Life in progress


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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 1st, 2018

Hello, and welcome to 2018! It may be cold outside where you are, or it might be stifling hot. One way or another, I hope you’re comfortable at your device and ready for your first prompt here at Just Jot it January!

Your prompt for January 1st, 2018, brought to you by the lovely Ritu, is “Drama.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Ritu at her blog, “But I Smile Anyway…” to read her post and say hi! Here’s her link:  https://butismileanyway.com/

Here are the general rules to follow for Just Jot it January:

1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “Jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

2. I’ll post the daily prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5), every day except for Saturday’s Stream of Consciousness (SoCS) prompt–you’ll find that one on Friday morning at 9:30am. That daily post (i.e. this one) will be where you leave your link for others to find in the comment section. There will be a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday.

3. As long as your blog is on WordPress, you’ll be able to link via pingback. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! If you’re participating from another blogging host, just drop a link into the comment section. Note: The newest pingbacks and comments will appear at the top.

4. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

5. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

6. The prompts are here both to remind you and to inspire you to write. However, you don’t have to use the prompt word of the day. You can link any kind of jot back here. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link or close to your pingback.

7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

8. Have fun!

To find the full list of daily prompts from now until the end of the month, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/27/what-is-just-jot-it-january-2018-rules/ and scroll down to the bottom of the post.


12 Comments

Reminder for The Escapist Coloring Club Prompt and Happy New Year

As January 1st quickly approaches here (happy new Year to those whose clocks have already changed!), I just wanted to remind anyone who is interested that my other new prompt begins tomorrow for The Escapist Coloring Club. I’ve designed a badge in paint – it’s nothing to write home about, but it’s something. I’ll likely change it eventually to make it more fancy.

The prompt post will go up tomorrow with the rules, which will be slightly different as the prompt is, so far, only once a month. If you’d like to start preparing your posts today, I’ll be asking for one full shot of your colouring project, and at least one closeup of a part you’re particularly proud of, if there are any. Don’t forget, your prompt photo can be your own colouring, your kids’, or even your significant other’s if you’d like. The prompt will go live at 9:30am (-5 GMT), and entries will be welcomed all week, so don’t stress over it! The entire point of this prompt is to give yourself time to relax.

With that, I wish everyone a healthy, joyous, and prosperous new year. Cheers to 2018!


48 Comments

#SoCS – Resolution

I have to say that the first thing to come to mind when I decided on the prompt word “resolution” was the talk around the Christmas dinner table of our friends’ new 4K television. I had no idea what “4K” meant until someone explained to me that it was the screen’s resolution. It’s apparently (the picture, that is) more real-looking than real life. Enough to make you wonder what, exactly, it would take to really make our eyes work to their fullest. Maybe there’s more than just corrective lenses.

Then there’s the resolution on the screen of my new laptop. Yes, I had to buy one. The old one keeps crashing on me, which means it’s unreliable. Also the internal battery is almost dead and I keep getting a message to say the display driver has stopped working. As I can’t work without a computer, I had no choice. … that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Windows 10 is going to take some getting used to, as well as the new mouse pad that I can’t seem to fix to stop opening things I just want to scroll past. I may have to contact tech support for that one, as it’s really annoying when I want to stay in the chapter I’m working on in Word. Grrr.

Speaking of chapters, I’m getting my second book in the The Great Dagmaru series ready for beta readers. I hope to publish it in February!

Which brings me to my new year’s resolutions. First, get book two and maybe even book three published. I’d like to make the time to take more courses this year, as I only have five years to get them all done for my editing certificate. Money’s an issue, as is time, but it’s a bit of a conundrum as I can make more money if I have the certificate. Kinda like not being able to get a job without the experience, and not being able to get the experience without a job. I’ve always found that to be extremely frustrating. Where was I? Oh yeah, resolutions.

I got a Fitbit for Christmas, so I’m going to try to use it as motivation to get moving a bit more. Since I started editing full time, my weight has gone up and my fitness level is in the basement. I have to change that for the good of my well-being.

I think it’s been three years now since I made the resolution (added to my wish-list?) the goal of spending one weekend alone in my house. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m sure this will be the year! I’d also like to go on some sort of vacation this year, but I can’t see it happening at this point. Again, money (or lack thereof).

I’m really loving this new laptop screen. Suggestions for Netflix movies are welcome.

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and join in today – it’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/29/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-30-17/


61 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 30/17

It’s the last Friday of 2017! How did that happen so fast? As always, Friday means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. For the next four weeks after this one, your Friday prompt will look slightly different as it will be part of Just Jot it January as well. I hope you’ll join in every day! Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “resolution.” 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!


78 Comments

Prompt Me, JusJoJan 2018

Hey, all! You’re used to getting prompts from me; now it’s your turn!

Just Jot It Januaary is not only a fun way to meet people, it’s a great way to inspire writers to keep writing once the holidays are finished and life is returning to normal. Prompts are an incredible device to get the imagination going. Wouldn’t you like to inspire a bunch of bloggers to write? Of course you would!

What I need is 22 single words to use in the Just Jot It January challenge. Read the rules carefully! This is how you can be included:

  • The first 22 comments on this post that include a single word will be the prompts for the 22 days in January that I won’t be writing my own prompts (aka One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday).  If you write more than one word in your comment, for example, “My word is antidisestablishmentarianism,” I’ll ignore it. Same thing if you try to slip in two, even in two different comments–I’ll only accept the first. If I get the same word twice, I’ll only accept the first person who got to it. If you’re the second, feel free to try again. And please, remember this is a relatively G-rated blog, so nothing too risque.
  • I’ll link back to the blog of whomever gives me a prompt on the day I use it.
  • Make sure you get your comment in early. You don’t want to miss out!
  • Please don’t bother entering a prompt if your blog is inactive. If you haven’t posted in over a month and you’re only looking for clicks, your prompt word will be rejected. If, on the other hand, you’re planning to use JusJoJan to inspire you to get back into the swing of things, let me know immediately in a second comment — NOT the one you give your prompt word in. Remember, that’s ONE word only.
  • I observed last year, with all the turmoil going on down south of the Canadian border, that many of our prompt words were negative in nature. I found they didn’t do as well as the more positive words. I don’t want to limit you, but please keep in mind that if your word is on the sadder side, your prompt may not get as much participation.
  • If you provide a prompt, I encourage you to join in as much as possible throughout the month.

Please see my previous post for the Just Jot it January rules in detail.  As I receive prompts here in the comments, I’ll list them over there for easy access. Here’s the link in case you missed it: https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/27/what-is-just-jot-it-january-2018-rules/

Okay. Are you ready? Aaaaand… prompt! One word!


151 Comments

What is Just Jot It January 2018? – Rules

It may be my love for writing or it might be my joy in sharing my passion, but I love to inspire people. Writing is one of the best ways of expressing ourselves, and certainly a wonderful method for organizing our thoughts and putting things in perspective. I find the latter to be essential to many of us here in the north in January, while we’re stuck inside and deprived of sunshine.

For these reasons plus one more, I developed Just Jot it January. Whether you write a story, a poem, an anecdote, or your plans for the future, JusJoJan will, I hope, give you an excuse to jot something down every day in the month. What’s the one more reason? Writing is fun!!

In the post following this one I will ask for you to give us all a prompt, one of which will be posted on each of five days of every week in January. Hard to explain here, but it will be clear in the prompt post, where there will be another set of rules.

Here are the general rules to follow for Just Jot it January:

1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but it’s never too late to join in! Here, we run on the honour system; the “jot it” part of JusJoJan means that anything you jot down, anywhere (it doesn’t have to be a post, it can even be a grocery list) counts as a “Jot.” If it makes it to your blog that day, great! If it waits a week to get from a sticky note to your screen, no problem!

2. This year, I’ll be posting prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. There will be a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday. Each prompt post will include the rules. To ping back, just copy the URL from the daily prompt post, and paste it anywhere in your post. Check to make sure your link shows up where you want it to, and go back occasionally to see other bloggers’ entries – the more you visit others, the more they’ll visit you! Note: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

3. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

4. Write anything! Any length will do! It can even be a photo or a drawing – you’re going to title it, right? There’s your jot!

5. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompt words below. Remember,  you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you.

6. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

7. Have fun!

I’ll fill in the prompts as I have them, along with a link to the blog of the person who supplied the prompt:

January 1st – Drama ~ Ritu
January 2nd – Boisterous ~ Dan Antion
January 3rd – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 4th – Passionate ~ Rosemary Carlson
January 5th – Memories ~ Cage Dunn
January 6th – (SoCS – “eco”)
January 7th – Indelible ~ Ruth
January 8th – Pants ~ pensitivity101
January 9th – Coffee ~ Barbara
January 10th – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 11th – Humiliate ~ Jim Adams
January 12th – Aggravate ~ Fandango
January 13th – (SoCS – sixth, seventh, and eighth word)
January 14th – Ultimatum ~ Itinerary Planner
January 15th – Justice ~ Barb
January 16th – Contemplation ~ Cheryl
January 17th – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 18th – Revolt ~ Sandra
January 19th – Darkness ~ Kerry
January 20th – (SoCS – “oc”)
January 21st – Silence ~ Willow
January 22nd – Liberty ~ Capt Jill
January 23rd – Colour ~ supernaturalsnark
January 24th – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 25th – Prediction ~ Dar
January 26th – Address ~ John Holton
January 27th – (SoCS –
January 28th – Knight ~ Leta Hawk
January 29th – Fantastic ~ Jill (J-Dubs)
January 30th – Scrumptious ~ Judy
January 31st – (One-Liner Wednesday)


34 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Not a Fan of Christmas

For his third Christmas on earth, Winston decides this holiday isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

You’re not seriously planning to put this thing on my head.

This whole Christmas deal sucks.

___________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to participate in this prompt, 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 pingback, 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 pingback 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 Dan Antion

 


29 Comments

#SoCS – Yul log?

You’ll forgive me, won’t you? For missing my own prompt again? Though technically it is Sunday, it’s still Saturday to me because I haven’t gone to bed yet. It’s very very late Saturday night … so late, it’s Sunday morning. 😛

I’ll have to forgive myself, actually, for making the mistake of trying to find a picture of Yul Brynner tied up so that I could say Yul tied … because what I got instead was to be treated to a photo of a young Yul Brynner with no clothes on. Full frontal. So for my efforts to find a festive Yul tied, I ended up with a Yul log … errr … okay, a Yul average-size stick? Umm … did you know Yul Brynner was a brunette? Neither did I, until today.

So, where was I? Oh yes. I was busy today. I think I’ve finished my Christmas shopping, apart from the food. And most of that is done, too. Turkey’s thawing, veggies are bought, as are the potatoes and all the other stuff … yes, the stuff-ing too. So I’ll be able to mow down on a nice drumstick on Christmas … aaaand, I just got a flashback of good ol’ Yul. NO, I am not buying a Yule log for dessert this year!

Oh dear, can you tell I’m tired? No, I’m not drunk. But I do have to put the white wine in the fridge – thanks for reminding me.

And on that note, I’ll wish everyone a lovely Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, and a wonderful holiday all ’round.

Now you can go Google Yul Brynner naked.

Cheers!

This silly post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find all the other entries in the comments! https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-23-17/


43 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 23/17

It’s Friday again and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here, what with the … oooh … five inches of snow on my table outside that wasn’t there yesterday. School buses are cancelled for the last day of school–not sure whether I’ll brave the roads to get him there or if we’ll just hang out. He wants to go say goodbye to his friends, I’m happy to stay in my PJs. We’ll see. Anyway, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “yule/you’ll/Yul.” Start your post with one of them. 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 the comments below 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!


43 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – So, how was your evening?

This pretty much sums up my yesterday evening:

How was yours?

___________________________________________________________________________

If you would like to participate in this prompt, 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 pingback, 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 pingback 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 Dan Antion