Greetings, Earthlings!

It seems like summer has just begun, but the solstice is behind us, the days are already growing shorter, and the rest of the season is going to fly by at light speed. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of time for long lazy days of complete and total relaxation.

Alternatively, you could spend some of that time putting a little extra bang in your ‘blasters by registering for the yeah write summer series! Bring a gargleblaster or three (no more) to one of our small group workshops in the silver lounge, sign up for a one-on-one critique in the gold lounge, or hang out in the bronze lounge, where you can exchange constructive criticism with your fellow yeah writers. Check out all the details. We hope to see you there!

This week’s ultimate question is brought to you by that sleazy guy at the table in the corner:

What’s your sign?

You’ll note that we didn’t start the question with, “Hey baby.” Do us a favor: don’t go with the obvious here. You are all smart, creative people – you don’t need to fall back on cliches to build a great story. Remember that you don’t need to include the question in your response. Give us your answer in exactly 42 words. Here are a couple of guidelines:

• Do not mention anywhere in your post, either as intro or footnote, that you are writing to a prompt.
• We want the story the furthest away in your imagination from the original prompt. Let your imagination loose.
• Keep your writing style! Do you tell stories with humor? Prose? Verse? Photos? Illustrations? Keep doing that.
• Proofread. Just because it’s short doesn’t mean you can cut corners.

The grid is now open, and will close at midnight on Tuesday (one minute after 11:59 PM on Monday).Yes, that’s only 24 hours to post, so you’d better get writing now! We’ll announce winners on Wednesday. Don’t forget to badge your post – the current gargleblaster badge is below.

Recipe for a proper gargleblaster

• Entries must be 42 words exactly. We count. (Tip: don’t trust your word processor – use your eyes!) Also: hyphenated words count as one (willy-nilly, self-centered, etc.).
• Non-fiction, fiction, and poetry are all welcome.
• Let your post speak for itself. If it needs an explanation, it’s not really 42 words, now is it?
• Link to the individual blog post, not your main blog page.
• Include the gargleblaster badge and accompanying backlink. Scroll down to get this week’s badge.
• One post per person, please, and no cross-posting to other link-ups. We want you all to ourselves!

Any submission deemed not to meet the guidelines will be removed from the grid and the author will be notified. Read the gargleblaster FAQ for more information.

Remember: the grid is limited to 42 (of course!) submissions. If you miss the grid, don’t panic! Leave your link in the comments of the voting post and you may be eligible for the hitchhiker prize, which may be awarded at the editors’ discretion to someone who missed the grid, but wrote up a particularly excellent response to the prompt. However, to be eligible for the hitchhiker’s prize, you’ve got to stick around for the whole ride, not just hop on, drop your link, and hop back off. After leaving your link, go forth and read, comment and vote on the grid as usual.

Badge up!

Please be sure to include the proper gargleblaster badge in your post. Not sure how to add the badge? It’s simple. Copy the code under the badge below and paste it into the html or text view of your blog editor. Having trouble? Contact christine@yeahwrite.me for tech support.

<a href="https://yeahwrite.me/gargleblaster-167/"> <img src="https://yeahwrite.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/gargle167.png"> </a>

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