A Little Peace and Quiet
I just got back from a silent meditation retreat and boy are my words tired. We’re accustomed to a constant flow of information – both in and out – but it turns out that sometimes we can use all that information to hide from things we’re avoiding. I shared this with Rowan and she said that she used to run for the same reasons I did the retreat: sometimes you have to turn all the noise off for long enough to listen to what you are saying.
Of course, that’s easier said than done in this hectic world, where the news feels urgent every day and the kids need to be fed and your boss wants to know where that report is and you haven’t balanced your checkbook (do people still do that?) in three months. But if you can, try to find a half an hour now and then to turn it all off. No music, no phone, no news, no people chattering at you. Maybe you can be quiet while you’re doing the dishes, or at the laundromat, or even just in the car on your commute. And in that quiet? I bet you find your words.
Because the first thing I wrote after “I’m back” is “I think I have a couple ideas for essays. Isn’t that weird?”
–Stacie
Welcome to Week 454
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 – So you’re a writer; now what?
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.”
For December, we’re putting it all together, breaking this year’s lessons into craft, publishing, and career moves. As the year draws to a close it’s a great chance to revisit what it means to be a writer, and to see which areas you might want to focus more on going into next year. Oh yeah, and we have some great homework for you.
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 is filled with lights: Solstice, Hanukkah Christmas, Kwanzaa. So that’s our prompt: Light, in the darkness. What does that mean to you? Is it literal or a metaphor? Or would you rather just discard the optional prompt and point out that it’s been raining for a solid week and you don’t even want to go outside and look at the holiday displays? That’s why it’s optional.
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
The last month of the year is a time for reflection and hope. So, while were pondering heavy things, let’s make our two mandatory prompts simple.
The first prompt to incorporate into your story is the first line: The kiss reminded him of chemistry lessons in school, when if the right two elements were put together, they’d explode.
The sentence must be the first sentence in your story. Do not alter the sentence. Don’t add words. Leave the period where it is. Don’t change the punctuation. Stick to the sentence’s tone of excitement tinged with just a hint of risk. Show us who the kiss is between. Is he kissing someone or is he watching two people kiss? Tell us a story.
The second prompt is a word: crow.
Use it anywhere in your story, however you want.
Poets: Our December tradition is a free-for-all of poetic forms we explored during the last year. For our fiction|poetry grid you’re welcome to utilize any one of this year’s forms, or to write in any form you prefer using one or both of our fiction prompts. Won’t you join us on the grid?
Poetry Slam - It was a very good year
If you, like us, are sitting around with a bunch of random lines of poetry and half-finished things you meant to get on the grid this year but just couldn’t find the time or energy to finish, have we got good news for you: December is a free-for-all of this year’s slams. Pick any one of the forms or techniques we explored this year and write the poem you meant to write, or revisit your favorite form!
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 weekend of every month!
YeahWrite Super Challenge
Congrats to Chrissie Rohrman, our Super Challenge #14 champion, as well as Charlie Rogers and Gail Webber for rounding out the top three! Did you 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:
Stacie joined YeahWrite as its Fiction Editor in early 2013 before becoming YeahWrite’s Executive Editor in 2016. She blogs at Stacie’s Snapshots and Tidbits and was thrilled to be honored as a 2015 BlogHer Voice of the Year (VOTY) for this post. Before retiring, Stacie’s career involved developing new medicines for cancer and autoimmune diseases, work that resulted in more than twenty publications in scientific journals. Now, she enjoys daily hikes with her dogs and spending more time with her youngest son while her oldest is off at college.
