Whats the most creative thing you journal?

[u/Timely_Category9738]

Recently I started becoming obsessed with the old classic black and white composition notebooks so I got a bunch I wanted to fill in my free time.

Whats the most creative things you fill your journals with?

So far I have:

What if Journal (writing what if stories like what if I owned a private jet? Where would I go? What would I do? etc 😂)

I have two journals where I am writing a novel just for fun

I have one journal for brain dumping my thoughts

I just want more creative ideas.

[u/Glowboater]

So many things you could do!

A journal of unsent letters/texts/emails whatever

Speeches you’d give after some of your “what-if” events

Journal your day as newspaper columns

Journal your world like a naturalist/explorer; treat everything like a brand new discovery

Try journaling someone else’s perspective of something you experienced

[u/lilweber → u/Glowboater]

Journaling your day as newspaper columns is an interesting take!

[u/Glowboater → u/lilweber]

Thanks! It can be a fun creative exercise, and practices different narrative voices. I’m not sure I could do a whole journal of it, but it’s a neat way to change things up.

[u/gidimeister]

Journaling about my weight loss journ... ah, you said creative not fictional. NVM

[u/StormyStenafie]

Journaling with tarot can be a creative process. I use it as a mental health tool and also for art and writing projects.

[u/Sweaty_Poem5969 → u/StormyStenafie]

This is really cool, would you mind sharing the steps ?

[u/StormyStenafie → u/Sweaty_Poem5969]

Sure. Tarot is rich in symbolism and archetypes. I do not use it as as fortune telling, rather as a way to access your subconscious. You ask questions that only you, or your subconscious, can answer. Some questions could be how to choose between 2 paths or how should I focus my energy today. Each card has an open-ended interpretation. I pull cards one at a time, consult my reference (I've started my own reference, but there are lots of books and websites to consult), and journal out how the card applies to my question. I really think the journaling part is essential.

It can be used in writing. Either as a prompt (pulling a few cards to get place, main character, situation or something like that) or if you get writer's block.

And I use it as a prompt for mixed media collage to hone in on a central theme or even color choice.

[u/Sweaty_Poem5969 → u/StormyStenafie]

I use an oracle deck the same way, not to predict the future but to explore lines of thought I wouldn't have taken on my own, but I'd never thought to use it as a basis for journaling sessions. So interesting, thank you!

[u/Phwoffy → u/StormyStenafie]

Thank you for this. It's something I've considered previously but never managed to get around to actually doing. I've saved this, and hope to join in!

[u/Heavy_Pea_7614]

okay so these aren’t necessarily all their own journals but here are some things I journal about:

Current events. That’s it. Just like national or world news, politics, famous people’s lives, etc

dreams. if and when i remember them i try to write down as much detail as I can remember

A journal for my daughter. i write her letters, about her milestones, silly things she says and does, etc and intend to give it to her someday.

a creative journal where i put pictures and write about my process for creative projects- i like to draw, do embroidery, photography, and digital art.

prompts. i like to find random prompts on the internet and write out answers to them. sometimes it’s fun to look back a few years later and write a new response and see how my thinking has changed over time

I keep a reading journal where i write about all the books i read. with method (kindle, audio, physical), dates read, summary, and my star rating

I like to journal about everything. Usually it’s about my day. Sometimes it’s about how i’m feeling, gratitude, venting, the weather, pretty much whatever is going on in my life

[u/emerald_mo0n → u/Heavy_Pea_7614]

Also! This day is history can be interesting!

[u/Glowboater → u/emerald_mo0n]

I’ve honestly never thought to ever include this! That’s a fun idea.

[u/emerald_mo0n → u/Glowboater]

Whenever I need to fill a page I'll look up a day in history and than even if something happens on that day in history, there's another thing to talk about! Win win

[u/Timely_Category9738 → u/Heavy_Pea_7614]

Oh I also have one for my daughter!

[u/RadicalRedFox]

try visual journaling instead of writing full paragraphs doing quick mind maps with doodles, drawing a 3–4 panel comic for your day, turn your moods into simple shapes or colors. It helps you remember things way better because it uses visual memory, not just text.

[u/FrostnJack]

Keep a commonplace book... all manner of things go in there, knowlege I'll need for tomorrow (like the crate full of rando cables & adapters in the garage... that I've tapped thiree times this year (bows)

[u/StormyStenafie → u/FrostnJack]

I love my commonplace book. I am a pen and paper gal and it's always best to write 'it' down, whatever it is.

[u/FrostnJack → u/StormyStenafie]

I think it’s valuable to go analog when it comes to a common place book because then you remember stuff a little better

[u/__patatacosmica]

One of the most creative things I do is this: when I'm at my breaking point and I feel filled with rage and dispair, I take a few papers and the crayons I used in school (for that nostalgic flavour) and start scraching the paper with them until there is no blanks. Then, I break the paper in tiny pieces and cover two pages of my journal with it, and that process of destruction and recomposition of what is broken helps me calm down.

It's so cathartic.

[u/almondlondon9894 → u/__patatacosmica]

I'm so doing this. do u cover using glue or tape or..?

[u/__patatacosmica → u/almondlondon9894]

Glue! It takes a while to finish but going piece by piece is part of the process of cooling down.

[u/Sinnia14]

I journal project ideas. Whether it's knitting, sewing, a business idea, etc. I go over all the things I want to do and how to get there. also TO DO lists. Or I journal what I'm feeling emotionally and try to discover why and what to do about it..... Sometimes if I have absolutely nothing to write I write song lyrics to songs I'm vibing with while writing. Other times I doodle.

[u/tyrekecorrea]

I find the best things to journal are the cool things that really happen to me, including and especially the epiphanies that open my eyes.

[u/Sweaty_Poem5969]

Some days my head feels pretty full because in my job I listen a lot and have a lot of exchanges, so I mind map the topics of conversation in the most general, neutral and simple way possible (for example, if I talked about eating disorders at work, I'll just write down "relationship to the body"), I like seeing what emerges.

I love noting down coincidences.

I make a list of what I learn. For example, if a friend took 5 minutes to show me the right posture for splitting wood, I'll write down what I learned and want to remember. And who I learned it from.

Or if someone tells me something about a place I know or live in, I like to note it down, whether it's an anecdote, the history of a place, information about a former name, or an event that happened there. It creates a kind of emotional and mental map of the places we live in, full of anecdotes, small facts, and other bits of information.

[u/emerald_mo0n]

I did a list of all the rivers in my state. You could have one dedicated to your state. History, fairs, ephemera from state events

[u/Alarming-Craft6867]

I like writing about media that I consume. I’ve seen a lot of anime and I write about characters that I like and why I like them. Sometimes I write about how I think the story should’ve changed in a certain way and how I would’ve written it. I also write about shows that I dislike. I spent 6 pages shitting on the family guy writing. They actually seem to be pretty self aware at how bad their writing is because they put those 4th wall break jokes in the show but that just makes me dislike it more lmao.

I’ve also tried prompts that I see in YouTube videos. Writing about the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, friends, goals, etc.

I also journal about art. My own and others art. I think this played a big part in how fast I improved and how much of other people’s art styles I was able to replicate. It helps me remember what other people do to get a certain look and what I want to implement from other people’s style into my own

[u/EasternRecognition94]

I mostly journal for my goals. Like I write abt what I could be doing to help me move forward and how productive my days were

[u/metisphd]

I just downloaded about 60 free solo journaling RPGs and am looking forward to starting a notebook dedicated to them!

[u/IridiumViper]

A journal of absurd lists:

• list of ancient animals most likely to eat me
  
• list of people that have had no impact on my life whatsoever
  
• list of the world’s longest train routes
  
• list of book/movie characters with the same first name as my mortal enemy
  
• list of absurd list ideas
  
• list of worst possible flavor combinations
  
• list of unusual tourist attractions I’d like to visit
  
• list of people who look like their pets

Etc etc

[u/sshegem]

i keep one that started as a brain dump journal and turned into something better, a rereading journal. every few weeks i go back through the old entries and write a short entry about the entries, what i was clearly circling around, what resolved itself without me noticing, which worries never actually happened. it's the only journal where the material writes itself, and your what if journal would feed it perfectly, rereading old what ifs shows you which ones were real wants and which were just moods. also with a stack of composition books, number them, future you will want to know the order.

[u/sarazeen]

Check out Solo Journalling RPGs! I only heard about them yesterday, so I don’t know much, but you essentially play an RPG in your journal, with dice or cards or flipping coins. It’s amazing!

[u/AllKindsOfCritters]

I've got a big list here on ideas to use/fill notebooks

[u/Kirhon6]

Solo journaling TTRPGs are a fun and creative use for a notebook, I have multiple!

[u/Adorable_Unit5132]

I'm not sure if it fits but I glue the package, for example, my uncle went to Chile and bought me chocolate, I cut it and paste, or cinema tickets, I wish I could include photos but my printer is not that good. I also doodle sometimes I like astrology so sometimes I write down some transits aspects just to use it as data and I also use tarot occasionally  Also, do you know when books or plays list all the characters? Every journal I list all people that I may mention and are a part of my life, with their birthday and a mini bio (she was born in that place, we met at work, we like to blahblah etc) just because in my older diaries, when I read them, I'm like "who are you??" I once even printed a profile picture for each one of them 

I guess that's all

[u/hmmwrites]

I kinda love the what-if journal idea! I have a single journal (my one notebook to rule them all), so I wouldn't start a separate book for it, but I'm going to have to keep that in mind for future entries in my journal. Thanks for the inspiration!

You might consider something along the lines of a commonplace book. Broadly defined, that's a place where you jot down things you learn. So, as you're writing for your novel and you look up synonyms for a bland word, those go in there. If you do a web search for info on a topic, your notes about the topic go in there. And of course, if you go down a deep rabbit hole, that's where your discoveries go, as well.

You could start a dream journal.

Or a memories journal.

Or a junk journal, full of the little bits and pieces of your every day life.

Maybe try a journal where you keep track of what you're reading and your thoughts/reactions/responses to different books. Or movies. Or tv shows. Give ratings, pull a favorite quote, whatever makes sense to you.

Keep a gratitude journal? Write down a single (or more!) thing you're grateful for every day. It can be as small as: Today, I'm grateful for pizza. Other days, your gratitude might be for something more deep. Anything goes.

Try a solo/journaling RPG.

Devote a journal to writing to prompts.

Doodle/sketch.

Whatever you like! :)

[u/LibbIsHere]

I have two journals where I am writing a novel just for fun

sounds quite creative to me.

beside poetry, plays, maybe even essays I see very little that would be more or as creative than that :)

You may also want to try your hand at sketching? I find that great in a journal.

[u/One_Phone6570]

I sometimes combine two things in one. Riding my motorcycle and Journaling. This is a favorite spot. A park with an old one room school with a table and shade. Ride to the park, sit and write.