Winter is … here
I’m not sure what the weather’s like where you are, but it’s very confused here. Yesterday began with frost on the grass and air so cold my breath fogged in it as I walked. By midday, I was peeling layers of clothing off, and in the evening, I was putting them all back on. Today, the streets are flooded and people have forgotten how to drive in the rain. The Indigenous people of this area (I live, work, and play on Whadjuk Noongar boodjar — click the link to learn more about this area) know this season as Makuru, the coldest and wettest of the six seasons, and it’s definitely living up to that reputation today. It’s perfect weather for cocooning inside my house with a cup of something warm, and noodling through writing ideas.
– Asha
Welcome to Week 47
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: June’s challenge is to do a little more. We’re giving you 2,000 words to play with. Add back those descriptions, put in the explanations, and squeeze in the plot point you’re missing! Just keep in mind the lessons you’ve learned in the past five months and make sure you’re adding what you need instead of just what you want.
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 build off last week’s nonfiction roundup: write an essay which uses a series of outside lines (from poetry, headlines, dates, etc) to form its structure.
Fiction|Poetry Mandatory Prompt
June is the gateway to…new writing prompts!
Last month we transformed flowering plants into characters. This month we’re transforming animals into characters. Give the qualities of animals to a realistic person or give animals human qualities. The Wind in the Willows gives us many examples of animals who behave like people and who enjoy human trappings (Toad of Toad Hall loved his new car, even if he was a terrible driver!). How, for example, would a badger would behave as a human being? Why is the bowerbird man building his home, and for whom? Whichever way you interpret this prompt, be sure to give the character a clear plot.
This week’s animal prompt is:
- Write a story with a character who is based on (but is not actually) a mouse. The mouse is traditionally associated with meekness or shyness in literature, but they are also clever, playful, loving, and extremely good excavators. You can find other characteristics of mice in this link, or this one, and this link gives examples of how mice characteristics might manifest in people. Use the characteristics in the links given to define your character, but help the editors out by drawing clear interpretations so that we can tell which character you’ve ascribed the qualities to.
The second prompt for June is:
- Mice like to collect objects, so mention a gold coin in your story. It doesn’t need to be integral to the plot.
Poets: For June, we’re exploring the ways poetry can be built in series. Check out our technique-based 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 both? You might be able to do both.
Poetry Slam - Series
In 2020, we’re turning from “how to write a poem” to “what is a poem?” with technique-based slams. Since 2020 has apparently been happening for a thousand years, now that it’s Junetember we’re exploring poems that are series: two or more short poems linked to form a coherent work through commonalities and mindful selection of words or topics. 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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Loading InLinkz ...YeahWrite Super Challenge
Super Challenge #16 is officially underway! Good luck to our finalists as they anxiously await the final results. Miss out on registration? Make sure you also 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. Asha writes flash fiction, short stories, and creative nonfiction. She is published in a variety of places and you can find links to her work at Asha Rajan Writer.
