Stream-of-Consciousness Saturday Prompt: "May your..."

Trying this Stream-of-Consciousness Prompt

Begin to write without editing, using the prompt, "May your..."

https://lindaghill.com/2026/05/22/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-23-2026/

Like Debbie D., from whom I borrowed this prompt (which originated with Linda G. Hill), I find it hard not to edit as I go along. Maybe doing this will encourage the freewheelin' side of the brain. (Yes, I'm tempted to Google whether that is the right or the left side, but that's a no-no. Ha!)

What I came up with is

May your long-term memory store lots of good stuff, so if you get dementia sometime in the future, all the bad stuff will disappear and be replaced by the good stuff.

Which makes me think about the various people I've known with Alzheimer's and dementia.

Especially my mother-in-law, Deborah, who got Alzheimer's after a bout of flu with a high fever, during which she spoke a lot of nonsense. That went away after a day, but eventually bad signs started to appear: poor judgment, moodiness, forgetfulness about grooming, inability to do buttons and to cut meat. 

Eventually, we thought it best to have her doctor tell her it was time to stop driving. She didn't take it well. She had been a doctor herself and was brilliant and very independent. She also had a phenomenal memory. She did all the right things they tell you to do: read a lot, do crossword puzzles, exercise (she walked to work in the good weather).  But none of that prevented her from getting the unlucky number.

But getting back to the prompt. Deborah had always been a super-serious person. She just didn't get jokes. Which was quite difficult for M and me, who loved joking. Also Deborah's great memory meant she could indulge her grudge-keeping habit. 

Well, once she got Alzheimer's two good things happened: 

She got a sense of humour. 

And she forgot who she was supposed to be mad at.

Alzheimer's was a tragedy in many ways for her and for those who knew her. But it actually improved her personality!

Writing with Tarot Card Prompts

Talking with my critique partner about Tarot cards reminded me that some writers use Tarot cards for plotting and characterization.

My muse has been sleeping on the job.

Can I reawaken her by using Tarot cards?

Tarot Cards for Creative Writing is a blog post by Whitney Hill, which gives examples of using Tarot cards for writing prompts.

https://whitneyhillwrites.com/writing-updates/tarot-cards-for-creative-writing/

Of course, that made me look for an owl Tarot deck!            

TAROT OF THE OWLS 

written by Pamela Chen, art by Elisabeth Alba

contains an easy to understand guidebook for beginners and a deck with delightful, imaginative owl art. 

I glanced at the guidebook last night and haven't even tried the deck yet. 

But, much to my surprise, this morning writing ideas came flying in. 

My moose muse has returned!

How to Improve Mornings: Advice From Splenda

 I'm an unrepentant night owl. 

I go to bed late, partly because it fits my biological clock, and partly because I'm busy doing household stuff. After that I have time for self-care: exercise, meditation, listening to relaxing music. Sometimes I write. Self-care time is non-negotiable.

But I now have to get up extra early and do a lot of chores before I get to have coffee. So I'm chronically sleep-deprived. 

Coffee, as everyone knows, is the only reason for getting up before noon. Unless you have a job where someone expects you to be awake and mentally alert. When I had such jobs, I always picked up a cup of coffee and took it to my desk.

I take my coffee black but M puts things in his, including Splenda.

Splenda used to put corny but optimistic advice on its packets. I found they made mornings a little better.

So before I run out of those packets, I'd like to share some 

Splenda Advice.

"Create your own sunshine."

"Be happy. It drives other people crazy."

"The perfect moment is now."   (I used to debate about the accuracy of this one, but then I realized that the only moment  you have now is now.)

"The best way to get there is to start."

"Leave a little sparkle wherever you go." (Sparkle, not glitter. Glitter makes you memorable, but not in a good sense.)

"Life is short. Make it sweet." (Poignant, but true.)

And my favourite:

"Every day is a fresh opportunity."

I'll drink to that!

Writing Mentors

 

Until recently, I always thought that a writing mentor was a result of lucky happenstance. Someone who gave useful advice or who helped you connect with the right person or market, sprinkling fairy dust on one's writing journey.

It didn't occur to me that you could seek out a mentor, as some people now do in Twitter pitch sessions. You just had to be lucky and hope someone would sprinkle fairy dust in your direction.

I've had four such incredible people in my life.

1. Rita Fromkess 

was the wife of a movie producer and an assistant producer. I met her in August 1970 in London's Dorchester Hotel when everyone was stuck in the lobby during a sudden downpour. We started talking and I told her that I was in university and wanted to be a drama critic. She gave me some tips on what to see in London and in Florence. She said that her husband was producing the movie, "The Last of Sheila." She said she wanted me to see it and write her to tell her what I thought of it. She gave me self-confidence in my ability to write. 

2. Barbara West

was an editor at Chatelaine magazine. My future mother-in-law was her doctor and insisted that I give her a call to get writing tips. Ms. West was kind enough to talk to me about Chatelaine and what kind of articles it used. I sent her a few queries but never hit the Chatelaine sweet spot. However, after rejecting my query about James Houston, she told me exactly which market would accept it: enRoute. She was right.

3. James Houston

was the author/artist/screenwriter/glass designer/discoverer of Inuit sculpture and printmaking who was the subject of my cover story for enRoute. He took a chance on a novice journalist and let me interview him on speculation. (I didn't have a market yet when he was in town for his Glass Art Gallery show opening.) I will always be grateful to him. And to Janak Khendry, the owner of the gallery who arranged the interview.

4. The woman at Italian Night

M and I went to an Italian Night sponsored by the church of our friends in the fall of 2008. (We just liked Italy and our friends suggested that we might have fun.) Although we were the only Jewish people there, everyone made us feel welcome. The Italian food was delicious, of course, and we enjoyed the entertainment. Sitting at our table was a couple whose son was an author of children's books. The woman told me the name of the publisher and I recognized it. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't bring my business cards with me for this purely social occasion. 

After we left early to feed and walk Echo, I researched her son. He had written some high quality non-fiction children's books. And he had an agent. A Canadian agent. It hadn't occurred to me that there were any Canadian agents who might handle children's authors. Soon after, I sent a query to a Canadian agent and was successful.

From my mentors, I learned that market and publishing information is always changing and it's important to keep up-to date. Talking to complete strangers, while scary, can be rewarding. Inspiration can come from the most unexpected sources. Act self-confident before you actually are.

Also, never go anywhere without your business cards (or your book's bookmarks)!

Hang in there!

This is something I've needed to remind myself of lately. I think it's good advice for most of us.

As the (Upstart) Crow Flies

Upstart Crow is a charming bookstore-cafe in Seaport Village, SanDiego,  where I like to write while drinking coffee.

When I Googled it yesterday I found out that it's closing this year due to redevelopment. I tried to submit a review of it to Trip Advisor, but I was politely told that, although they value my input, my most recent visit was too old to be useful for its site.

So here is an approximation of what I submitted to Trip Advisor.

Books Plus Coffee = Bliss

Since we discovered Seaport Village about 1986, we've visited Upstart Crow whenever we were in San Diego, which is about twenty times. I get a cup of coffee, sit at my favourite table by the window, and work on my novels. If my writing goes well, I treat myself to a slice of chocolate layer cake. 

Besides books and writing notebooks, I've found a delightful range of quirky gifts and cards here. I own two Upstart Crow t-shirts, as well as one that wore out, which read, "Careful or I'll put you in my novel" in black Courier typeface on a white background.

Soon I will visit Upstart Crow for what will be the last time because it is closing.

On my most recent visit, in February 2016, I noticed two crows on the hill outside the window. I like to think that one of those crows is the ghost of Shakespeare, checking on his namesake bookstore.

 

October Leaves and A Lesson in Persistence

Before the month is over, I'd better post these photos of October's leafy extravaganza.

That is what we expect from October in southern Ontario.


What I didn't expect was this renaissance of the purple mums we planted back in June.

They flowered for about a week. Then, despite my constant watering and fertilizing,
I didn't see any more flowers. Lots of leaves, but that was it.

About Labour Day, I stopped watering the planters.

A few days ago, the purple mums came back to life.

Mother Nature is reminding me to keep watering, keep believing, even when it seems that flowering season is over.

You never know when that mum plant--or that sleeping manuscript--will have a renaissance.

Thoughts from Guinan on a Snowy Day

"We will prevail. As long as there's a small pocket of humanity who still believes, we will prevail."
-- Guinan, Star Trek: The Next Generation



Brrr! It's soooo cold out there. For the second day in a row, there's an extreme cold temperature warning. At least the sun makes it look pretty.

Warmest wishes for the holiday season
 and a Happy New Year!

 

Corning Vacation

We just returned from a week in Corning, New York.

Corning is in the Finger Lakes district of southern New York, a half-hour away from Watkins Glen (famous for race cars and a gorge with waterfalls) and about an hour south of Rochester.

We discovered Corning in 1982, driving home from Florida. Although we only stayed overnight that time, we have been back many times since. Its main attraction is the Corning Museum of Glass.

Steuben Tower

We took the tour, saw the current exhibits, and especially liked the modern and the art deco glass.

Corning and I have a long, happy history. Because I discovered it in 1982, and bought a piece of

Steuben Glass for a relative's wedding present, I was put on the Steuben mailing list. In that way, I found out about a Toronto exhibit of one of the Steuben designers, James Houston. 

And that lead to my writing and publishing a profile of James Houston for enRoute magazine! 

 Cityscape

After a hurricane and flood in 1972, the city revitalized its Victorian-era buildings on

Market Street. Visiting Market Street is like stepping back in time, with the old-fashioned facades and the quaint signs. There are lots of antique stores and, of course, plenty of places to buy glass items.

 Vitrix Glass

My favourite store has an owl on its gable! I've named him Rocky after the Rockwell Museum.

  Rocky the Owl - click to enlarge picture

 

Re-vision: a new perspective

During our move from a house to a condo in November 2010, we discovered a nearby Chinese restaurant. It was open late and was convenient for those late-night dinners we often needed.

During the fall and winter we got used to its kitschy decor, including year-round Christmas lights, plastic flowers, tall ficus trees and hanging plants. The latter could have been real or fake, until we noticed the leaves turning yellow and falling down.  I wondered how the trees and plants could survive in such a dark environment.

One day in March 2011, we came for dinner and were surprised to notice a skylight in the centre of the ceiling.

"You put in a new skylight," I observed to our waiter. "We like skylights." We told him about the tromp l'oeil skylight which we had painted on a canvas and attached to the ceiling of a first-floor room of our former house.

"But the skylight isn't new," he said. "It's always been here."

Then we realized that, when the sky was dark in the winter, we couldn't see the skylight. During spring's longer days we could see light shining through the skylight.

Revising a manuscript can be like that. For a long time everything looks bleak and dark. But one day, the sun shines through and you can finally see the beauty that always was there.

Fun and Inspiring Links

Some interesting links found here and there in the blogosphere: Kelly Barson, author of the upcoming YA novel, 45 Pounds, is featured on the Friday The Thirteeners blog today. Kelly is also a member of my critique group, the Feathered Pens.

She reveals her most embarrassing moment! It's okay, Kelly, we won't tell anyone...


Next, a big congrats to Donna Gephart, whose MG novel, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, was released today!


The inspiring story of how Kathryn Stockett, author of the bestselling novel, The Help (which was made into an Academy-Award-nominated movie), was rejected by 60 agents. Her 61st query letter netted her an agent, and her agent sold her novel and the film rights soon after.


*****


A story that I read, probably in "Writer's Digest" years ago, or perhaps in King's memoir, On Writing, that still inspires me when I need a morale boost: Stephen King, after hundreds of rejections, sold his novel, Carrie, to Doubleday. He answered the phone call from the editor on his neighbour's phone because he was too poor to have his own phone line. After signing the contract, the editor wanted to know whether King had any other novels to show him. King replied, "What about those other 17 novels you rejected?"*
* a rough paraphrase of what I remember reading.



Finally, a story about Margaret Atwood, which I may have read in The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out, a biography about her, or perhaps it was in "Writer's Digest." Atwood decided to self-publish her first book of poetry, The Circle Game, which went on to win The Governor General's Award. Later she received a phone call from Jack McClelland of McClelland & Stewart, at that time Canada's largest book publisher. He asked her whether she had written any novels for his consideration. She said something like, "What about that novel I sent you two years ago that never received a reply?"* *again, a paraphrase McClelland dug her manuscript of The Edible Woman out of the slush pile on the floor, read it, and published it, to much acclaim. It became a best seller and was the start of her astonishing career as a literary novelist.


Have a good day and happy writing!

A bit of inspiration for writers

A bit of inspiration for writers...


...which I stole from a link on jetreidliterary. :-)

http://www.nettserier.no/jellyvampire/1304892000/