Germ-free
One of the (many) weird things about the times we’re living through is balancing our need for social interactions while managing our comfort level of exposure to the Covid variant du jour. Nothing highlighted that need more than deciding to go to Michigan to visit my and my partner’s families. Our parents are closing in on their 80s, but we’re all vaccinated and boosted, but they say this new variant is catchier, but our families are being very careful, but we don’t want to be the ones to get them sick, but it’s Christmas and we only see them twice a year as it is.
Ugh.
We decided to risk it. Windows were open and air purifiers were running. We all took the rapid tests before we got together. Negative all around. But even through all of that, I am here back in Chicago waiting for the other shoe to drop. At the dinner table, my sister-in-law suggested if this situation happens again we should write letters to each other because it’s all the interaction with none of the germs. I’ve decided to think of the stories and essays we generate here as safe social interactions as well. What do you think?
~Nathan
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
Starting over
December’s Navigating Prompts article is an overview of all the topics we covered this past year, and so there’s no fixed prompt style for the month. This week, your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story or essay using the above action prompt. Stuck? We’ve gone into detail about unraveling this sort of prompt style in this Technique Toolbox post on action prompts.
There are no word limits. You can write fiction or nonfiction; you may interpret the prompt any way you like, but you must use it exactly as written. 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 - Annual Roundup (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!
We’re wrapping up our 2021 writing help series with an overview of everything we covered this past year. Refresh your memory and sharpen that pencil – you’ll find everything you need to know about the most common prompt types all in one place. Check it out!
NEW!! The Scarlet Quill Society
Welcome to the secret back room where the Scarlet Quill Society meets. In this year-long workshop, the YeahWrite editors will help you hone your own editing skills so that you can feel confident that the work you are submitting is at its absolute best. We’re experimenting a little with our workshop format in 2022, and offering a couple add-ons to our always-free posts that we think you’ll find exciting and worth a few bucks a month: The Scarlet Quill Society will have actual face-to-face (okay, virtual) monthly meetings to delve into the topics and answer your questions, and an editorial backroom on Discord!
The first post goes live on January 1, but in the meantime come take a look!
Super Challenge #22 - Flash Fiction
Congrats to Jennie Brass, our Super Challenge #22 champion, and to Gail A. Webber and Kate Goodheart for rounding out the top three! Well done! We’d also like to send out big props to all our participants. We hope you now have a story or two you can polish up and find a home for. Keep your eyes peeled in the new year for news on Super Challengbe #23 and make sure you sign up for our email blast so that you don’t miss out on any Super Challenge announcements.
Super Challenge #23 - Flash Nonfiction
Registration for Super Challenge #23 opens in just a few days! Join us for one of the best competitinos for creative NONfiction and personal essays out there. You’ll get a unique and (we hope) interesting essay prompt, tons of great feedback, and you may even win cash prizes! Sign up for our email blast to get notified when registration opens, or keep an eye on our website.
WIP Write-Ins, AKA Co-Working Hours
Last summer, you all joined the YeahWrite editors (and writers like you) for a series of laid-back, low-key co-working sessions. We chatted, we brainstormed, we got to know one another, and arguably most importantly, we wrote actual words! Once summer ended, we weren’t ready for co-working to disappear like the hot weather, so starting in October, co-working is back!
Join Christine every Wednesday from 9:00am – 11:00am Pacific Time and Arden every other Friday from 12:00 – 2:00pm Pacific Time for regular WIP Write-ins. Other sessions will be scheduled in the future, so keep an eye on our calendar and we’ll be sure to post announcements of pop-up sessions in our Discord and Facebook groups. See you there!
[Ed’s note: if you add that calendar to your own Google calendar, it’ll change the times to match your time zone automagically. No more searching “what time is 9am Pacific in Warsaw?” You’re welcome. /RBG]
About the author:
As a professional editor and writer, Nate has published his work in numerous English and history textbooks and in online reading programs. In February 2014, he found his way back to creative writing and began submitting to YeahWrite. Soon after, he became an editor of the Fiction|Poetry challenge. You can read his work at northwest journals, a blog that has been recognized by WordPress Discover, Five Star Mix-tape, Genealogy á la Carte, The Drabble, and BlogHer’s Voice of the Year. He lives in Chicago with his partner and a mini-Bengal tiger.
