her inconsistent blogging at Asha Rajan Writer.
