Love, actually
Confession time. I unashamedly love romcoms (yes, even the dodgey ones like the one in the header). I know, I know, I know. They’re too often cheesy and trite, and sometimes they’re downright problematic, but they’re my guilty pleasure, my vice. They’re also my go-to when I’m feeling stressed or out of sorts with the world. So, since my life’s been a bit hectic recently, I’ve been bingeing romcoms (with the occasional dramedy side dish). Say what you will about them, I’m clearly not the only one watching because they do big business and feature big stars. It strikes me that they’re a little like romance novels — hugely popular, big money earners, but people are weirdly embarrassed about liking them. I think I’ve reached an age now where I no longer care what other people think about me or my choices. So here I am, shouting from the rooftops, I love romcoms*. What are your guilty pleasures or innocuous coping mechanisms? Come tell me in the Coffeehouse on Facebook or Discord,
~Asha
*this doesn’t mean I watch them uncritically!
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: Bounty Hunter
We’re taking a cue from this year’s Scarlet Quill Society and getting some practice incorporating – or subverting – popular tropes. This week, we thought we’d go for the thrill of the chase. The Bounty Hunter may have begun in the Wild West, but they’re found in many other genres now. They’re traditionally gruff and cynical and seen as only marginally better than their criminal quarry. Why not see where you can take this trope. Can a Bounty Hunter also be a love interest? A hero? A criminal mastermind? Easily duped? You can read more about this trope on the TV Tropes website, and then share snippets of or links to your best story in Discord or on Facebook!
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. Check out April’s post, and then tune in to our in-person meeting or catch it later on YouTube as YeahWrite’s Managing Editor Rowan Beckett Grigsby hosts a discussion about tropes that readers would be just as happy never to see again–and most writers won’t even miss. While it’s rare for a trope to be unsalvageable, it’s not impossible. Some tropes started in deliberate misconceptions about the humanity of others, and other tropes picked those associations up along the way and are now so inextricably bound with those assumptions that they can’t be untangled for your personal use until society itself advances a little bit. And some of these tropes started with writers genuinely trying to do better… but missing the mark in fundamental and harmful ways. Want to avoid this in your work? We’ve got you covered.
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 gatherings to delve into the topics and answer your questions, and an editorial backroom on Discord! And for a bonus, if you’re a paid SQS member and you can’t make it to a meeting, you can still send us questions beforehand and we’ll make sure to cover them.
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 #28 (Fiction)
WIP Write-Ins, AKA Co-Working Hours
Spontaneous Writing Challenges
About the author:
Asha lives near the beach in Perth, Western Australia, but hates sand between her toes. She began blogging at YeahWrite in October 2014 with this post, and YeahWrite was lucky to pull her on board as a Contributing Editor in December 2016. Asha writes flash fiction, short stories, and creative nonfiction. She is published in a variety of places and you can find links to her work at Asha Rajan Writer.
