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Prompt Me, JusJoJan 2018

Hey, all! You’re used to getting prompts from me; now it’s your turn!

Just Jot It Januaary is not only a fun way to meet people, it’s a great way to inspire writers to keep writing once the holidays are finished and life is returning to normal. Prompts are an incredible device to get the imagination going. Wouldn’t you like to inspire a bunch of bloggers to write? Of course you would!

What I need is 22 single words to use in the Just Jot It January challenge. Read the rules carefully! This is how you can be included:

  • The first 22 comments on this post that include a single word will be the prompts for the 22 days in January that I won’t be writing my own prompts (aka One-Liner Wednesday and Stream of Consciousness Saturday).  If you write more than one word in your comment, for example, “My word is antidisestablishmentarianism,” I’ll ignore it. Same thing if you try to slip in two, 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, feel free to try again. And please, remember this is a relatively G-rated blog, so nothing too risque.
  • 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. 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. Remember, that’s ONE word only.
  • I observed last year, with all the turmoil going on down south of the Canadian border, that many of our prompt words were negative in nature. I found they didn’t do as well as the more positive words. I don’t want to limit you, but please keep in mind that if your word is on the sadder side, your prompt may not get as much participation.
  • If you provide a prompt, I encourage you to join in as much as possible throughout the month.

Please see my previous post for the Just Jot it January rules in detail.  As I receive prompts here in the comments, I’ll list them over there for easy access. Here’s the link in case you missed it: https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/27/what-is-just-jot-it-january-2018-rules/

Okay. Are you ready? Aaaaand… prompt! One word!


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What is Just Jot It January 2018? – Rules

It may be my love for writing or it might be my joy in sharing my passion, but I love to inspire people. Writing is one of the best ways of expressing ourselves, and certainly a wonderful method for organizing our thoughts and putting things in perspective. I find the latter to be essential to many of us here in the north in January, while we’re stuck inside and deprived of sunshine.

For these reasons plus one more, I developed Just Jot it January. Whether you write a story, a poem, an anecdote, or your plans for the future, JusJoJan will, I hope, give you an excuse to jot something down every day in the month. What’s the one more reason? Writing is fun!!

In the post following this one I will ask for you to give us all a prompt, one of which will be posted on each of five days of every week in January. Hard to explain here, but it will be clear in the prompt post, where there will be another set of rules.

Here are the general rules to follow for Just Jot it January:

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. This year, I’ll be posting prompts at 2am my time (GMT -5). You don’t have to follow the prompt word every day, but that will be where you leave your link for others to see. There will be a prompt for every day except Wednesday, when the prompt is simply my One-Liner Wednesday. Each prompt post will include the rules. 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: The newest pingbacks will be at the top of the comments section.

3. Tag your post JusJoJan and/or #JusJoJan.

4. 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!

5. 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 prompt words below. Remember,  you don’t have to use the prompts. Please write whatever inspires you.

6. If you’d like to, use the JusJoJan badge so that others can find your post more easily.

7. Have fun!

I’ll fill in the prompts as I have them, along with a link to the blog of the person who supplied the prompt:

January 1st – Drama ~ Ritu
January 2nd – Boisterous ~ Dan Antion
January 3rd – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 4th – Passionate ~ Rosemary Carlson
January 5th – Memories ~ Cage Dunn
January 6th – (SoCS – “eco”)
January 7th – Indelible ~ Ruth
January 8th – Pants ~ pensitivity101
January 9th – Coffee ~ Barbara
January 10th – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 11th – Humiliate ~ Jim Adams
January 12th – Aggravate ~ Fandango
January 13th – (SoCS – sixth, seventh, and eighth word)
January 14th – Ultimatum ~ Itinerary Planner
January 15th – Justice ~ Barb
January 16th – Contemplation ~ Cheryl
January 17th – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 18th – Revolt ~ Sandra
January 19th – Darkness ~ Kerry
January 20th – (SoCS – “oc”)
January 21st – Silence ~ Willow
January 22nd – Liberty ~ Capt Jill
January 23rd – Colour ~ supernaturalsnark
January 24th – (One-Liner Wednesday)
January 25th – Prediction ~ Dar
January 26th – Address ~ John Holton
January 27th – (SoCS –
January 28th – Knight ~ Leta Hawk
January 29th – Fantastic ~ Jill (J-Dubs)
January 30th – Scrumptious ~ Judy
January 31st – (One-Liner Wednesday)


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One-Liner Wednesday – Not a Fan of Christmas

For his third Christmas on earth, Winston decides this holiday isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

You’re not seriously planning to put this thing on my head.

This whole Christmas deal sucks.

___________________________________________________________________________

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, like Blogger, 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 very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by Dan Antion

 


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 23/17

It’s Friday again and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here, what with the … oooh … five inches of snow on my table outside that wasn’t there yesterday. School buses are cancelled for the last day of school–not sure whether I’ll brave the roads to get him there or if we’ll just hang out. He wants to go say goodbye to his friends, I’m happy to stay in my PJs. We’ll see. Anyway, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “yule/you’ll/Yul.” Start your post with one of them. 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 the comments below 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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One-Liner Wednesday – So, how was your evening?

This pretty much sums up my yesterday evening:

How was yours?

___________________________________________________________________________

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, like Blogger, 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 very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by Dan Antion


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#SoCS – Optimism

Normally, I’m a very positive human being. I like to find the bright side in everything, if there’s a bright side to find. Most of the time when I find something good out of something very very bad, I keep my mouth shut, because whatever it is I’ve found would seem insensitive. I remember once making the mistake of saying to someone whose car had been damaged in an accident that at least the guy in the body shop made some money … You can see by this how far I stretch.

But, in contrast, sometimes my imagination takes me to worst-case scenarios where even I can’t find something good. And that’s actually where my stories come from.

Imagine, for instance, something terrible happening (no one dies!) that affects everyone. All the banks close just before Christmas, for example. No one can do their shopping, and only those with cash can buy groceries. No good can possibly come of this, except, maybe for a villain!

I often write dark stories, and the strangest thing about it is that they’re driven by my optimism. I’ve wondered for years where my odd tendency for writing horror comes from. I think I just figured it out.

Thanks, Stream of Consciousness Saturday Sunday. 😛

Oh, and speaking of SoCS, I did write something on my fiction blog last night, for the first time in ages. Click here to read it.

This very very late post is brought to you by SoCS. Click the link to find all the other amazing entries! https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-16-17/


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

It’s Friday again and time now for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m seriously considering writing the prompt post ahead of time and scheduling for Friday mornings, rather than doing it when I get around to it. Because this is getting ridiculous, isn’t it? Good thing I don’t put off my Christmas shopping like I put off posting this prompt. … oh, wait … *runs to the store* Here’s your prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “contrast.” Use the word “contrast,” or talk about contrasting things. 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!


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One-Liner Wednesday – Spoiling it All

I had “something stupid” written on the fridge but I needed an “s” for another word, so I ended up with this:

Now I have a song stuck in my head …

“And then I go and spoil it all
by saying something tepid like I like yoooou.”

___________________________________________________________________________

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, like Blogger, 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 very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by Dan Antion


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#SoCS – Liquid Love

Ah, the end of a busy day. I’m sitting here with a glass of liquid love–the first bottle of wine I’ve opened in a long time. It’s red. Cabernet Franc, my favourite.

I started writing this post at 11:55pm, so it’s going to be a Stream of Consciousness Sunday for me. I come by it honestly, though. I’ve only been kid-free for an hour, and it’s been an hour of me-time.  So what have I been doing all day? Let me tell you.

I took Alex to see the movie Wonder, and it was, indeed, wonderful. It’s the first time he’s ever sat through a movie without asking to go home part-way through. He related to it–he related to the main character, Auggie. To Auggie’s many hospitalizations, and to his being set apart from kids who should, by rights, be his peers. Although Alex has his Deaf friends and teachers at school who treat him like just another kid, I suppose he’s the polar opposite of Auggie, being treated well outside of school. To the kids in our neighbourhood, Alex is the outcast. If this makes no sense, I apologize. See the movie. Know this is real life, for us.

Anyway, Alex thoroughly enjoyed the movie and so did I. After we came home, and after our ritual (yes, ritual, because my autistic son, Chris, wouldn’t go a weekend without it) McDonald’s feast, we put up our Christmas tree. I have to say I’m loving the new lights we have this year. I can change the colour to suit my mood. As we put the tree up–Alex, his eldest brother and his fiancé, and I–we discussed the difference in the classic white being the calm, sane side of our family (HA!) versus the coloured chaos, which is more the norm in our house.

The lights are more off-white–more warm than this. I’ll try to post a more accurate picture on Instagram.

 

I’m out of liquid love in my glass. One more, methinks, and then off to bed. In the morning it will be another liquid love, less of the liquor kind and more to do with caffeine. Mmmm…

Cheers.

This post is part of Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click on the link to find all the other amazing posts in the comments, and join in next week! https://lindaghill.com/2017/12/08/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-9-17/


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 9/17

Hello, hello, it’s Friday again and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Sorry I’m running late today. I really have no excuse other than that I’ve been distracted by just about everything. Ever have those days? Anyway, here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “liqu.” Find a word that starts with “liqu” or has “liqu” in it, and base your post on that word. 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!