This post is part of Just Jot it January, and the prompt word, “magnify,” was the word choice from Barbara. Check out her blog here!
The bots are at it again, scraping this website and artificially boosting my visitor and view numbers in order to feed AI.
I used to get an emotional lift out of my increased stats on WordPress. They made me want to do more, work harder; they provided incentive to keep writing.
Now?
The bots, to me, magnify the effect AI is having on our humanity.
Why bother trying when there are machines that can surpass all our efforts? Write books in the blink of an eye, draw anything we can come up with on a whim without ever putting pen to paper?
We are important, damn it.
Our efforts are important, and so are our talents. The details we envision when we create CAN NOT BE INCLUDED when a simple prompt is typed into a machine.
We must never lose our appreciation for what we create. For what we imagine. For what our lifetimes of experience supply to our work and make it human.
This soapbox-elevated post is part of Just Jot it January! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!
Friday is here! And so am I with our first combination Daily 2026 Just Jot it January prompt and Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt of the year. This one is for SATURDAY, JANUARY 3rd. The weather outside may be frightful, but the blog prompts are so delightful! Or something like that.
For those of you joining SoCS for the first time, it’s a little different than the other prompts in that it’s not always a whole or single word. If you’re joining in from JusJoJan and don’t want to write stream of consciousness style, no worries. It’s up to you. If you do want to try it, please check out the rules below. It’s fun! Here’s your Saturday prompt:
Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 3rd and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “fast/slow.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you use them both! 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 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!!
You can also use the Just Jot it January badge! To find the rules for Just Jot it January, click here.
Here are the rules for SoCS:
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.
And we’re off and running! Welcome to the 2nd prompt of Just Jot it January 2026. Our prompt is brought to us today by our very own Barbara. Thank you, Barbara! Please be sure to visit Barbara’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 2nd, 2026 is “magnify.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list and what’s to come, you can find the list HERE.
Here are the rules:
1. Please be sure to copy the URL for THIS POST and paste it in your own so your link shows up in the comments here. If you’re not using WordPress, be sure to put your link in the comments on THIS POST for Thursday, January 2nd, 2026.
2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but 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!
3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.
4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, 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! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.
5. Tag your post JusJoJan26 and/or #JusJoJan26.
6. 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!
7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.
8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.
Hello, and welcome to the first prompt of Just Jot it January 2026! Today, our prompt is brought to us by the wonderful Emily. Thank you, Emily! Please be sure to visit Emily’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 1st, 2026 is “mindfulness.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
If you’d like to see what I have so far on your prompt list and what’s to come, you can find the list HERE.
Here are the rules:
1. Please be sure to put your link in the comments on THIS POST for Thursday, January 1st, 2026.
2. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but 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!
3. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.
4. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, 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! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.
5. Tag your post JusJoJan26 and/or #JusJoJan26.
6. 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!
7. The prompts will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.
8. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.
Welcome to the 12th annual Just Jot it January! This is your chance to inspire other people with your very own prompt and have your blog linked to the Daily Prompt post.
I’ve decided to do this in two parts again this year—Jan. 1 – 16, and Jan 18 – 30. Because Just Jot it January only runs on days that don’t include One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday, I only need 12 prompt words today, so if you miss getting your word in on this post, you’ll have another chance on Saturday, January 17th. If I don’t get prompts for every day from you all, I’ll choose them myself.
Read the rules carefully! I need 12 single words to use in the Just Jot It January challenge, for January 1st through to the 16th. This is how you can be included:
I’m looking for a single word, plus a link to your blog, plus the name you wish me to use when I post your prompt (your name or the name you blog by). So for example, mine would be “antidisestablishmentarianism lindaghill.com Linda”
If you try to slip in two prompts, even in two different comments—I’ll only accept the first. If I get the same word twice, I’ll only accept the first person who got to it. If you’re the second, I’ll let you know so you can try again. And please, remember this is a relatively G-rated blog, so nothing too risque.
The first 12 comments on this post that include a single word (plus link and name) will be the prompts for the first half of January.
These prompts will go up on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 2am EST. I’ll take care of One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday myself.
I’ll link back to the blog of whomever gives me a prompt on the day I use it.
Make sure you get your comment in early. You don’t want to miss out!
Please don’t bother entering a prompt if your blog is inactive or if it exists only to sell things. If you haven’t posted in over a month and you’re only looking for clicks, your prompt word will be rejected. If, on the other hand, you’re planning to use JusJoJan to inspire you to get back into the swing of things, let me know immediately in a second comment — NOT the one you give your prompt word in. If I can’t find a reasonable number of posts written in the last month that aren’t trying to sell a product, your prompt word will be rejected.
Be positive!! I’ve found over the years that prompt words that are negative in nature don’t get as much participation as more positive words. I don’t want to limit you, but please keep in mind that if your word is on the controversial, sadder, or angrier side, your prompt may not get as many responses.
If you provide a prompt, please try your best to write a post on the day your prompt appears. Also, I encourage you to join in as much as possible throughout the month.
Only one prompt per person for the month. If you get in this time, don’t try again next time.
NOTE: Please count the number of correctly formatted comments ahead of yours. If there are already 12, save yours for January 17th!
Okay. Are you ready? Aaaaand … prompt! One word, one link, one name!
Update: The comment are now closed. Stay tuned for the next opportunity to add a prompt to the challenge on January 17th when I post “Prompt Me Part 2 of 2”!
It’s that time of year again … Just Jot it January time! It’s hard to believe it’s the twelfth year of the Just Jot it January challenge, but here we are, ready to start the blogging year off right.
Just Jot it January, AKA JusJoJan, is a challenge to write a post every day of the month of January. Linking your own post to the prompt comments is a great way to meet others in the blogging community. Find followers, make friends, and generally share your words with the world.
Watch out for the first Prompt Me post coming within the next couple of hours for your chance to participate in the creation of the challenge. There will be one Prompt Me post today, December 31, 2025, and one Prompt Me on January 17, 2026.
Here are the simple JusJoJan Rules: (If it’s been a while since you read them, please give them a quick scan.)
1. Just Jot It January starts January 1st, but 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. I’ll post prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. You’ll get a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday and on Saturday, when your prompt will be the Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS, which will appear at about 9:30am Friday. Each prompt post will include the rules.
3. Please ping back or link to the daily prompt. To ping back, 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! Note: A) The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section. B) Ping backs only work if you’re blogging on WordPress. Everyone else must paste a link manually.
4. Tag your post JusJoJan26 and/or #JusJoJan26.
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 will appear every day that’s neither a Wednesday nor a Saturday–Saturday’s JusJoJan prompt will be Stream of Consciousness Saturday. You’ll find the list of prompts below as they come in, which means I’ll be updating this post. Remember, you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you. NOTE: If your post is NSFW, do not ping back. Please leave your link in the comments with a warning.
7. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.
8. Have fun!
Below, I’ll fill in the prompts as I have them, along with a link to the blog of the person who supplied the prompt if it wasn’t me.
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous, and safe new year!
P.S. Watch for the “Prompt Me” post later for Just Jot it January.
If you would like to participate in this prompt, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a pingback, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post, and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.
NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.
Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”
The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:
1. Make it one sentence.
2. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.
3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.
4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!
Wait, is it Friday? I think it’s Friday, so I’m here with your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Thanks so much everyone for the lovely Christmas wishes. It was a busy but very merry one nonetheless, with far too much food! Here’s this week’s prompt:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “plot.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here to 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 beautiful 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!
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. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a particular 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 will simply be a single word to get you 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 all of them! 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 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.
lindaghill.com 