The last person on Earth
This is my favourite time of year to walk the dogs. Not because of the absurd 27ºC/81ºF temperatures by 7 am, not because the sun is up at 4 am and so am I. No, it’s my favourite time because when I take the dogs out in the morning, the streets are deserted, like some immediately post-apocalyptic nightmare world. Not a single car is on the road, not a single runner or walker, nobody is up watering their lawns before rushing to work, I’m not reversing onto my street with my heart firmly in my mouth at the prospect of ending up the soft centre of a metalic truffle as traffic hurtles down the hill towards me. It’s quiet and peaceful, and for a few precious moments I exist in a space somewhere between great calm and intense panic at the thought that I may, in fact, be the last person left on Earth.
As we see out this year and head into a brand new one, may you also experience this strange contrast of feeling and may it inspire your writing. May 2020 be the year we all realise our most ardent writing goals and see our greatest successes. All of us at YeahWrite thank you for making this the best community of writers around, and wish you a very Happy New Year!
– Asha
Welcome to Week 455
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, editor Stacie is visiting a place she’s never been. And it’s impressive… and loud. So just for her, tell us about somewhere on your bucket list. Where would you go, if you could go? And why? Or, you know, tell us anything that floats your boat.
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: So far, the disease had cropped up in five different towns.
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. Don’t change tense. Stick to the sentence’s tone. You can decide whether the tone is urgent or malicious or something else. Show us who the narrator is. Are they gleeful about the spread of the disease? Are they panicked? Is this a nefarious villain? A hero? Tell us a story.
The second prompt is the word: attic.
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 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, and are looking into alternative services. Thank you for your patience!
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Our tiniest challenge with the biggest bang will open on its new schedule (the first Saturday of the month) on January 4 and will remain open for 48 hours.
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. Registration for our next challenge opens just around the corner!
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.
