JMalrix

Evenin’ Goofies—And Happy New Year!

I won’t even lie to y’all—I think this is the first time I’ve ever slept through the New Year call.

In past years, I’ve done a little of everything. I remember attending Watch Night services as a kid—an old African American tradition where church starts around 7 p.m. and runs until about 12:15 or 12:30. I didn’t love them. It was a week after Christmas, and the only thing I wanted to do was be at home playing with my new toys or games.

One year stands out in particular. The service ran so long that the sermon actually went past the New Year countdown, completely defeating the purpose of the watch night. We didn’t leave until around 12:30 or later. Even as a kid, I remember thinking, well… that felt unnecessary.

I’ve also done the other extremes—parties at clubs, nights at casinos. I hate both. There’s nothing worse to me than massive crowds paired with industrial quantities of alcohol.

More recently, I’ve settled into a quieter routine: staying home (or in a hotel if I’m traveling), waiting it out, and listening to distant cheers as the clock strikes midnight.

There was one exception, though—the year I timed Avengers: Endgame so that midnight hit exactly when Iron Man snapped his fingers.

That was a moment.

But 2025?

2025 rode me hard and put me away wet.

It was one hell of a year. And honestly, sleeping through the New Year felt right. Necessary, even.

I’m guessing many of you carried a lot of emotions into this turn as well — maybe even some relief at just letting it pass quietly.

So here’s to 2026 being a bit better.

And with that, here are my hot takes for 2026.

I’m not interested in yelling predictions into the void or trying to win a moment of attention.

These aren’t viral hot takes.

They’re working assumptions—the kind that feel obvious only once you slow down long enough to say them.

Here’s what I think 2026 is going to make clearer.

1. Serial Fiction Will Outperform Finished Novels for Indie Writers

Serial and Series fiction is the reading equivalent of a Netflix marathon.

Most people don’t want a single, self-contained experience. They want a lot of content, delivered in pieces, with the freedom to binge, pause, and drop off for a while without guilt.

That’s how we watch television now.

That’s how we consume podcasts.

That’s increasingly how we read.

Finished novels still matter—but in 2026, they’ll often be endpoints, not entry points. Serial fiction lets readers build a relationship with a story before they ever commit to owning it.

The stories that survive won’t be the ones that demand attention—they’ll be the ones that are easy to return to.

2. Publishing Faster Will Matter More Than Publishing Cleaner

Perfection is expensive. Consistency is survivable.

Readers don’t disappear because a paragraph wasn’t perfect.

They disappear because the story went silent.

Publishing faster doesn’t mean publishing carelessly—it means accepting that momentum creates forgiveness. People are remarkably patient with imperfections when they trust that something is still alive.

In 2026, the creators who last won’t be the cleanest.

They’ll be the ones who kept showing up.

3. AI Won’t Replace Creatives—It Will Expose the Gap Between the Good and the Average

AI doesn’t replace creativity. It amplifies capability.

Think of it like performance enhancement in sports or film.

Most high-performing athletes and celebrities who have been physically transformed for roles use assistance of some kind. The best ones don’t look artificial—they look like the work they put in. You believe they’re natural because those results weren’t easy.

AI works the same way.

For people who were already good, it will remove friction and accelerate output.

For people who weren’t, it will make gaps more visible.

In 2026, the question won’t be who uses AI—it will be who still has something to say once a writer reaches peak potential.

4. Remote Work Isn’t Dying—It’s Becoming a Layoff Lever

Remote work didn’t fail.

It became convenient.

For large organizations, remote work is an easy way to:

• reduce real estate costs
• expand hiring pools
• and quietly cut employees with less friction

Forced attrition is easier when people aren’t physically present. Tell them they have to return to the office, they’ll leave. Detachment makes decisions simpler.

Remote work will continue—but increasingly on terms that favor businesses, not workers. Monitoring, metrics, and “performance realignments” will replace office politics.

Remote work isn’t disappearing.

It’s being absorbed into cost-cutting strategies.

5. Faith Didn’t Lose Credibility Because of Dogma—It Lost It Through Politicization

Faith has always had dogma. That isn’t new.

For centuries, belief systems have made strong, sometimes uncomfortable claims.

What changed wasn’t doctrine—it was alignment.

Faith lost credibility when leaders were neatly sorted into political boxes that belief itself doesn’t fully support. When sermons started sounding interchangeable with talking points, something fractured.

People didn’t walk away because faith asked too much.

They walked away because it started asking for allegiance to things faith was never meant to serve.

In 2026, the most compelling expressions of faith won’t be louder or clearer—they’ll be harder to categorize.

6. People Don’t Want Better Routines—They Want Fewer Decisions

Most burnout isn’t caused by workload.

It’s caused by decision density.

Too many choices. Too many inputs. Too many moments where something demands attention.

People aren’t craving better systems.

They’re craving fewer forks in the road.

The luxury of 2026 won’t be optimization.

It will be the simplicity in pressing one button and getting what one wants.

7. The Government Will Shut down… Again

Yes, the government will shut down again.

Not because no one knows how to prevent it. But because shutdowns have become a low-cost political tool.

They generate headlines. They signal ideological purity.

They almost always end the same way.

A last-minute deal. Back pay. A collective shrug.

This time it’s just missing SNAP benefits and holiday air travel, so the urgency feels… different.

When consequences are temporary and predictable, dysfunction becomes normalized.

Until a shutdown actually costs someone power, it remains part of the ritual rather than a failure to be avoided.

8. Hot Takes Have Become Shots in the Dark

A hot take used to be someone using deductive reasoning out loud, albeit with relatively controversial perspectives.

Now it’s closer to firing a shot in the dark—loud, fast, and designed to be noticed whether it hits anything or not.

Certainty has become a performance.

Volume has replaced conviction.

In 2026, the opinions that really matter won’t announce themselves as hot takes. They’ll emerge slowly, change over time, and leave room for correction.

The real edge won’t be confidence.

It’ll be thoughtfulness—sustained long enough to be tested.

Final Thought

I’ll be wrong about most of this.

That’s fine.

Being willing to be wrong—publicly, thoughtfully—might be one of the last honest postures left.

And in 2026, honesty will quietly outperform noise.

— JMalrix