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Tag Archives: writers


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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 2nd/17

Hey there! How’s everyone hanging in so far this year? We had an amazing response on our first day, and I look forward to reading all the posts when I get a chance. One thing I did notice though was that the pingbacks were a bit spread around. I understand if you want to link back to the post with all the prompt words, but linking back to this post (and all the prompt posts ahead) is most important if you want other bloggers to find your post. The very very most important part? Enjoy the challenge!

Your prompt for today:

The Just Jot It January 2nd prompt, brought to you by JoAnna, from her blog “Anything is Possible,” is: “Time.” Use it any way you’re inspired to. And make sure you stop by and say hi to JoAnna as well! Here’s her blog: https://joannesilvia.com/

jjj-2017

The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

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 be 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. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

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

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.


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#JusJoJan Daily Prompt – Jan. 1st/17

Happy New Year! And welcome to the first prompt of this year’s Just Jot It January. I’m just getting us started off, so please bear with me as I get any bugs worked out with the new prompting format.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful time either celebrating with friends and family, or sleeping, as I hope to be by the time this post goes live. Without further ado, I give you your prompt for today:

The Just Jot It January 1st prompt, brought to you by Barb of ghostmmnc, is: “Spider.” Use it any way you’re inspired to. And make sure you stop by and say hi to Barb as well! Here’s her blog: https://teleportingweena.wordpress.com/ .

jjj-2017

The rules for Just Jot It January are as follows:

1. 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. The prompts will be posted every day at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word, but this will be where you leave your link for others to see. Make sure you link your post to the correct day’s prompt. There will be a post like this every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday, and Saturday, when you’ll find the prompt on my usual Friday Reminder post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS).

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 be 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. Even your shopping list. Note: If it’s 18+ content, please say so in a comment with your link.

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

8. Have fun!

If you’d like to look ahead to see the upcoming prompt words, click this link: https://lindaghill.com/2016/12/31/just-jot-it-january-2017-rules/ You can always write your post ahead of time and schedule it to come out on the appropriate day.


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 31/16

Friday’s here and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Well, it’s finally over. The year that has lasted three years (or so it seems) is coming to an end. Here’s to a better, brighter, and most of all, healthy 2017! Here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “first/last.” Use one or both words, or find words that mean the same. Bonus points if you start your post with “first/beginning/start” etc. and end with “last/end” etc. 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!


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Writing Through the Uncertainty

I’ve heard plenty of writers say they do their best work when they’re going through loss and hardship. There’s something cathartic, after all, in getting it all out there. Putting pain on paper seems to distance us from it, at least a little. Writing can put things in perspective and let us see our thoughts more clearly.

And then there is 2016. A year of upheaval at levels many of us have never experienced. Yet one might say that most of what has happened isn’t quite personal enough. Things like the deaths of so many beloved celebrities, and a 70-year-old toddler getting closer by the day to running the White House, affect us but they don’t. I realize there are many out there who have experienced the rise of Trump as a personal change in their lives, however I can only speak from the sidelines in Canada on this. Despite the distance, I’m still quivering in fear.

Will the upheaval end with the new year? Probably not. It feels somewhat delusional to believe the number 2017 is mystical enough to somehow make the aging celebrities we all love and cherish immortal.

All this up-in-the-air-ness makes it hard for me to write. I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to figure out why, and all I can come up with is that I have no idea what I’m looking forward to. When I’m grieving, I have an idea. Though depressing, I at least know the person or thing I’m grieving for is gone. Would I trade this uncertainty for the absoluteness of grief? No way. But I still have to find a way to proceed with things as they are.

So, I look back on what made me begin writing in the first place. Just as reading is an escape for so many millions of people, writing is mine. When I’m in a world of my own creation, I’m not here. True, I’m not always certain where my characters are going, but I can live with that. Their adventures, even if disastrous, will not change my life for the worse.

I also feel I must write for all those millions (I should be so lucky to have that many people read me, so let’s say a few of those millions) who need the escape I provide. And lastly, I need to write to know that I’m not alone. And to let others who feel the way I do that they’re not alone.

I need to get back to writing daily. Writing on this blog, that is. I’ve never really stopped; I’m three days away from writing a post for every day of this year on my fiction blog. It’s all that has kept me sane at times.

My new beginning will be Just Jot It January. If I can keep up with that, at least I’ll have the first 31 days of the new year covered. Even if I can’t put my own head-salad into perspective, maybe I can help other people escape theirs for a few minutes a day.

Who’s with me?


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 24/16

It’s Friday today, and I’m here with your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m a bit late this week (again) but I have a good reason; I’ve done all my Christmas shopping! And it’s not even Christmas Eve yet!!! Amazing what you can pack into a week when you really try.  Anyway, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “cook.” Find a word that means “cook,” (or use “cook” itself) and 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!


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

It’s the second-last Friday before Christmas, and it’s also time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I should probably start my shopping soon. I think this is the latest I’ve ever left it. Hope everyone else is doing better than I am! Here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “moot.” Use it as the theme of your post or just use the word in a stream of consciousness post about something else. 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!


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“Easy to read, difficult to put down”…

“The Wrong Stuff” is available for purchase, now both in paperback and ebook! Get it now!

dalecooper57's avatarDiary of an Internet Nobody.(Archive)

So, The Wrong Stuff has been out for a couple of weeks and I’m doing everything I can to promote it, including an upcoming interview on the local radio book club hour and a piece in the local paper.
I have also joined some Facebook author groups and I’m in the process of plugging away at a few of those each day.

The book now has its second five star review on Amazon, including my favourite quote so far, which I’ve pinched for the title of this post; “Easy to read, difficult to put down…” which is, if I do say so myself, pretty accurate.

I’m still waiting to hear when the Kindle edition comes out, but here once again are the Amazon links for the beautifully designed and glossily covered paperback;

IF YOU ARE A UK READER, THIS LINK’S FOR YOU

IF YOU HAIL FROM ELSEWHERE, USE THIS ONE.

View original post 72 more words


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

It’s Friday today, and this is your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Life is crazy, isn’t it? Between being glued to the news and doing everything I can to avoid it, I’ve finally started reading “Game of Thrones.” It’s very compelling! Hard to put down, which sucks, because I do most of my reading before bed. Ah well. Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “bear/bare.” Use one, use both, use ’em any way you please. 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!!

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 62 Comments

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

Friday’s here! Already! So it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. The Christmas decorations are starting to go up around the neighbourhood, and everything is beginning to look lovely. Now all we need is the snow. And now I’m going to wash my mouth out with soap. But first, here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “sh.” Find a word that begins with the letters “sh” and base your post on it. Bonus points if you start your post with those letters. 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!


by 59 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 26/16

Yo! It’s Friday! Time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s not even winter yet and we’ve had two “snow days” this week. Needless to say, I’ve been a bit extra busy, but I hope to get to all your posts from last week before the day is out. You all keep me going, reading your fantastic responses – I love it! Thank you. 😀 Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “pretty.” Use it any way you please. 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!