Quiet as Mice
Ambient noise camouflages the ringing in my ears. Honestly, I don’t know how long this has been going on since for over a decade, my husband has snored SO loudly that I can’t hear anything else when my body decides to wake up at 3am. When he is away, though, and the night is quiet, I notice the persistent tinnitus. In winter, if I’m lucky, the owls will sing me back to sleep, but they’ve been as quiet as the mice they eat lately–probably because they didn’t nest in my yard this year, like they did last year.
So sometimes I try to think about writing, just to distract myself from the sound, instead of focusing on my ears. Sometimes I write stories in my head, even if I can’t seem to put them on paper (or on my blog) yet. Right now, I’m living vicariously through those of you that do write and submit to the grids. Looking forward to reading your work again this week!
–Stacie
Welcome to Week 462
We’re kicking off the week in style at YeahWrite with 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: 20/20 Hindsight
For 2020 we’re looking back at stories. Didn’t get a chance to write one in January? That’s fine: jump in whenever you can.
If you did write a story or essay in January, we’ve got our hardest hindsight challenge first: rewrite your work in only 100 words. [ed’s note: We did this. It was terrible. But if we can, you can. /RBG&CH]
Check out this month’s challenge and some suggestions for how to succeed 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 something you pass by every day. Maybe it’s a house. Maybe it’s somebody’s barking dog (sorry, neighbors). Find that one repetitive thing and let us know what makes you notice it every time… or ignore it. (Or you can ignore this prompt, it’s optional!)
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
For February’s prompts, we’re going to reverse engineer January’s prompt. Here’s how it works: We give you a decision that has already been made and that will become the final moments of your story. Your job will be to create the backstory of that decision. How did the decision come about? What significance does the decision have on the characters?
For example, say the prompt is “The main character does not get the job they applied for.” You will need to show the reader how the MC became unemployed, build up the stakes of what it means for the character not to have a job, and then your last scene will be the phone call or email informing them of their failure.
This week’s decision point is:
Your main character does not win the competition.
The ending of your story must contain some form of the event described in the prompt. This week, we’ve left the event open for you to decide what kind of competition your main character has entered. Good stories will build significance to the outcome; have a clear beginning, middle, and end; and invoke emotion from the consequences of the event.
Poets: Check out our technique-based February slam, then explore that technique to write a poem of your own. Or write a different style of poem incorporating the prompt above. Or both, we’re not your mom.
Poetry Slam - Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?
In 2020, we’re turning from “how to write a poem” to “what is a poem?” with technique-based slams. This month, we’ll use Sonnet 18 to examine metaphor and how to make it fresh and unexpected by exploiting (instead of being exploited by) cliches and expectations. There’s even a bonus round! Check it out.
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 is open the first Saturday of every month for exactly 48 hours.
YeahWrite Super Challenge
Super Challenge #15 (nonfiction!) is officially underway! Good luck to all our contestants as they anxiously await their Round 1 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:
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.
