How does it feel?
This month’s issue of Poets & Writers features Zambian writer Namwali Serpell on the cover with an intriguing pull quote. “I don’t want to tell you what happened,” she says. “I want to tell you how it felt.”
I’ve been thinking on this lately. About how writing – whether fiction or creative nonfiction – is more than a list of events. It’s an attempt at connection; it’s a shared experience that is ultimately more than the sum of its parts. It’s a relationship between the writer and the reader, and relationships are rarely entirely devoid of some sort of emotional connection or response, positive or negative. Even the most mundane story – going to the grocery store, the first day of school, getting lost on the way to a party – can become interesting and unique if it communicates the writer’s emotions in such a way that the reader understands how they felt. While it may be argued that (in the Western writing tradition) there’s no story without a sequence of events, it’s also true that a sequence of events without an emotional connection is hardly a story at all.
This is one of the goals of literature*: to make the reader experience an emotion that is not theirs. This is why we read. And this is why literature – the reading and the writing of it – is integral to a compassionate society.
~Christine
* I’m defining literature broadly here. Literary fiction, poetry, memoir, genre fiction, even fanfiction – if it makes you feel something, it’s part of the literary universe.
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
ID: In the center of the photo, a two-story white house stands alone near the edge of a low cliff overlooking a rocky shoreline. To the left of the house, a contemporary road curves towards a building, presumably another house. Behind the buildings, a steep, sharply pointed hill juts up, and there are other hills in the distance. The sky is blue with puffy white clouds obscuring part of the horizon.
An emotion: COMPASSION + a setting: SEE PHOTO
This week, your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story or essay featuring “compassion” in the setting provided by this photo. (Click the photo to enlarge it.)
Stuck? We’ve gone into detail about unraveling this sort of prompt style in this Technique Toolbox post on setting prompts and combination 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: Scarlet Quill Society (Free Workshop w/ Optional Paid Benefits)
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!
One of the least satisfying things that can happen to a reader is watching the characters be puppeted about like cardboard cutouts who are there to make sure the plot goes the right direction. On the other hand, the most satisfying is when a reader really gets to connect with – and see themself in – a character. Check out our August post, where we’ve unpacked the ways a character can be whole and realized–and the ways you can spot when they’re not.
Last month’s meeting was Sunday, August 14. The recording has been posted to our YouTube channel! Sign up for a membership today to join the Scarlet Quill Society and automatically receive the Zoom link and password for every meeting. One-off monthly meeting tickets can also be purchased on Kofi.
At YeahWrite we believe information wants to be shared. If you can’t afford to join us for society meetings, we post the recording about a week later, and you’re welcome to leave the tip you can afford (even if that’s just a nice thank you comment). Check out our YouTube channel for more.
Super Challenge #25 - Microfiction
Our summer microfiction challenge is officially underway! Congratulations to all of our participants who made the shortlist. Winners and honorable mentions will be announced on September 16. Did you miss out on registration? Sign up for our email blast today so you don’t miss any important Super Challenge announcements.
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 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]
Spontaneous Writing Challenges
Looking for a bit of inspiration? Missing the grids? Then join the Coffeehouse on Discord (where the stories are made up and the points don’t matter) and head to the #spontaneous-challenge channel. Each day, anyone can post a micro writing challenge (but just one per day!). Share your responses within the thread and earn XP within the server. We hope to see you there!
About the author:
Christine Hanolsy is a (primarily) science fiction and fantasy writer who simply cannot resist a love story. She joined the YeahWrite team in 2014 as the microstory editor and stepped into the role of Editor-In-Chief in 2020. Christine was a 2015 BlogHer Voices of the Year award recipient and Community Keynote speaker for her YeahWrite essay, “Rights and Privileges.” Her short fiction has been published in a number of anthologies and periodicals and her creative nonfiction at Dead Housekeeping and in the Timberline Review. Outside of YeahWrite, Christine’s past roles have included Russian language scholar, composer, interpreter, and general cat herder. Find her online at christinehanolsy.com.
