Life in progress


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#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/

 


45 Comments

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!


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!


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!


45 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Mar. 11/17

It’s late Friday afternoon (here), and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. My intentions were good, but today ended up being a bit rough around the edges. I have no idea where the time went!

Here’s your prompt for this week:

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


63 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Mar. 4/17

Hi there! It’s Friday today, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Sorry I’m late this week – I’ve been hard at work all day finishing my first major editing job that wasn’t for my own book. It’s done and back with its author. Yippee! Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “project.” Use it as a verb, a noun, or both. 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!


48 Comments

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

It’s Friday today, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I don’t know about anyone else, but this whole “the weather’s too rotten outside to go anywhere” thing is starting to make me feel a little rebellious. Who says I can’t go out, anyway?!  Since I’m tired of being told what to do by the air outside, I’m leaving the prompt this week open a bit. Here it is:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “how.” Start your post with the word “How.” Bonus points if you end with it too. 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!


26 Comments

#SoCS – (S)ham

I’ve been called incongruent, in so many words. And it’s true. I’m a bit of a sham. (See what I did there with the word “ham”? Feel free to play around with my prompt words as you wish.) Back on topic: how am I a sham?

Thing is, what you see of me here on my blog is the real me. You could probably recognize me in a crowd just by the way I speak and how I conduct myself, simply because you know me from here. But aside from my more comedic pieces of writing, I am not what I write, fiction-wise.

I tend toward the dark and twisted. Why? I have no idea, other than the fact that the human psyche and what we’re capable of truly fascinates me. I explore minds like one might venture into a house of horror at a fair: with no idea of what I’m getting into, but thrilled and scared of what I might find.

My upcoming novel is in line with this theme. And I have to promote it. But how, when I have all this happy going on?

I have two choices. To start all over again with an author blog, and with it, all the work that goes into gaining a following. This will be on top of my plan to start a professional site for my new editing business. OR (going back to the fiction thing)  I can revamp my fiction blog, make a separate section for the lighthearted stuff, and make it all dark and gloomy, like my new book. Gloomy, but entertaining! Of course.

Or, here’s a crazy idea — write my darker stuff under a pseudonym.

I dunno. I have a hard time figuring out whether or not people could conceive of the idea that I can be me — as you see me here and know me — and still think of me as a Gothic paranormal romance/horror writer? I’m probably over-thinking it all. GAH! Stream of consciousness writing can go two ways: it can help us sort things out or help us tangle them up.

What do you think? Should I even change this blog into something darker? I’m thinking no. I need to be me somewhere.

socsbadge2016-17

This tangled mess of a post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link and see how you, too, can join in the madness: https://lindaghill.com/2017/02/17/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-1817/


39 Comments

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

Hello, hello, it’s Friday today, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s been another cold week here in Canada. Have I mentioned that I’m looking forward to spring? I think- I think- I think I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Let’s have some fun and forget about the whole thing, shall we? Here’s your prompt for this week:

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


38 Comments

#SoCS – So-so job

So maybe I just need to drink more wine. Because lately, I’m finding it hard to relax enough to write anything. You know, anything creative. I’ve been working on a story for an anthology, and it’s going… slowly.

I think the real problem is that I never get out anymore. I’m tied to the house all the time now that my Autistic son has finished school. If I go out, I take him with me or I don’t go. Without going out — by myself — I’m unable to gather up any inspiration. I like to observe people. It’s one of my favourite things to do. I can sit in a restaurant for an hour or two and write while I half-listen to a conversation at another table; I get stories that way. Not necessarily about exactly what they say. Most of the time one sentence is enough to get my creative juices flowing.

I need time. I haven’t had 24 hours off from this 24/7 job of being responsible for my kids since the first of October last year. That’s more than five months ago. Since I had a day off…

That’s it, I’m opening a bottle of wine. (I wonder how many other posts are ended this way.) I shall make it so.

socsbadge2016-17

This so-so post is brought to you by So..CS (or Stream of… Consciousness Saturday). Click the link and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2017/02/10/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-1117/