Write For You
I don’t know how to make you feel safe. I don’t feel safe. But I also know that writing helps. I’ve been struggling a little with my writing because some truths aren’t ready to be aired in public. That’s ok though. Diaries also help and at some point, I’ll be able to write more publicly about my personal life. If you are stuck in this type of whirlwind, journal. Write for you–the rest will come later.
–Stacie
[ed’s note: when Stacie (or anyone) is ready to turn those journal entries into essays, we’ve already got a few tips for how to make that happen RIGHT HERE. I’m just saying. /RBG]
Welcome to Week 466
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 have a story or essay to work on, tag in: March’s challenge is to rewrite your work using a limited number of adjectives. We’re activating our verbs and participating in our participles this month to try to strip the purple out of our prose.
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 a time you got caught staring at someone – or caught someone staring at you. Have fun!
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
March is here! Hooray! We made it.
I [Nate] have noticed calls for submissions lately that use structural requirements, so I thought we should practice those. By “structural requirement,” I mean a cosmetic prompt that does not affect the plot, such as “the last word of your story must be onomatopoeia” or “The opening line must be a proverb.” Our second prompt will be one of our stand-bys. You must incorporate both prompts to enter the challenge.
This week’s structural requirement is:
Last to First. That means we’ll give you the last line of a novel, and you’ll need to use that, unchanged, as the first line of your story. This week’s last line (to be used as your first line) comes from D. H. Lawrence‘s Sons and Lovers:
He walked towards the faintly humming, glowing town, quickly.
Remember: you can’t change this line in tense, punctuation, or structure. This must be the first line of your story, exactly as it is here. Try to match the tense and tone of this line in the rest of your story.
This week’s tried-and-true prompt is: an occupation.
One of your characters must be a chef. This character must be INTEGRAL, which means their job must affect the plot in a meaningful way. To test if you have made the occupation integral, give the chef character another occupation and see if it would significantly affect your plot. If it does, you are approved. We’re leaving how you interpret chef up to you, but the character must be more than someone who cooked a meal once or a stay-at-home parent who does the bulk of the daily cooking. Perhaps your chef works in a five-star Michelin restaurant, perhaps they’re a line cook in the local greasy spoon (click the link if you’re not sure what a greasy spoon is), perhaps they’re a mess chef for a mission in Antarctica, it’s up to you.
Poets: This month, we’re playing with rhymes in a new way: by moving them from the ends of lines to… well, wherever you want them. Check out our technique-based March slam then explore that technique to write a poem of your own. Or write a different style of poem incorporating at least one of the prompts above. Or some combination of those things, if you’re feeling extra fancy this week.
Poetry Slam - It Rhymes on the Inside?
In 2020, we’re turning from “how to write a poem” to “what is a poem?” with technique-based slams. This month, we’re playing with rhymes in a new way: by moving them from the ends of lines to… well, wherever you want them. 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 remaining contestants as they anxiously await their Final Round 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.
