Candy
I used to stock my shelves with books and music without really paying much attention to if I liked them or not. Instead, I acquired things that the person I thought I’d like to be–the person I wanted people to think I was–would enjoy. I watched Movies with Deep Thoughts, read Important Books, and listened to Challenging Music. But it turns out I hate experimental jazz, Jack Kerouac, and American Beauty. And that’s ok. It’s fine to like pop music, fan fiction, and The Old Guard. And that doesn’t make you shallow; there’s as much social commentary in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as there is in whatever last year’s Book Club Book of the Year was. Enjoy what you enjoy. Write and read what you like to write and read. There’s no standard of literature that makes you some kind of better person if you only read that (although regardless of what you like, you should be prepared to interrogate it and engage intelligently with the problematic moments it will inevitably have). Just like there’s no inherent virtue in one food more than another. Pizza is fuel for your body. So is that paleo meal, or that vegan smoothie. Feed your brain the things that nurture it, even if today that’s brain candy.
~Rowan
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
Lost World
A lost world story may fall into the science fiction or fantasy or even literary fiction genre, but the core of the story is exactly what it says on the box: the protagonists encounter an untouched world that is alien to themselves and their culture. It might be an indigenous society that’s unaware of the developed world, a pocket planet populated by dinosaurs (left there by aliens, of course), or a faerie mound that’s a trip back in time to… well… whenever. That’s the genre description we’d use if we were setting up “lost world” for a Super Challenge, anyway. Want some more pointers on how to really nail it, or how to read that description and really pull all the interesting bits out of it? We’ve gone into detail in this month’s Technique Toolbox on Navigating Prompts.
There are no word limits. You can write fiction or nonfiction; you may interpret the prompt any way you like. Share your response in the Coffeehouse, located both on Facebook or Discord, by linking your blog post, Google Doc, or other file. Check out your fellow YeahWriters’ responses, and don’t forget to leave them some love in the comments!
Looking for our weekly grids? After nearly ten years, they’ve been retired. Read more about the latest changes to YeahWrite in the #500 Weekly Writing Challenge Kickoff Post.
The Schedule
We will release a new prompt on our blog every Friday at 12pm Eastern.
Then it’s up to you! Write your response to the prompt on your own blog or website and share the link in the Coffeehouse, located both on Facebook or Discord. If you prefer to keep your work under wraps (and away from the eyes of potential publishers), you can still ask for beta readers in the Coffeehouse and share your work privately!
Every Monday, we’ll check in to see how you’re doing and what your writing goals are for the week.
Wednesdays are “Work-in-Progress Wednesdays.” Share a few sentences or even a paragraph or two in the Coffeehouse (no more than 250 words, please). Even if you’re not done writing, this could be the boost you need to stay motivated.
Did you publish a book? Do you have a story in a magazine? The First Friday of every month is for self-promotion, where you can share commercial links to your work for purchase. (You can always share the news that you’ve been accepted for publication, though!)
And of course, the entire community is here 24-7 to share your victories and setbacks, challenges and accomplishments. So come on in, pull up a chair, and say hello. We’re all writers here.
Upcoming and Ongoing
Sign up for our email blast so you don’t miss out on any upcoming classes, workshops, or competitions.
Ongoing: Navigating Prompts - Element-Based Genre Prompts (Free Workshop)
In our monthly Navigating Prompts series, we’ll talk you through how to analyze and respond to a specific prompt style. We’ll coordinate the weekly prompts with the monthly post so you’ll have a chance to practice, compare notes with other writers in the Coffeehouse, located both on Facebook or Discord, and get advice from beta readers and YeahWrite editors. You’ll get to hone your skills when you’re not in crisis mode, trying to meet that fast-approaching deadline. And who knows—maybe you’ll end up with a new story or two in your back pocket!
Ah, genre. Those allcaps titles hanging alluringly over the shelves at your favorite bookstore. Okay, fine, maybe they’re just a checkbox in the margin of your online shopping experience, but when you ask most people what they like to read they’ll name a genre first, and then get more specific. And genre prompts are beloved of competitions and anthologies, because they can give widely disparate stories a sense of unity.
In May, we’ll be taking the first of two looks at genre prompts. This month we’re discussing the sorts of genres that break down into lists of elements. You’ll get tips on what’s vital, what’s nice, and how to tell if you’ve hit or missed the mark in writing to a genre prompt. Check it out!
Super Challenge #20
Round 1 of Super Challenge #20 is officially underway! Good luck to all our participants as they anxiously await the results. Did you miss out on registration? Make sure you sign up for our email blast.
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
