Life in progress


22 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 16th, 2024

Hey! It’s time for your sixteenth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024. Today’s prompt comes to us courtesy of John Holton. Many thanks, John! Please be sure to visit John’s blog to read his posts and say hello. And follow him while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 16th, 2024 is “variety.” 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 link back to THIS POST for Tuesday, January 16th, 2024.

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 JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

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.

9. Have fun!


15 Comments

JusJoJan24 the 15th – But why?

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and the prompt for today comes from Astrid. Check out her blog here!

I remember waaaayy back in Kindergarten loving arts and crafts. Being able to paint and make things to take home was the best part of my day.

But somewhere in there, between those earliest days of my schooling and Grade 8, I decided I didn’t like making things in class any more.

And I don’t know why.

Considering my love for creating things with yarn, you’d think I would have loved arts and crafts. Unless I got turned off by my inability to draw.

Case in point: the Just Jot it January badge below.

Because I really suck at drawing.

This overly honest 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!

Much appreciation to Astrid for the prompt!


38 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 15th, 2024

Hello again. I’m here with your fifteenth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024. Halfway through the month already. How can that be? Our prompt for today comes from Astrid. Many thanks, Astrid! Please be sure to visit Astrid’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 15th, 2024 is “craft.” Use it as a noun or a verb, 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 link back to THIS POST for Monday, January 15th, 2024.

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 JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

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.

9. Have fun!


14 Comments

JusJoJan24 the 14th – It’s what I do

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt comes from Joanne. Check out her blog here!

“Writing” is the prompt of the day—it’s something I’ve written about many times here on my blog. So in deciding what to write about writing today, I’ve come up with only one idea: what writing is to me now.

I was told long ago that having a career as a novelist would inevitably turn what I love into a job.

And yes, there are days when it does feel like a bit of a grind, but they are few and far between.

When I’m in the thick of a novel and discovering, plucking out of the air the stories that my characters are telling me, writing is still every bit as much fun as it was when, as I child, I used stories as an escape from loneliness. Back then, sometimes I wrote them down, but most times I just wrote them in my head, going over and over them, starting from the beginning every time and adding a little to the end.

The joy of those stories meant that I was never really alone. I had my characters to keep me company.

In that, not a lot has changed.

And no, it’s still not so much a job as it is a way of living.

This thought-inducing 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!

Thanks so much again to Joanne for the prompt!


29 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 14th, 2024

It’s me again, back with your regular daily prompt for Just Jot it January 2024. Our prompt for today is courtesy of Joanne. Thanks, Joanne! Please be sure to visit Joanne’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 14th, 2024 is “writing.” 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 link back to THIS POST for Sunday, January 14th, 2024.

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 JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

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.

9. Have fun!


12 Comments

JusJoJan24 & #SoCS the 13th – Nothing lasts forever

This post is part of Just Jot it January and my weekly prompt, Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Find the prompt and see how you can join in HERE.

Nothing lasts forever, and sometimes that’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing.

It’s a good thing when you’ve got a cold, for instance.

Or a broken something that will mend.

(Not a vase. Unless you have glue.)

But every year around this time I start to think about the fact that one day I’ll have to close up shop on my prompts.

Not that I’m considering doing that yet. I think I still have at least a few years left in me.

But still. Nothing lasts forever.

And sometimes that makes me sad.

This ultimately sad post is part of Just Jot it January and SoCS! Want to join in? Just click here to get to the prompt and drop your link. It’s fun!

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

 


11 Comments

JusJoJan24 the 12th – Toasty

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt is courtesy of Barbara. Check out her blog here!

There’s nothing better than being toasty and warm inside when it’s cold and snowy outside.

Photo: Taken on a particularly cold and blustery night with lots of snow on the ground and the trees and the rooves, and long, toothy icicles hanging from the eaves.

This quick, jotty 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!

Thanks so much again to Barbara for the prompt!


57 Comments

The Friday Reminder for #SoCS & #JusJoJan 2024 Daily Prompt – Jan. 13th

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time again for your combination Daily 2024 Just Jot it January Prompt and the Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. This one is for SATURDAY, JANUARY 13th. How are you doing with the prompts so far?

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 13th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “close up/close-up.” Use the verbal phrase “close up” and/or the noun/adjective “close-up” somewhere in your post, or write a post in the spirit of the phrase. 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 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!!

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

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.

8. Have fun!


31 Comments

Daily Prompt – JusJoJan the 12th, 2024

Hey! I’m here with your twelfth prompt for Just Jot it January 2024. Today, the prompt has been decided by 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 12th, 2024 is “toast.” Use it as a noun or an verb, 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 link back to THIS POST for Friday, January 12th, 2024.

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 JusJoJan24 and/or #JusJoJan24.

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.

9. Have fun!


18 Comments

JusJoJan24 the 11th – Olive

This post is part of Just Jot it January, and today’s prompt is from Kaye. Check out her blog here!

I mean, I like the color olive as much as the next guy. I do. It has a way of unobtrusively bringing out other, more vibrant colors. Back when I decorated my coloring calendars with pencil, I used olive all the time to highlight the other greens.

Take the following picture as an example. See how wonderful my avocados in their bright green bag look against my olive counter top?

It’s lovely.

So you’re probably wondering by now why this post comes across more like a rant than a celebration of the color olive.

The answer to that question comes again with my 1940s olive counter tops, scratched, scarred, and burned as they are.  And the fact that I reeeeaaaaly want to modernize my kitchen one day. Preferably before the 2040s.

So here’s to olive! Just not in my kitchen, please.

This colorful 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!

Much gratitude again to Kaye for the prompt!