Talk to the duckie
For some reason, when I went to law school, people were bewildered. “Why wouldn’t you do something with computers, you’re always on the computer,” they said. Aside from the fact that just because you might be good at something doesn’t mean you owe it to the world to do it if it doesn’t nourish you, there were plenty of reasons for me to do what I was doing. And there are, as I pointed out, more than a few similarities between lawyering and coding. We just write code to move around humans instead of electrons. We also do the thing that programmers do, where when you’re stuck on a problem you stop working directly on the problem. Instead, you turn to your trusty rubber duck (or, in my case, squishy tardigrade) and explain what the problem is and what solution you think would work. Pulling back to that meta level instead of staying inside the code or contract can help you see the bigger picture and how to get from where you are to where you need to be. It works for writing, too! Try it the next time you’re trapped by your story, with characters that simply won’t engage with the plot no matter how hard you try to get them to do things. Reach over and grab a duckie or a stuffy or your cat or that mug of coffee that you meant to drink an hour ago. Instead of putting the coffee in the microwave for the third time, tell it what’s going on in the story. Don’t try to get all the words right. Just talk through the problem so that you can see it from a different angle.
And if that feels too weird, talk to a human. You probably know one or two of those, and if you’re worried about boring them, come talk to us in the Discord!
~Rowan
PS shameless plug – will I see you at the Scarlet Quill meeting on Thursday? I’ll be rambling on about how tropes and unique elements come together to make complete stories.
This Week’s Writing Prompt is:
This week, your job, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story, essay, or poem incorporating the following prompt.
Trope: Shut Up, Scary Thing
We’re taking a cue from this year’s Scarlet Quill Society and getting some practice incorporating – or subverting – popular tropes. The Shut Up, Scary Thing trope involves, obviously, a Scary Thing, and something that the scary thing could easily overwhelm being dismissive of it. Of course, they may not realize that the scary thing is scary… yet. Which can lead to another trope… you get the point. You can read more about this trope on the TV Tropes website.
Stuck? Check out last year’s — no, year before last! — series on responding to prompts!
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.
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, we’ll be focusing on tropes! Love ’em or hate ’em, you can’t avoid ’em. For the purpose of this year’s workshop, we’re defining a trope as a building block of storytelling. It’s a device or pattern of events that is used to solve plot or character problems or communicate meaning efficiently and effectively. Read the February post, and then join YeahWrite’s Managing Editor Rowan Beckett Grigsby as she explores which problems can be solved with tropes, how they can be interchangeable, and what in your writing shouldn’t be a trope. Also a bunch of Star Trek references, in case that’s your thing.
February’s meeting will take place Thursday, February 23 at 8:00 pm US Eastern time! If you want an idea how a meeting can go, check out our YouTube page for last month’s (and last year’s) video(s). And if you want to chime in, membership info is right. down. there. VVVVVVVV
Scarlet Quill Society workshop posts are always free. In addition, we are offering a couple add-ons that we think you’ll find exciting and worth a few bucks a month: face-to-face (okay, virtual) monthly meetings to delve into the topics and answer your questions, and an editorial backroom on Discord!
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 #27 (Nonfiction)
Round One of Super Challenge #27 is officially over! Good luck to all our participants as they anxiously await the results. Miss out on registration? Be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you don’t miss out on any future Super Challenge updates.
Super Challenge #28 (Fiction)
Did you hear the news? You asked, we listened. YeahWrite is publishing its first anthology for both fiction AND creative nonfiction, and the top three winners of Super Challenge #27 and #28 will be automatically published! Register now for Super Challenge #28 (flash fiction!) through May 3.
Register for Super Challenge #28 (Fiction)Don’t want to 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!
If you’ve been meaning to join us but can’t do Wednesdays, we’re checking our calendars now so make sure you’ve responded to the Discord poll for times!
[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 prompts forum. 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:
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.
