Life in progress

Monthly Archives: March 2017


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Apr. 1/17

Hey there! It’s Friday and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. The month of April, as you might have heard, is time for many of us to participate in the A to Z Challenge. With this taken into consideration, I’ll start the prompt with the letter of the day, just to potentially help people along. Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “any.” Begin your post with the word “any.” Bonus points if you theme your post on another word that starts with “A.” Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


by 54 Comments

The Brand New Crazy Way to A to Z and Theme Reveal!

Incredibly, we’ve somehow made it all the way (almost) to the end of March already, which means the A-Z April Challenge is mere hours away. And if that’s not mind-blowing enough, they’ve changed the way they’re getting everyone together this year! Yes, gone is the Linky list (because who needed 2,000 participants easily found in one place) and now, to confuse us all, they’ve decided to go all SoCS style on our asses. Which would be wonderful if only the A-Z Challenge was on a WordPress account… but it’s on Blogger!

So every day we’re to go to their daily post and drop our link in the comments, and look around for other blogs to visit. It’s gonna be a free-for-all! Yay!

Ahem. Where was I?

Oh yes. I’ve decided to participate again this year because self-flagellation extra work is good for me. That, and I miss writing. Seriously, I do. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m at such a loss in the creation department that I’ve started colouring. Colouring!! (Colouring is fun! 😀 But it ain’t working my author muscles.) So I’m doing it. Come rain or shine, flood or drought, high water or hell, I’m going to write a post every day this month except Sundays if it kills me. Because you know what? It’s not even just the writing I miss. I miss you guys!

Are you ready then to find out what my theme is going to be? Are you? Are you sure?

You’re going to have to look at the banner first:

Clicking the banner will take you to the AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal page

Okay, that took me ten minutes. Is the drum roll almost finished?

My A to Z Theme for 2017 will be…

…

…

RANDOM AGAIN!

I had so much fun with my thesaurus a couple of years ago that I’ve chosen to do it again. This year, when I open my thesaurus to a page with the letter of the day, I’ll write a post based on the word listed second from the bottom, on the right-hand page, in the left-hand column. No exceptions. For those of you who are also playing along, I’ll choose a word to match the letter of the day that the Stream of Consciousness Saturdays of the month fall on. They are:

April 1 – A
April 8 – G
April 15 – M
April 22 – S
April 29 – Y

That’s that then! If you’re joining in on the torture fun this year, let me know in the comments and I’ll make sure to visit you.

Let’s do this thing!!

 


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One-Liner Wednesday – When you have faith in your best friend

Him: I should be at your place by 8.

Me: Great, see you at 10. Keep in touch to let me know why you’re running late.

(Love you, John. 😉 )

_____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com


by 40 Comments

#SoCS – Marching

I hate being sick. Sure, it’s not as bad as it is just before Christmas when you’ve got so much running around to do, but it’s bad enough even now. I’m having a hard time thinking. I have no energy. It’s like my sinuses are pushing on both my logic/how to do stuff part of my brain and my get-up-and-go part. Who knew I had an off switch? I hope my sinuses remember to turn it back on when I’m better.

Meanwhile I march myself through life, running on sheer responsibility. And even that’s running thin at the moment. Yet somehow I got a couple of bits of good news today.

I won a contest for a new book that came out; “Like Clockwork” by Ali Abbas. Here it is here: https://www.amazon.com/Like-Clockwork-Ali-Abbas/dp/0998498327/

The contest gave me a pdf copy of another of the author’s books, a $10 gift certificate from Amazon, and a gorgeous pocket watch. I’ll take a picture when I get it and post it. The book looks really good too.

On top of that, I signed my first contract to edit a novel. My first real job in over fifteen years (if you don’t count the paper route).  Whoopie!! …okay, that wore me out.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, eh? Marching off to bed.

This worn out post was brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find the rules and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2017/03/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-mar-2517/

 


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Mar. 25/17

Is it still Friday? Yes, I think it is, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Well, it doesn’t happen often, but I think I’m sick. Or it could be allergies. Either way, I’m sneezing up a storm. I’ll try not to pass it on if it’s a virus. Haha.

Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “march.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


by 37 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Any Takers?

Fortune cookie: You will soon receive an unusual proposition.

Please note: Any propositions proposed in the comments below may be used in a novel.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com

 


by 22 Comments

#SoCS – Romance – Caution! This post has nothing to do with romance.

I never wanted to be a romance writer. That is, I never set out to be one. I’m more of a relationship writer. And let’s face it, romantic relationships are something most of us strive for, at some point in our lives.

Being interested in behaviors and the thoughts that make us all tick makes it a bit of a no-brainer that I’d write about relationships. Behaviors were explained to me in a course I took, for whatever reason, to learn about what makes my Autistic son do the things he does, and to learn to curb some of his inappropriate and unwanted behaviors. The most interesting (to me) thing I took away from that course is that we all engage in social behaviors, whether positive or negative. All the time. Every time we communicate with another human — or I suppose any living thing — we exhibit behaviors in order to get the response we hope for in return.

Smiling at a stranger, for instance, is a positive behavior. If I smile at someone, I hope for a smile in return. Okay, stay with me on this – these are just examples. If I stand in the middle of a crowded street and start crying, it might be because I hope for someone to try to comfort me, or ask me what’s wrong. This can be seen as a negative behavior. Manipulative, perhaps. Or maybe it’s a genuine cry for help.

The most important part of this is that our children do things like the last example, all the time. Whether they’re Autistic or not. Knowing, as a parent, what is a genuine cry for help and what is simply a manipulative behavior bent on getting our attention can be tricky, but discerning the difference can be a valuable tool.

Go back to the smiling thing. If I smile at, say, ten people I pass on the street and not one of them smiles back, I’m going to give up. My behavior is obviously not giving me the response I’m going for. Rather, it’s being ignored. Now take the screaming, crying child. What is yelling back at them going to do? Encourage the behavior, because it’s giving them exactly what they’re seeking. Attention. No words, and no amount of negative behavior back at them is going to stop their crying. But if we ignore it… and sometimes it can take ten times before they get it… their behavior will stop.

In the ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) program I was taking, it’s called “planned ignoring.” It’s very simple, and it works. I can attest to that.

Ah, romance. How the hell did I get here? Relationships. Right. All birds of the same feather. And this is why I’m a multi-genre but single-minded author.

This insanely all-over-the-place post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Find the rules and the prompt here: https://lindaghill.com/2017/03/17/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-mar-1817/ and join in. It’s insanely fun!


by 50 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Mar. 18/17

Would you look at that! It’s Friday! And that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Well, March Break is almost finished, and I’ve survived this long. The young’un is with his dad now (he finally made it down the newly-opened-but-not-completely-opened highway), so I’m enjoying a bit of peace and quiet for a few days. Anyhoo, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “man.” Use it as a word by itself or find a word with “man” in it. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


by 55 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Not Meant To Be

I was annoyed that the snow prevented me from getting in the car to drive Alex to his dad’s near Ottawa yesterday – I’d have been right in the spot, right about the same time a 30 vehicle accident, complete with a 10,000 litre hydrofloric acid spill, happened. No deaths reported as I write this.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/highway-401-collision-1.4024721

_____________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to participate, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do,
you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by nearlywes.com


by 8 Comments

#SoCS – Spring Forward and other ridiculousness

Well, I missed the deadline for my own prompt.  What a loser!! In my (self) defense, I was extremely busy playing Wii Party today, and basically trying to distract the kid long enough for him not to do all the things he does when he wants attention. Ah, what I’d give to have a sixteen-year-old who stays in his room and wants nothing to do with Mom for just a day.

So now that it’s Sunday, it means we here in North America (at least) are into our shortest day of the year. Not because of sunlight, but because we’re “springing forward.” We’re losing an hour of sleep… or are we? When I was kidless, I would have said yes. But kids wake up at the same time, regardless. They don’t look at the clock and say, ‘well, time to wake up because it’s 7 am already!’ No, they get up with the sun no matter what the clock says. So for us parents, it can mean a shorter day tomorrow instead of a shorter night tonight. Which means we can put them to bed an hour sooner and get more time tomorrow… or at least until the sun starts co-operating.

I’m probably not making an ounce of sense at this point. It’s 12:40, which means it’s 1:40… which means I should probably be in bed.

Yeah, let’s go with that.

This post is brought to you by yesterday’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Check it out at the following link and read all the posts! You can even join in… late, like me! https://lindaghill.com/2017/03/10/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-mar-1117/