Life in progress


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#JusJoJan 2018, the 2nd – Boisterous

I’ve never been boisterous. Such activity exhausts me, even watching it. Which doesn’t mean I’m not often on-the-go, but you won’t find me jumping around.

I purposely chose the calmest dog in the litter. This is him being boisterous beside me.

Lack of boisterousness, it seems to me, is taking on a new face in the world. I imagine at one point it meant walking slowly for miles to get to school (uphill both ways, of course), or steadily working on whatever needed to get done. In present times there is no need, often, to leave our homes to get the things we want. More people than in decades are working and learning at home–I was going to say more than in history, but it’s like somehow we’re going back to the same scenario when people were home-taught by their parents and worked the land. Only now we’re stationary, working and learning at home from long distances. Human interaction, like the old days when farmers rarely saw anyone outside their families, is slowly reverting to minimal, but for different reasons and by different means.

Wow. That took a rather un-boisterous philosophical turn, didn’t it? Something to think about.

This post is brought to you by Just Jot it January, and in particular, prompted by the word, “boisterous,” provided by Dan! Thank you so much, my friend! You can find Dan’s JusJoJan post by clicking right here. Please go and say hi! To participate in the prompt, please visit this post, where you’ll find the rules and you can leave your link in the comments.


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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – January 2nd, 2018

Wow, are we ever off to a good start! Lots of regulars from my weekly prompts joined in yesterday, as well as a few people who’ve come back from last year’s Just Jot it January, and a bunch of new bloggers too. I have a feeling JusJoJan 2018 will be a huge success! Here we go for day two:

Your prompt for January 2nd, 2018, brought to you by Dan Antion, is “Boisterous.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Dan at his blog, “No Facilities,” to read his post and say hi! He’s very friendly. 😀 Here’s his link:  https://nofacilities.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.


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123. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Monday, January 1st, 5:00pm
Yvonne and Quinn

 

Quinn: Are you nervous?

Yvonne: Of course. It’s not every day I get to tell my parents I’m pregnant over turkey dinner.

Quinn: Well, we were going to have to tell them eventually.

Yvonne: (stares at him) Do you have any idea how hard it’s going to be telling my mother she’s going to be a grandmother? She’ll probably drop dead in the stuffing.

Quinn: She’s really that obsessed about getting old?

Yvonne: You’ve met my mother, right?

Quinn: Yeah. Do you want me to tell your dad and then he can tell her after we’ve left?

Yvonne: That’s the coward’s way out.

They stare at each other for three seconds.

Both: Let’s do it.

 

Next stop: Tuesday, January 2nd, 7:00pm

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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#JusJoJan 2018, the 1st – Drama

When I wrote my very first novel in 2004 (I think), Trixie In a Box, about a woman stuck in an elevator in a deserted building over a long weekend, I had no idea what genre to place it in. Which is partially why I still haven’t published it. If it was a movie, it would be a drama. While Trixie is enclosed in her dark metal box, her family goes through a crisis and barely notices she’s missing. This conundrum has led me to much contemplation on the meaning of the word “drama.” Why it’s not recognized and hugely popular as a literary genre is beyond me.

If you think about it, drama in movies is really simply a slice of ordinary life. Sure, something significant happens within that hour and a half, but things happen in life all the time. Unless we’re in an extended rut, we tend to go from one drama to the next. The most popular recent use of “drama” is related to angst. Often teenage angst; a negative connotation that’s made the word almost cringe-worthy.

Here’s Merriam-Webster’s definition as it relates to life rather than theatre:

3 a : a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces

  • the drama of the past week
  • dealing with some family drama
b : dramatic state, effect, or quality

  • the drama of the courtroom proceedings

So what to do with Trixie? It will take some major up-to-snuff editing to elevate (pun not intended) her to literary fiction. I do hope she’ll see the light of day (okay, that one was a little bit intended) eventually.

This post is brought to you by Just Jot it January, and in particular, prompted by the word, “drama,” provided by Ritu! Thanks so much, my dear! You can find Ritu’s own JusJoJan post by clicking right here. Please go and say hi! To participate in the prompt, please visit this post, where you’ll find the rules and you can leave your link in the comments.


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The Escapist Coloring Club Prompt – January 1, 2018

Welcome to the first ever Escapist Coloring Club prompt! For this prompt, I encourage you to post pictures of your own colouring, your kids’ colouring, or that of anyone you know and have permission to share. That’s all you have to do to join the club.

For my own posts, I have a new colouring calendar, which gives me a new project to work on every month. I plan to take a “before” picture to post next month, so I can show both the uncoloured version and the coloured one.

This month all I have to show you is my December 2017 calendar fully coloured.

I decided not to colour in the background, but the temptation to just cut it out and paste it to my paneled wall is great.

Here are the details:

I coloured the tree green, then wished I’d coloured it brown.

Loads of fun shading the pine cones! I used a combination of markers and coloured pencils for effect.

That’s it! All there is to it, apart from the hours of “me” time I got while working on it.

Please find the “rules” below. I look forward to seeing your amazing projects!

1. This prompt is designed for relaxation. As such, I encourage you to take your time to link your own post here, BUT, when you comment, please click the “Notify me of new comments via email” button. That way you’ll receive a notification when someone else links their project and you won’t miss anything. As with all the prompts, the more you visit others, the more your community of like-minded people grows.

2. Ping back! It’s important so that I and other people can come and read your post. To execute a pingback, just copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into the body of your post. 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.

3. There will be a prompt on the first of every month. I will post the prompt here on my blog at 9:30am -5 GMT. The prompt will simply be photos of my own colouring project. If you would like to host this prompt on your blog on another week during the month, either once, occasionally, or on a regular basis, please e-mail me at hilllindagmaru at gmail dot com and we’ll get you set up. All I ask is that you have an active blog and that you regularly reply to comments and visit other blogs.

4. Feel free to use the Escapist Coloring Club badge in your post.

5. Have fun!


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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.


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122. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Note: Strong language

Sunday, December 31st, 11:47pm
Andrea (and Edward)

 

Andrea sits at the window. Edward takes the seat beside her.

Andrea: I can’t believe I’m stuck on this fucking bus at (looks at her cell phone) thirteen minutes to twelve on New Year’s Eve.

Edward: You’re not alone. I should be out drinking.

Andrea: Tell me about it.

Edward: I could take you out somewhere …

Andrea: I beg your pardon?

Edward smiles, showing his plastic fangs.

Andrea: Oh my God, are you kidding me?

Edward: No. Wanna ditch the bus? I could really go for a drink.

Andrea: Let’s go.

 

Next stop: Monday, January 1st, 5:00pm

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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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!


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121. Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right

Saturday, December 30th, 7:00pm
Rocky and Arnie

 

Arnie: When I saw how your character was shot, I spilled my coffee. All down my shirt. (points to coffee stain)

Rocky: Sorry, man. I’ll wait and get off the bus with you.

Arnie: No. Go on without me. I’ll be fine.

Rocky: I can’t do that, man. You’re like a brother to me.

Arnie: I insist. Think about your family. Your daughter, she needs her drugs. Get to the Shopper’s.

Rocky: I won’t forget you, man. You’ll be at work tomorrow?

Arnie: (nods) I’ll be back.

Rocky hugs Arnie and gets off the bus.

 

Next stop: Sunday, December 31st, 11:47pm

Click here to learn all about this series, how it works, and where to find your favourite characters.


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#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/