Stylish!
This month’s “big project” is a style guide for a client I’ve been working with for a while—they’re one of my favorites, but I’m also, in the dark and secret corners of my heart, pretty excited to have an official “NEVER EVER DO THIS THING” to point at when I send a project of theirs back with edits. I mean, I only have about half a decade of frustration to take out on this project, how bad could it be?
Kidding. Mostly.
But not kidding about the style guide. Making a style guide for your own writing can be a fascinating exercise and will pay off in the end as you work on longer form projects. Whether you start from “standard manuscript format” or get fancy with specifics like “this character never uses contractions,” having a list of consistent rules to work from will make your longform work feel unified and smooth, and make less work for your editor later. Do you end dialog with the g, or do you like dialogue? What about catalog(ue)? Colo(u)r? Even just making a Pinterest board with images of people that look like your characters so that you can describe them consistently and uniquely will pay off—especially if you’re one of the folks with aphantasia. (Christine, for example, will describe literally everyone as having curly hair, despite having stick-straight hair herself, unless she is stopped. (Ed’s note to self: sticks aren’t really straight, why is that a saying? /rbg))
Anyway do yourself a favor and make your own style guide. Before you have to pay someone to do it while they’re editing your work.
~Rowan
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story or essay retelling the above poem. That’s right, we’ve come full circle with retellings and fallen into an old poetry slam topic. Don’t retell the poem as a poem, though! Tell it as a story. Pick a point of view—are you the eater or the bereft? What was happening at the time? Were the plums really for breakfast? Nonfictioneers, what’s a time that someone took or used up something you were saving? Why is this poem so relatable?
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 - Retellings (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 September, we’re revisiting some old advice that we’ve given time and time again: Nobody can tell your story like you do. To prove it, we’re diving into retellings. To retell a classic story, you’ll need to be able to analyze the original, extract its critical elements, and make them your own. Ready to write your fresh take on an often-told tale? Check it out!
Super Challenge #21 - Nonfiction
Congrats to Madeleine Pelletier, our Super Challenge #21 champion, and to Sanchana Venkatesh and Danielle Dayney for rounding out the top three! Keep your eyes peeled for news on the next Super Challenge where we’ll be heading back to the land of flash fiction. You can also sign up for our email blast so that you don’t miss out on any Super Challenge announcements.
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.
