This week has been like a kaleidoscope. Every time I think I see a pattern, it changes. It’s rather exhilarating, of course, and I’m looking forward to the next wild light show. Normally we’d reprint the jury prize winner from last week’s yeah write challenge grid, but since we didn’t quite hit the threshold to award one, let’s dive right into this week’s news.

Gargleblaster: this week’s ultimate question

OK, so we have to admit: we were blown away by the way you all took to the new gargleblaster challenge. You filled the grid in fewer than 42 hours! That’s the kind of enthusiasm we love to see around here. So with no further ado, we give you this week’s gargleblaster prompt:

Who dunnit?

Give us your best answer in exactly 42 words. Fact, fiction, poetry, prose – whatever tickles your fancy. Remember that the gargleblaster grid opens on Monday and is limited to – of course – 42 entries.

Start writing now. If you aren’t quite sure what makes a good gargleblaster, check out last week’s grid. Come back on Monday to submit your entry – don’t dawdle, the grid fills fast! Voting will open on Wednesday, and winners will be posted on Thursday. We’ll remind you on Facebook and Twitter, so make sure to connect with us there! In the meantime, head over to the gargleblaster FAQ for all the details.

The weekend’s moonshine grid is still open

You still have a few hours to link up nearly whatever you want at Natalie’s weekend moonshine grid. Bring an old post, bring a new listicle, hang out with our weekend crew, it all closes to new submissions Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. US eastern.

And it’s still our birthday!

We are firm believers that birthdays should last more than one day. Or even one week. That’s why we are leaving the challenge grid submissions unmoderated for one more week. Next week (challenge #157) we return to our standard operating procedures, so take advantage of our celebratory mood while you can.

And what would a birthday be without gifts? Not for us – we get a present with every submission to each grid. No, we’re giving out presents to you.

This week and next, we’ll be giving away a few prizes that are out of this world. Instead of a purely random drawing, we want you to fill out this Google birthday gift registry with your preferences. You can enter the drawing for one prize or for all of them. We’ll announce them at the end of yeah write #157. As a reminder, the prizes up for grabs are:

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• a flip face caricature of your very own just like the yeah write editors use as our avatars
• a coffee mug featuring ML Philpott’s random penguins
• a premium WordPress blog or portfolio theme by WooThemes (delivered as a .zip file; you are on your own for installation and modifications)
• a 12-month subscription to †yeah write that will include up to 12 quick and dirty edits by our wonderful literary editor Louise for your planned submissions to the challenge grid or the speakeasy. Improve your writing and increase your chances of earning an editor’s pick or the jury prize
• a mystery package of books and other goodies from your favorite yeah write editors

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You must be a yeah write challenge and/or speakeasy subscriber to be eligible for any of the prize drawings. Subscribe here if you haven’t already.

Heads up! It’s (almost) time for something completely different

You know us: we can’t resist a good challenge. So, starting next week  with yeah write #158, we’re declaring a family-free zone for one whole month. Some of you may remember we’ve done this before, and we think it was an experiment worth repeating.

Now, before you start organizing a picket line, let us explain our reasoning here:

First of all, we love kids. Most of us have some of our own. We love our moms, our dads, our close relatives and our extended families, and those we don’t love still make great material. But families are easy. Yeah write wants you to grow as writers, to think out of the box and get out of your comfort zones. So for one month, we want you to write about anything and everything except your kids or wife/spouse/significant other or your parents or anyone marked by a blood, marriage or otherwise legal relationship with you.

And for you fictioneers, the family-free rule applies to the speakeasy and gargleblaster, too. We know family relationships make great fodder for fiction, but they are off-limits for four weeks. Find your tension and conflicts somewhere else. 

We’re not saying you can’t write about this stuff at all.  Have a lovely poem about your parents? Dying to share that story about the time your kids really screwed up Mothers’ Day? You’re in luck: that’s what the moonshine grid is for. Just don’t link it up to any of the challenge grids – yeah write, speakeasy or gargleblaster – for challenges #158 to #162.

Get your #156 badges!

The badge for yeah write #156 is over in the sidebar. Copy the code from the box beneath the badge, paste it into the text or HTML view of your post draft window, then the badge should appear in your post once published. Whether you’re participating in the yeah write challenge grid or the gargleblaster grid, remember to grab the badge for your challenge with #156 on it, not the “share yeah write” 2014 badge.

New to yeah write?

Welcome! This is a special kind of place, and we hope you will dive right in. If this is one of your first visits to yeah write, please take a look at our page detailing how yeah write works. If you’re having trouble figuring it all out, feel free to email us, and we’ll help get you started along your way. We think this is the best community on the web for writers who blog and bloggers who write. We’re thrilled to have you join us.

Yeah write #156 challenge grid gargleblaster opens Monday, yeah write #156 traditional challenge and the speakeasy open Tuesday…