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Tag Archives: SoCS


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept. 17/16

It’s Friday once again, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I realize I often say I’ve had a busy week, or a crazy one, but this week has been the craziest. I’ve had no time at all for blogging and that makes me sad. Hopefully, I’ll have more time next week to reconnect with you all. In the meantime, here’s your prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “-est.” Base your post on any word you can add the suffix “est” to. 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 new 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 11 Comments

A #SoCS post about SoCS

When I started Stream of Consciousness Saturday, two and a half years ago, I did it because I wanted to write something on the weekends without having to think about it too much. For most people, the weekdays are the busiest and weekends are for relaxing. My situation is the opposite, having the kids home all day. So I’d sit and wrack my brain for a “good idea” of what to write and usually just get stressed while I watched my views plummet. (I’ve always paid attention to numbers, so the views on my blog were a natural obsession for me.)

The whole thing started at the mall, actually. I was sitting in the food court, eating my lunch alone, and wanted to write something. Anything. So I took out my trusty notebook and began. I came home later and transcribed it verbatim on my blog. It was a week or two later that I came up with the idea to let other people in on the fun. And it has been fun, hasn’t it? (This is starting to sound doomed – it’s not.) (Also, I’m going to end another paragraph with brackets.)

I think the whole love affair I have with stream of consciousness writing stems from the way I write fiction best. I’m a pantser, which means I don’t plot. I write by the seat of my pants. It’s a lot like stream of consciousness, because you never know where it’s going. The difference is, when writing fiction you’re in someone else’s head. Someone you have gotten to know by writing backstories and by living with them through their trials and tribulations. Their struggles and their joys. Once I know them well, they carry my mind along… much like my mind carries me along to write what I’m writing now. It’s so completely natural, and that’s what I enjoy about it the most when I read all of your SoCS posts. It’s a lovely, unfiltered glimpse that allows us all to really see how we connect with one another. Because we’re really all the same inside.

Hey! I managed to write a paragraph with no brackets! (So where was I?) (See what I did there?)

I suppose to go back to the beginning, I just wanted to say I still and will probably always appreciate the concept of stream of consciousness writing. It’s an escape inwards. Like an explosion of bodily fluids but without the mess. Fingertip sweat. I should probably shut up now.

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This post is brought to you by (if you haven’t figured it out by now) Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link and join in the fun today! https://lindaghill.com/2016/09/09/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-1016/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept. 10/16

Is it Friday already? Seriously? If it is, then it must be time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. This week’s prompt is inspired by our friend, Bee Halton. She sent me a suggestion this morning to change up the prompt a bit. She suggested that I use a picture or a song rather than a word or what-have-you; I immediately shot it down, since I have a hard time myself writing a post from that type of prompt. But it did give me an idea: if ever my prompts inspire you to look for or use a piece of art, for instance, to write a post about, go right ahead! This is why I love suggestions. Thanks, Bee! So without further ado, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “view.” 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 new 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 30 Comments

#SoCS – Accumulation

When I think of all the things I’ve accumulated in my life, aside from dust-bunnies, the first thing that comes to mind is words. It fascinates me that we can express so much with such a small combination of possibilities. 26 letter comprise our alphabet, but oh, how many ways they can be arranged!

I love the idea of painting a picture with words. I’ve always wanted to be able to produce art. However, even my stick figures are hardly believable as humans. I once found an instruction on how to draw a sitting cat, when I was about 7 years old. I drew that cat everywhere, until I managed to forget how. For a while I had an intense obsession with dragons. Probably around the time I first read The Hobbit. I drew them everywhere as well. I think I stopped around the time I got a tattoo of one. I still love me a good dragon though.

I tend to accumulate books. I can’t bear to give them up, in case I ever want to read them again. In actuality, my to-be-read pile is so high that there’s not likely any chance I’ll get back to them. I can’t imagine how many shelves I’d need if it wasn’t for ebooks. I do still love paperbacks though. Not only are they more fun to collect, they’re easier on the eyes after a day of being on the internet. And writing, of course. Accumulating my words.

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This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find out how you, too, can join in the fun! https://lindaghill.com/2016/09/02/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-316/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept. 3/16

Hey, it’s Friday! That means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m late this week with your prompt due to the chaos that has been my day. I actually forgot! Sorry. Remember, there have been issues with the comments again here on WordPress for the last couple of days, so double check to make sure your pingback shows up below. Here is your prompt:

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

socsbadge2016-17

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 11 Comments

#SoCS – Your Servant

Ah, the things we do for our kids. I drove to Ottawa today for our (my son, Chris, and I) other annual museum pilgrimage. This one is a tour of four different museums – today was the History museum (in Gatineau, where above-mentioned son was born) and the War museum. It’s doubtful I’d ever have visited either of them on my own, but now, after having been to each at least half a dozen times, they feel like home. I seem to discover something new each year – the War museum never fails to humble.

The back of Canada's Parliament buildings from across the river

The back of Canada’s Parliament buildings from across the river

Canadian Museum of History

Canadian Museum of History

Now I’m sitting in my own room, having procured a suite at the St. Paul University residence with two separate bedrooms and a kitchen for under $100. Not bad, eh? Apparently I snore, so my poor son doesn’t like to sleep in the same room as me. (Yes, this is how you know this is stream of consciousness. Normally I wouldn’t admit to such a thing, but no editing…)

Tomorrow we’ll visit the Agriculture and Food Museum (oooh, that might be nice) in lieu of the Science museum we usually go to but can’t because it’s closed. Then it will be on to the Nature museum. Another one I’ve been to, actually more times than the others, because I went there once on a field trip as well. Chris has probably been to them all a dozen times. But he’s Autistic, so he enjoys the repetition.

We got lost when we were looking for the hotel/residence. The street address doesn’t show up from the street – it’s tucked in behind the university and there is loads of construction as well. Chris began to freak out, so I went to one of the local businesses and asked where the place was. He keeps telling me he wants to come to Japan with me. I found today to be a perfect time to explain to him that I get lost often. In Canada, where I speak the language (and can even get by in French), it’s easy to ask for directions. In Japan… I walk around a lot, looking for things myself, even when I’m lost. I can’t imagine what it would be like, as anxious as I sometimes get when I can’t find where I’m supposed to go, having an Autistic 21 year old going through a conniption with me.

So yeah, that probably won’t happen. But the things we do for our kids.

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This has been a perfect example of not using the prompt other than in the title of a post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday. But that’s fair! Because the title prompted what came next. Feel free to follow this and all the other (lax) rules you’ll find here, for SoCS: https://lindaghill.com/2016/08/26/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-2716/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS August 27/16

I can’t believe it’s Friday already! Friday means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve had the majority of this week “off,” since my youngest is at his dad’s, so I’ve been trying to use the time wisely. Let’s just say I’ve had varying degrees of success with that. For instance, one morning earlier in the week I slept until 11:15! Anyway, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “your/you’re/yore.” Use one, use them all, but whatever you do, 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 new 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 20 Comments

#SoCS – Date

Sitting here waiting for The Tragically Hip to take the stage in my beloved Kingston for the last time. Myself and many Canadians have a date with them tonight. Even our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is at the concert, along with 6,000 people inside the arena and 25,000 standing right outside watching it on a big screen. Above is the live stream on Youtube, if you’re interested in catching any of it.

That’s it for me. As many have said over the last week. As of 8:30, August 20th, Canada is busy. Cheers!

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Find SoCS here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/08/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-2016/


by 42 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Aug. 20/16

Hey, it’s Friday! That means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s hard to believe summer is almost finished, isn’t it? Where the heck did it go? On that note (kind of), here is your prompt:

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

socsbadge2016-17

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 26 Comments

#SoCS – What I’d Do For Some Cash

I’m not going to lie – I published (and will publish again) my book for cash. Considering the only job I’ve had in the last fifteen years is a paper route, what else am I to do? But publishing, and to make cash isn’t why I write. I do that for me and because I can’t not write down the things that are constantly coming into my head. So much of the stuff I see and hear in life, the stuff I feel too, inspires me.

And, of course, the stuff I see other people feel. I’ve wondered why I write romance. I don’t read a lot of it. I’ll often read books about relationships, but I don’t devour Avon’s publications like many do. I think I’ve come up with why I write it though. Psychology and love. Feelings. For me, writing about love is a passion borne of countless fantasies, inspired by some of the greatest love stories ever told. I’ll never write a bodice-ripper, nor anything shallow. I could, but I won’t. Because for me there has to be something deep about a story. Something… something disturbing. Something that will pull on my heartstrings, or make me laugh or cry or cringe. And yeah, sometimes the things I write make me cringe. But I only write them if they are “true.”

In the meantime, there’s the other stuff I do not-for-cash. Being a mother. I think the only reason we stay-at-home moms don’t get paid is because not even the 1% could afford us. Take my today for instance: I’ve dealt with a behaviorally challenged teenager who has beat up the dog, pounded my cell phone on the kitchen table, broken one of his movies, hit me, and then sat on my lap for cuddles when he found out he couldn’t go for a ride on the city bus. I drove the other kid to a movie and back, played “Uno” ’til I was seeing double, and changed a bed because the dog peed on it. And how much money did I make for all this? Same as I have for the last fifteen years.

Nothing.

How much cash do I deserve?

All of it.

Ha!

But then I don’t ask for much.

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This humble post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click here to find out more: https://lindaghill.com/2016/08/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-august-1316/