Life in progress

Tag Archives: SoCS


by 44 Comments

Am I Right? – Stream of Consciousness Saturday (Write/Right)

There’s nothing quite like pizza for breakfast. Straight out of the box in the fridge and into my mouth. And don’t tell me it’s not the right way to eat a pizza.

But… I’m a hypocrite. Although I can’t stand having someone tell me what is the right or wrong way to enjoy my food, I often tell my best friend, John, just that. I mean seriously, just because it’s not the right way for me (or most of the other people on the planet) to eat peanut butter… on a sandwich with a slice of processed cheese… should I be telling him it’s not right?

Damnit, yes! It’s wrong, plain and simple. It’s like putting ketchup in your chicken noodle soup, or eating baked beans smothered with maple syrup. (I’ll get some flack from the Quebecois on that one, particularly this time of year.)

We all have our oddities when it comes to food. What are yours?

 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

See this week’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday, and join in! Click the link here: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-2914/


by 6 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 29/14

Hi there, and welcome once again to the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt!

In a month or so of reading other blogger’s posts, I find an amazing pattern is emerging. Without the editing process, I can see writer’s voices come through in a way that they don’t necessarily when a piece is pored over, fixed, and fixed again. Reading many of the SoCS posts is like relaxing over a cup of cocoa and enjoying a quiet conversation with a friend. Do you see it? I urge everyone, whether you’re participating or not, to click on some of the links in the comments, to read their posts. There’s some fascinating stuff going on in these bloggers’ lives, and in their thought processes. It’s wonderful to see!

So without further ado, here is this week’s prompt: Write or right, in any of its definitions. Either make this the theme of your post, or just use the word somewhere. It’s up to you.

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at the prompt page in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post!

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,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and past the following: “This post is part of SoCS: (https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/)” Also, you can come here and link your post in the comments. The most recent comments will be found at the top.

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. Have fun!


by 37 Comments

What’s My Line? – Stream of Consciousness Saturday (Line)

I was sitting in front of the bank manager’s desk yesterday, with the bright March sun shining right in my eyes when she asked me, “Are you still a ‘homemaker’?”

“Yes,” I replied. But that’s not really what I was thinking. What I wanted to say was, “no, I’m a writer.”

But then, I figured she’d ask me who I was working for, and I didn’t, of course, want to tell her I didn’t work for anyone but myself.

It’s questions like this that make a thousand thoughts run through your head at once. All the ‘what ifs’ and ‘why don’t I just come out and say it?’ and ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’ It’s funny how fast the brain can work in these moments. The decisions that we make in a split second, some of which can change our lives forever. And what’s scary is, how many times in, say, a year, these split-second decisions come across our desk, our plates or our lives. I can’t remember how many times I’ve said to myself, if only I’d said this, or that. Whether it was something that would have altered my life to a degree that I might not have recognized myself in ten years, or whether it was merely something witty, those moments pass us by like so many lost opportunities and baseballs we know we should have been able to catch if only we weren’t afraid of the pain of impact.

One day I’ll be able to change that decision. I’m going to say, “I’m a writer,” and I’m going to smile broadly AND I’m going to say I work for myself. One day.

Part of ‘Stream of Consciousness Saturday’ (SoCS) – this week’s prompt here: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-2214/

Please join in! It’s open to everyone!


by 8 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 22/14

Hi there, and welcome once again to the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt!

I was inspired by my photo of this morning to make this week’s prompt something to do with being aligned, lined up, or a drawn line. Please include this as a theme, or a word, or the title… whatever you want.

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post! And don’t forget to comment back here as well with your URL.

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,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and past the following: “This post is part of SoCS: (https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/)” Also, you can come here and link your post in the comments. The most recent comments will be found at the top.

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. Have fun!


by 9 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 15/14

Hi there, and welcome once again to the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt!

Linking to the Friday prompt last week seemed to work well (thanks KG for your suggestion), so after you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post!

For this week’s prompt, please include a colour, or the word “colour,” somewhere in your post.

I’m looking forward to a record number of participants this week. Let’s get this ball rolling! The more people join in, the more new bloggers we’ll meet!

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,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and past the following: “This post is part of SoCS: (https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/)” Also, you can come here and link your post in the comments. The most recent comments will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. 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. Have fun!


by 8 Comments

SoCS (Stream of Consciousness Saturday) – An Amount

When one has nothing to write, where does one start? Is it with a single word? Or a sentence?

I like to start with a statement, or a question. Once I have that first sentence however, I can either fly like an eagle or sink like a stone, the latter of which I feel as though I’m doing now. But I’ll plow on, because this whole SoCS thing was my idea to start with, and so I’d better show the world that it CAN be done, even when I’m not in the mood to write.

It’s 10am on the Saturday of my day off and the day is already screwed up. The person who delivers the newspaper to me, so I can take them to the individual houses of the people who subscribe to them only showed up this morning with half my papers. They’re supposed to be delivered to the customer by 9am. So I got up from my potential lovely lay-in for nothing. It’s freezing drizzle outside right now, I haven’t had a coffee yet and I have to stay in all afternoon to wait for my internet service provider to come over to fix something (proactively) that’s not broken. Hopefully I’ll get some editing done in there.

So now that I’ve spent my Saturday bitching about my Saturday. I think I’ll end there, put a cap on this, and say, what a waste of blank screen this was.

Can’t win ’em all I guess. At least I wrote something, right?

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please join in! To see the prompt for this week for “Stream of Consciousness Saturday” click here: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-814/

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,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and past the following: “This post is part of SoCS: (https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/)” Also, you can come here and link your post in the comments. The most recent comments will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has pinged back their post. If you’re the first person to ping 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. Have fun!


by 13 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for SoCS March 8/14

Hello to my Stream of Consciousness Saturday friends and to all who wish to join in the fun this week!

As well as a reminder for tomorrow’s event, I’d like to share a minor update. As it turns out, I’m not able to automatically approve pingbacks in my comments, so if I’m not at the computer when you ping your post, it won’t show up. Consequently I’ve added to the rules, suggesting that after you post your SoCS article, you comment here: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/ with a link to your Saturday post, so others can see it right away – otherwise it could be hours before anyone comes to visit and sees how awesome your post is. Note that I’ve set up my comments so the most recent is on top, so you won’t have to scroll down too far to visit other contributors posts for the current week. If you have any questions, or if this is as crazy confusing as I think it might be, please leave any questions you have below.

Here is this week’s prompt: In your first sentence, include a quantity. Any number from one to a gazillion, or any conceptual number, i.e. “many,” “few,” “a lot,” or even “once” will do.

Have a once-over of the rules by clicking on the link above if you’d like, and then off you go. I’m looking forward to reading all your contributions!

Edit: It’s been brought to my attention that if you link your Saturday post back to the Friday prompt (i.e. this post) then everyone will be together in each individual week. We’ll try that this week and see how it goes. So tomorrow, when you post, add this link to your article: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-march-814/

Hopefully we’ll get this ironed out before the month is up! Thanks for your patience. 🙂


by 19 Comments

Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS) Start with a Verb

Kicking and screaming is how they’re going to have to pry my cell phone out of my cold dead hand.

Okay, not really. But seriously, I’m not sure I could live without my cell phone. But it’s not only me, either.

Consider this: When I was young (a teenager) I used to go out with my friends. (Of course.) I’d have a curfew and my mother would be sitting in the kitchen waiting for me to come home. She made sure I had a dime in case I needed to call. I’m sure she must have sat by the phone as well.

Now (these days), when my son went out (he’s moved out now) I’d not have to sit by the phone – it would be in my pocket. He didn’t need a dime – he had a cell. I knew that at any given moment he could call me without needing to look for a payphone.

How did our parents survive back then? I’d be worried poo-less!

I can’t imagine having to go through all that waiting, and wondering, and worrying about my kids. I don’t worry as much about my own safety now either.

I suppose it prepared my mother for when I went to Japan by myself – I didn’t have a cell phone then. But in Japan I felt very safe.

Anyway, I’m starting to ramble. That’s what SoCS is all about though.

What do you think? Could you live without a cell phone? Would you let your kids out of the house at night without one?

______________________________________________________________

See the rules of Stream of Consciousness Saturday here: https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/ and come and join in the fun!! 😀


by 85 Comments

SoCS (Stream of Consiousness Saturday) – The Rules

For some reason, I always have a hard time coming up with a blog post on the weekends. So I’ve been doing something for the past month, (in case you’re new here–HI! by the way *waves*) called “Stream of Consciousness Saturday.”

I’ve decided to try to make it a “thing,” to see if people want to join in. By doing so, you can link your post back here, or to my post on any given Saturday, and other bloggers will be able to see it and read.

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,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and past the following: “This post is part of SoCS: (https://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/03/01/socs-stream-of-consiousness-saturday-the-rules/)” Also, you can come here and link your post in the comments. The most recent comments will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has pinged back their post. If you’re the first person to ping 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. Have fun!

I’ll put the prompt in the title of my Saturday post every week in case you miss my Friday reminder post.

This week, the prompt will be: Start with a verb. Begin your Saturday post with any verb – make it the first word.

I’m looking forward to seeing who joins in. Let’s have fun with this!