New Year, New View
So we’re all looking down the barrel of 2023. I’ll tell you right now I do not believe in resolutions. If I want to change, I will. If it doesn’t stick, it must not be working for me. I don’t see the use in nagging myself for a month or two to make a change I don’t want to make before I give up. It’s a whole lotta stress and wasted time I don’t need to start my new year with.
My boss introduced the idea of adopting a focus word for the year instead of making resolutions. So throughout the year when someone with the word Optimism as their focus, for example, encounters choices, they remember their word and choose to be optimistic.
I like this better. No, it’s not measurable. But isn’t all that expectation the part that bogs us down and makes us quit? I’m just going to assume you’re nodding. I know it’s true for me. So give a focus word a try if you find resolutions don’t work for you.
Or don’t. I’m not the boss of you.
~Nathan
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
meringue (word) + a mourning home renovator (character)
This week, your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story or essay incorporating the above prompts. Stuck? Check out our post on combination prompts!
Because this isn’t an official competition, no-one is here to enforce the 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 if you are writing fiction (nonfictioneers, use it as a jumping-off point. See if you can stick to the hundred word count!). 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!
In December, we revisit and review our year-long workshop series. We’ve given you a ton of detailed information about the editing process, and we know that it’s impractical to hire an editor for every stage. However, there are times when you just can’t do it yourself. So: what can a writer do on their own, and when should they bring in outside help? Check out our December post and then tune in to the live talk with your questions!
This month’s meeting took place on Sunday, December 18 at 2pm US Eastern time. 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.
And while this is the last week of the month (and year), the Scarlet Quill Society isn’t closing its doors! Stay tuned for next year’s storytelling-focused workshops, where we’ll be examining the building blocks of plot solutions. Or as someone once put it… Tropes. We all have them. Who needs them? (hint: it’s you)
Super Challenge #26 - Fiction
Congratulations to MM Schreier, our Super Challenge #26 champion, and to Jess Filippi and Katie Battaglia Delay for rounding out the top three! Did you miss out on all the fun? Be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you don’t miss out on any future Super Challenge updates.
WIP Write-Ins, AKA Co-Working Hours
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
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.
