fbpx

Greetings, Earthlings!

You people sure take your challenges seriously. You’ve probably noticed that the gargleblaster grid has consistently hit its max of 42 entries by mid-Monday. After some thought, we’ve decided to adjust the schedule a bit.

From here on out, we’ll open the grid as usual at midnight on Monday, and close it at midnight on Tuesday. Yes, that’s only 24 hours to post, but you’ve been doing that anyway! Voting will run from midnight on Tuesday until 10:00 PM, and we’ll announce winners on Wednesday by noon.  (All times are US Eastern!)

Want to make sure you don’t miss the prompt? Sign up for the yeah write weekly e-mail blast. The form is in the sidebar.

The ultimate question

This week we’re paying tribute to Gabriel García Márquez, who was (in our humble opinion) one of the greatest writers of the last century. This week’s ultimate question comes to us from One Hundred Years of Solitude:

“Tell me something, old friend: why are you fighting?”

The author continues:

“What other reason could there be?” Colonel Gerineldo Marquez answered. “For the great Liberal party.”

“You’re lucky because you know why,” he answered. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve come to realize only just now that I’m fighting because of pride.”

Marquez’s response is only 41 words, but then, he wasn’t playing our game. Give us your answer in 42 words. Be creative, be imaginative, never submit your first draft of anything, even if it’s only 42 words long. And remember: it’s family-free week, so no family allowed!

Recipe for a proper gargleblaster

  • Entries must be 42 words exactly. We count. (Tip: don’t trust your word processor – use your eyes!)
  • 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. But 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 brand-new 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. You’ve got to stick around for the whole ride if you want one of these shiny badges, 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. We might not award one every week, but we’ll have an eye on those hitchhiking posts.

Get your badge here

Please be sure to include the proper gargleblaster badge in your post. It looks like this one right here. Not sure how to add the badge? Here are instructions:

  1. The gargleblaster badge is in the sidebar there to the left. It’s the one that has #158 on it. Copy the code in the box under the badge.
  2. Open your blog post in edit mode, click on “Text” or “HTML” to get to the html code, and paste the code there.
  3. Save, and voila! That should do it.
  4. Now when you look at the published page, you should be able to click on the image and it will take you back to the gargleblaster grid.

Remember, the grid closes on Tuesday at midnight Eastern or when we hit 42 entries, whichever comes first! If you don’t see an “Add your link” button, then the grid is closed. 


 Loading InLinkz ...

What next?

You’ve posted your gargleblaster. You remembered the badge. You linked it up. Next step? Read, comment, share the love. Voting opens on Tuesday!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This