Doggy tales
My husband recently saw a t-shirt with I like dogs and maybe three people written on it and almost bought it for me. Honestly, I’d have worn it everywhere. But the thing is, I like the people I meet when I’m walking my dogs. People are unguarded around dogs and they divulge extraordinary details about themselves and their families. They let their polite social facades fall away, they speak openly, they’re trusting. Dogs, with their exuberence and joy, bring that out in people I think. It’s hard to be grumpy around a bounding, furry, four-legged goofball that just wants to love you up. I hear about joys and struggles, medical battles, a new grandchild, past glories, and future dreams. It’s an honour to hear people’s stories, and I don’t take it for granted. It’s also wonderful fodder for enriching the lives of the characters I write. A borrowed victory here, a stolen sorrow there, and my characters’ lives become richer, fuller, more authentic.
Where do you find inspiration for developing your characters? Head over to Discord and let’s chat!
~Asha
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
A supermarket
Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story or essay utilizing this setting. It doesn’t have to be the only setting, but something important to your narrative arc should happen here. You also need to describe this setting well enough that a reader can recognize it in the story. Stuck? 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 - Setting 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!
In August, we’re taking a second look at setting prompts, this time as descriptive prompts. Descriptive setting prompts tend to be brief sentences or phrases that give you a sense of a time and place. We’ll deconstruct the different types of information you might be given, talk about what is and isn’t fair game (and what’s mandatory) to add to those descriptions, and give you some examples of how the same setting prompt can be taken to wildly different, er, places. Check it out!
And keep an eye out on the first of September for the next prompt to navigate!
Super Challenge #21 - Nonfiction
Super Challenge #21 is officially underway! Good luck to all our remaining participants as they compete this weekend!. Miss out on registration? Be sure to sign up for our email blast so that you don’t miss out on any Super Challenge announcements.
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.
