for writers who blog and bloggers who write
Hi there!
Y’all. Are you a writer? Are you still calling yourself an aspiring writer or telling people you want to be a writer? Stop it. Right now. Write stuff. BE A WRITER.
Have you been lurking? Submit something this week. Do you have an idea that you’re hesitant to develop out of fear? Write the thing. Do you sit stuck in silence because you’re afraid to make a mistake, afraid people will see you, worried you’ll mess up? Speak up. We want to hear your voice. There’s no room for fear in our lives. We must squash it where it starts and get on with our day. You can do that. I believe in you.
As time goes by, do you want to think of the times you tried (and maybe failed) but learned something or do you want to regret all that you didn’t do? Your thoughts in comments… after you get something on a grid.
Yeah write super challenge
The yeah write super challenge #3 is still open for registration! Make sure you fill our your registration form and send in payment before the deadline to be fully admitted to the contest. Don’t forget to sign up for our email blast as well so you don’t miss out on any announcements.
Who’s on fourth
This month we invite you to learn more about Hema over at Mixed Bag! The interview will publish Monday at 12pm ET, but in the meantime, head over to her page and catch up on all of her awesomeness.
The basics
Yeah write gives you two competitive challenge grids — nonfiction and fiction|poetry — both of which are unmoderated. Everyone gets to the voting round on Thursday. (Remember, your post must be dated appropriately, not be offensive to our audience, and cannot be over word count.) Got a question? E-mail us, tweet us, ping us on Facebook, or visit our online community, the yeah write coffeehouse. You can learn more about yeah write in our FAQ. Please make sure you are familiar with our submission guidelines before you enter. We don’t have a lot of rules, but we do enforce them across the board. We’d hate to see anyone get disqualified by a technicality.
Bring us your personal essays and creative nonfiction!
The nonfiction challenge grid opens on Monday at midnight EST. This is the best place on the ‘net to showcase your best writing. Make us laugh, make us cry, make us think, and above all: make us care.
Nonfiction know-how: connections
This month’s nonfiction know-how is learning the difference between navelgazing and reaching outward. That is, as storytellers we’re at our finest when it’s not about us, it’s about the reader. So when you write an introspective post, think about saying instead of “am I the only one who feels like this,” you should be saying “I feel like this too, you are not alone.” Learn more from Rowan here.
Is fiction more your thing?
The fiction|poetry grid opens on Tuesday. Grab a mic and join our monthly poetry slam or check out our weekly prompt up!
Prompt up!
Prompt up is our optional weekly writing prompt for the fiction|poetry challenge! Here’s how it works: we announce a sentence prompt from last week’s winning nonfiction Post. It’s your job to use that prompt in your story or poem in some way. Feel free to use it as your first sentence, move it somewhere else, change it, or float down it to other territories.
Lisa found herself overwhelmed during a regular errand in her essay, Clean Up On Aisle Three. This week’s prompt up taken from her essay is: “I begin pulling boxes of cereal off the shelf.”
January poetry slam: the couplet
A good couplet acts almost like a microstory. Are you able to set up a scene and an interaction all in the space of two lines? For this month’s slam, you’ll be trying to do just that. Learn more from Rowan here.
Winners’ round-up
In case you missed them, you can find last week’s yeah write staff picks and crowd favorites all laid out for you on Friday’s winners’ post. Leave the winners some love in the comments. They will love you right back, we guarantee it.
Weekend writing showcase
The weekend’s not over: the yeah write weekend writing showcase is still open. Have something to add? Old posts and new are welcome. No moderation, no voting. It’s a laid-back relaxed kind of place. Just leave your commercial or sponsored posts at home. Drop by, share your work, and while you’re there, visit your fellow yeah writers.