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Creative Writing Journals

Tinc Mallo Snuggly Lockable Journal

£10.00

This will encourage younger children to keep a journal or diary every day. Great !...She loves to be able to lock her writing...

Paperblanks Safavid Ultra Journal

£19.00

Beautiful Journal ...This journal is a pleasure to write in. The paper is excellent quality, lines well spaced and the pocket...

Allsorted The Wellbeing Journal, Multi

£9.19

Explore your inner world and be inspired with The Wellbeing Journal. Developed in partnership with Mind, the mental health...

DesignWorks Ink Mind Body Spirit Wellness Journal, White

£18.00

Needing a little guidance and inspiration in your journaling practice? We've got you covered with this Guided Wellness Journal...

Tinc Snuggly Journal Set, Pink

£25.00

The cutest present you can give to any child or adult. Get snuggly with a soft lockable journal, Nifty Snifty Scented Highlighters,...

Sara Miller A5 Floral Mindfulness Journal, Purple

It's important to focus on positivity in today's climate so what better than to give the gift of mindfulness, taking a few...

DesignWorks Ink Written In The Stars Constellations Journal

£12.00

A high-quality journal featuring a cloth-bound hardcover, a ribbon marker, and handy references: a world map, time zones,...

Iron & Glory A6 Raincheck Journal, Black

£14.95

Iron & Glory Waterproof Notebook & Pencil. A6 notebook Water-resistant pages Graphite pencil Plain pages Elasticated loop...

Moleskine Professional Extra Large Journal, Black

£34.90

Stay on top of your work, wherever it takes you. This versatile notebook features an array of layouts for key tasks and...

Moleskine Passions Wine Journal

£35.50

Pour your passion for wine over every page to create a personalised list of your top drops. Discover tips to improve your...

kate spade new york Wedding Journal

£27.00

And they lived happily ever after... Record your bridal journey in this kate spade new york journal. It features coloured...

Sara Miller Savannah Journal, Multi

£12.99

This notebook features Sara Miller's signature style with delicate laser cutting revealing a foiled detail beneath. With...

Busy B A5 Floral Food Journal, Multi

£9.99

Get your foodie world deliciously organised. Set your goals, plan the weekly meals with handy perforated shopping lists...

Moleskine Medium Hardcover Plain Notebook

£21.90

Small enough to fit in any bag, large enough to fit the biggest of ideas, the new Medium size Classic Notebook by Moleskine...

Moleskine Large Expanded Soft Cover Ruled Notebook, Black

£30.90

This simple yet well-designed object invites you to add your own story to its pages with words, sketches, lists, random...

Pros: paper, binding, quality

Rachel Ellen Girl Power Writing Set

£9.00

I bought this as a gift for an 8 year old She has really enjoyed writing with it and sending notes and letters to her friends...

Pros: stickers

John Lewis A5 Parchment Writing Pad

£4.00

A 40 sheet A5 parchment pad of 90GSM writing paper

John Lewis P4 Laid Writing Pad

£5.00

Good quality writing paper...I was impressed by the quality of this writing paper and it looks lovely. Can write on both...

Pros: quality, writing experience, writing on both sides

Ruth Jackson Bunting Birthday Card

£3.50

creative use of pencil sharpenings to resemble flags

Pros: design, quality, special

Cricut Joy 1.0 Metallic Marker Pens, Pack of 3

Get creative with this pack of three metallic marker pens from Cricut.Suitable for use with Cricut Joy, these felt-tipped...

John Lewis P4 Laid Envelopes, Pack of 20

Was £4.00 , now £2.00

A pack of 20 FSC Certified P4 laid ivory envelopes.

Pros: quality, color, privacy

Cricut Explore® 3 Smart Cutting Machine

£299.99

Instead of having the whole shape of the text outlined, I wanted it to draw as though a person were writing it by hand (single...

Habico Felt Fabric Square, Pack of 10, Blue

£8.00

Get creative with this pack of 10 felt fabric squares from Habico, suitable for a range of crafting projects. Ideal for...

Rico Design Chic Unique DK Special Knitting Pattern Book

£5.75

In this booklet you'll find gorgeous knits models for the whole family. Look forward to jumpers, cardigans, tank tops, scarves,...

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24 Ideas for Your Creativity Journal

1. brainstorm new project ideas.

A creativity journal can be a great way to brainstorm new project ideas. By keeping track of your thoughts and ideas in one place, you can easily see what you’ve come up with and what might be worth exploring further. Additionally, a creativity journal can help you track your progress on current projects. If you’re ever stuck, going back through your journal can give you some new ideas to try. Lastly, a creativity journal can just be a place to document your thoughts and musings. Having a physical space to write down your ideas can help you better process them and may even lead to more inspiration.

2. Document Progress on Current Projects

When it comes to creativity, progress matters. It can be tough to stay motivated if you’re not seeing progress on current projects. A creativity journal can help you document your progress, both in terms of ideas and finished products. Seeing evidence of your progress can be inspiring and keep you moving forward. Additionally, a creativity journal can help you troubleshoot any problems with a project. By recording your thoughts and ideas as you work on a project, you may be able to identify where the issue is and find a solution.

3. Track Your Thoughts and Musings

The benefits of tracking your thoughts and musings in a creativity journal are twofold. First, keeping a journal helps you to organize your thoughts and ideas. This can be helpful when it comes time to start working on a project, as you’ll have a better idea of where to start and what steps to take. Second, writing down your thoughts and ideas can help you develop new ideas. When you document your thoughts, you’re more likely to recall them later on, which can lead to new ideas and solutions.

4. Document Your Creative Process

When you document your creative process, you take notes on what works and doesn’t. This can be incredibly helpful when it comes time to revisit a project you’ve already started. If you’ve struggled to develop ideas in the past, documenting your process may help you identify patterns and brainstorm more effectively.

5. Sketch Out New Ideas

Sketching out new ideas in a creativity journal can help you to better flesh out your ideas and get them down on paper. It can also help to improve your brainstorming skills, as it allows you to see your ideas in a more visual way. Also, a creativity journal can help keep you motivated and on track with your creative projects. It can be a great place to document your progress and record any insights or epiphanies you may have along the way.

6. Write Down Quotes or Inspiration That Fuel Your Creativity

When it comes to creativity, inspiration can come from anywhere. That’s why keeping a creativity journal where you can track your inspirations and ideas is essential. A journal can also be a place to write down quotes or passages that inspire you and help to fuel your creativity. It’s a great way to keep all of your inspirations in one place, and it can be a great resource when you need a little creative inspiration.

7. Document Your Favorite Creative Exercises or Methods

When it comes to creativity, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. What works for one person may not work for another. That’s why it’s essential to document your favorite creative exercises or methods in a creativity journal. This will allow you to experiment with different approaches and find what works best for you. It can also help you track your progress and see how your creativity evolves.

8. Create Mood Boards for Your Projects

Mood boards can be a precious tool for anyone looking to boost their creativity. A mood board is a collection of images, ideas, and other materials to help visualize your project. They can be used to brainstorm new projects or to track your progress on current projects.

When creating a mood board, it’s essential to include various images and materials. Try to find images representing the style and tone you’re going for and the specific emotions you want your project to evoke. You can also include text, quotes, and other information to help you plan and execute your project.

There are many different ways to use a mood board. Some people prefer to create a new board for each project, while others like to keep all of their boards in one place. You can also use mood boards to inspire your work or as a way to document your progress along the way.

9. Collect Images and Inspiration That Sparks Your Creativity

A few different ways to collect images and inspiration to spark your creativity in a creativity journal. One way is to keep a file on your computer or phone of images that inspire you. You can save any image that inspires you, from photos of your favorite places to beautiful artwork to inspiring quotes. When you feel stuck or need inspiration, you can look at your file and find something that jumpstarts your creativity.

Another way to collect images and inspiration is to keep a physical scrapbook or journal. This can be especially helpful if you’re working on a project and need to gather ideas or inspiration from multiple sources. You can clip articles, tear out pictures, and write down quotes or ideas as they come to you. Having all this information in one place can help you stay organized and motivated.

10. Keep a List of Ideas for Future Projects

There are a few reasons why keeping a list of ideas for future projects in a creativity journal can be helpful. First, it can help you to stay organized and on track. It can be easy to get sidetracked when you’re working on a project, but if you have a list of ideas to refer to, you can easily pick up where you left off. Second, it can help you to be more creative. When you have various ideas, you’re more likely to find one that inspires you. And finally, it can help you to track your progress. By recording what you’ve accomplished and what still needs to be done, you can stay motivated and ensure that your projects are moving forward.

11. Practice Writing and Drawing Daily

When it comes to creativity, practice makes perfect. You’ll get into the habit of being creative and seeing results by writing and drawing in your creativity journal daily. Not only will your journal be a source of inspiration, but it will also help you track your progress on current projects.

But why is practice so important? Well, think about it. When you play the piano, you don’t get good at playing the piano by only playing the piano once a month. You have to practice every day. The same is true for creativity. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at being creative.

So how do you practice? It’s simple. Just write or draw something in your journal every day. It doesn’t matter what it is- just get creative! Some ideas to get you started:

• document your thoughts and musings
• draw a picture of your day
• write a short story or poem

12. Challenge Yourself to Try New Things and Be More Creative Daily

Challenging yourself to try new things and be more creative daily is a great way to jumpstart your creativity. You open yourself up to new possibilities and opportunities when you challenge yourself. You also learn new things, which can help you develop new ideas. Additionally, being creative daily can help you become more focused and productive. It can also help you relieve stress and improve your mood. Overall, challenging yourself and being creative daily is a great way to improve your creativity and productivity!

13. Document Goals for Your Creativity and Progress Made Towards Them

A creativity journal can be a great way to document your goals for your creativity and track your progress towards them. By keeping track of your progress, you can see what techniques work best for you and continue to improve your creative skills.

14. Draw or Write About Your Favorite Pieces of Art or Artists Who Inspire You Creatively

When it comes to art, there are so many different styles and mediums that it can be hard to know where to start. If you’re looking for inspiration, start by exploring your favorite pieces of art or artists who inspire you creatively.

When it comes to drawing or writing about art, there are no set rules. Just let your creativity flow! However, here are a few tips to help get you started:

• Start by describing the artwork itself. What kind of style is it? What materials were used? What emotions does it evoke?
• Next, discuss why you like the artwork. What elements does it include that speak to you? Why do you find it inspiring?
• Finally, think about how the artwork has influenced your work. Has it led you to try new mediums or styles? Has it given you new ideas for projects? Has it made you look at things differently?

Documenting your thoughts on art can be a great way to explore your creative process and learn more about what inspires you. It can also be fun to share your love of art with others.

15. Free Write About Anything That Comes to Mind- No Judgment, Just Flow!

When you’re working on a creative project, it can be helpful to take some time to just free write. This means writing without judgment about anything that comes to mind. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or spelling. Just let your thoughts flow.

This type of writing can help you get the right frame of mind for creativity. It can also help you develop new ideas and brainstorm projects. It can also be a great way to document your thoughts and musings.

The method proposed by Julia Cameron in her The Artist’s Way – Morning Pages – is beneficial.

If you’re not used to ‘free writing’, getting into the habit may take some practice. But it’s worth it!

16. Write a Story Using Only Images as Prompts

A creativity journal can be a great way to help you come up with new story ideas. Using images as prompts, you can stimulate your imagination and develop story concepts you may not have otherwise considered.

17. Draw a Picture Inspired by a Song or Piece of Music

Sometimes the best way to jumpstart your creativity is to let go and allow your imagination to run wild. This can be done by drawing inspiration from things like songs or pieces of music.

One way to do this is by drawing a picture inspired by a song or piece of music. This can be a great way to get your creative juices flowing and be a lot of fun. Plus, it can help you better understand and appreciate the music itself.

Simply sit down with your creativity journal and start sketching out some ideas. You may want to consider the mood of the song or piece of music and any specific images or words that stand out to you.

If you’re stuck for ideas, you can always search online for inspiration. There are tons of websites and blogs that feature creative artwork inspired by music.

18. Create a Collage of Your Favorite Creative Inspirations

Inspiration can come from anywhere. It might be a painting you saw in a museum, a song you heard on the radio, or a picture you found online. It is essential to document these inspirations in some way so you can revisit them later.

One way to do this is by creating a collage of your favorite creative inspirations. This could include paintings, photographs, quotes, songs, or anything else that inspires you. You can either create the collage in a physical notebook or on your computer.

As you add new pieces to your collage, you’ll be able to see how your taste and style have changed or evolved.

19. Sketch Out a Map of a Place That Doesn’t Exist

When creating a map of a place that doesn’t exist, try to be as detailed as possible. This will help you to visualize the space better and to come up with ideas for what could happen there. You may want to start by sketching out the layout of the space, including any major landmarks or features.

Once you have a basic idea of the space, you can start coming up with ideas for what could happen there. Are there any dangerous creatures lurking in the shadows? What kind of civilizations would exist in this place? What sort of adventures could your characters go on?

Visualizing a place that doesn’t exist can be a fun way to jumpstart your creativity and develop new ideas for stories, games, or other projects. It can also help plan out new adventures or worlds for your characters to explore.

20. Write a Poem About Something Creatively Inspiring to You

When writing a poem, it’s essential to focus on what inspires you. Let your thoughts and feelings flow freely as you write. Choose a topic that means something special to you, and let the words come naturally. Don’t worry about making it perfect – the point is to express your thoughts and feelings in a creative way.

A creativity journal is a great way to document your poetry writing progress. It can also help you come up with new ideas for poems. Just take a few minutes each day to write down any ideas that come to mind, no matter how silly they may seem. You may be surprised at how some of these ideas turn into full-fledged poems.

21. Create a Playlist of Songs That Fuel Your Creativity

A creativity playlist can be a great way to jumpstart your creativity when you’re feeling stuck. It can also help you to document and track your progress on creative projects. When putting together your creativity playlist, it’s important to choose songs that inspire and energize you. Here are a few tips for creating a playlist that will fuel your creativity:

Choose Songs That Have Personal Meaning for You

When you’re feeling blocked creatively, listening to songs that have personal meaning for you can be helpful. This will help you connect with the music more profoundly and allow you to tap into your inner creativity.

Choose Songs That Are Upbeat and Energizing

Choosing songs that will pump you up and get you excited about your project is important. Choose upbeat music that makes you want to move and groove.

Choose Songs With Positive Lyrics

It can be hard to tap into your creative energy when feeling down. That’s why it’s important to choose songs with positive lyrics. These songs will help lift your mood and get you in the right frame of mind for creativity.

22. Draw/Sketch/Write About Creatively Inspired Dreams

One way to use your creativity journal to boost your creativity is by recording your dreams. Dreams can be a great source of inspiration for creative ideas. They can provide new perspectives and exciting storylines. Recording your dreams can also help you better remember them, which can be useful for brainstorming.

There are a few different ways to record your dreams in your creativity journal. One option is to draw or sketch the dream as you remember it. This can be a great way to capture the visual elements of the dream. You can also write about the dream in narrative form, describing all the details you remember. This can be a great way to get all the information and explore your thoughts and feelings about the dream.

23. Start a Blog Chronicling Your Creative Journey

Starting a blog can be a great way to chronicle your creative journey in tandem with a creativity journal. Or you could take it over to social media.

It can help you stay accountable and motivated and give you a place to share your work with others. Blogging can also help you develop new skills and connect with other creatives.

So why bother starting a blog linked to your creativity journal (or even directly publishing your creativity journal)? Here are just a few reasons:

• Accountability – When you have a blog, you’re likelier to stick to your goals since others can see what you’ve accomplished.
• Motivation – Seeing your work online can be motivating, especially when you get feedback from others.
• Skills Development – Blogging can help you develop new skills, such as writing, photography, and design.
• Connections – Blogging can help you connect with other creatives from all over the world.

24. Write/Draw About What Creativity Means to You

When it comes to creativity, everyone has their definition. For some, creativity may mean coming up with new ideas for projects or inventions. For others, it may mean being creative with words and writing stories or poems. And for still others, creativity may mean being creative with art and drawing or painting.

The important thing is that you find what creativity means to you and then write/draw about it in your creativity journal.

Creative Writing: Journals

by Melissa Donovan | Mar 7, 2024 | Creative Writing | 4 comments

What do your creative writing journals look like?

Today’s post is an excerpt from  Ready, Set, Write: A Guide to Creative Writing , a book that provides tips and tools for writers while serving as a broad roadmap for anyone who wants to explore creative writing. This excerpt is from chapter seven: “Journals.” Enjoy!

Journals are often confused for diaries. Technically, a diary is a type of journal, but a journal is any written log. You could keep a gratitude journal, a dream journal, or a goals journal. Many writers keep idea journals where they store ideas for current and future writing projects. And many keep general-purpose journals, in which they write anything and everything. Journals can also be used beyond the realm of writing; for example, you could keep an art, collage, or mixed-medium journal.

Journaling is a good way to build writing habits, especially if you can commit to doing it every day. Many writers spend inordinate amounts of time focused on editing, publishing, or marketing their work, which leaves little time for writing. A journal provides a place to develop and maintain a writing practice.

Journals are particularly useful for new writers because they provide an ideal space for exploring the craft of writing. You can use your journal to experiment with any type of writing, whether to enhance your skills or to try new ideas and forms.

Some writers maintain multiple journals: a tiny one to carry in a pocket or a purse, and a larger one kept on a nightstand or a desk. Some writers keep one journal for poetry and another for story ideas. Others keep a single all-purpose journal. Some journals are written in notebooks, and these can be cheap spiral-bound notebooks or fancy hardbound notebooks, and other journals are kept digitally.

I highly recommend journaling for all writers, especially young or new writers who are discovering their writing. At the very least, it’s helpful to have a few notebooks or digital documents that you can use for journaling, even if you don’t do it daily. After all, one thing every writer needs is a place to write, whether it’s a text document on a computer or a composition book (aff link) and a pen.

Have you ever kept a journal? What kind of journal was (is) it? If you were going to start a journal, what kind of journal would it be? Would you rather keep multiple single-purpose journals or a single all-purpose journal?

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50 Inspiring Journal Prompts to Spark Your Creativity

Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

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Benefits of Using Journal Prompts

How to use journal prompts, journal prompts you can try, how do you come up with a journal prompt.

A journal can be a trusted companion that helps you reflect on your thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions, and relationships. Research shows that journaling is linked to better planning, lower stress, and better physical and mental health.

Whether you write in your journal regularly or you’re just getting started, you might sometimes find yourself staring at a blank page and wondering what to write. If you’re at a loss for words, a journal prompt can come to the rescue.

Journal prompts are suggestions, ideas, or questions that can help guide and inspire your journal entries, says Sabrina Romanoff , PsyD, a clinical psychologist and professor at Yeshiva University.

“Prompts are typically themes to reflect on or questions that are meant to motivate you to think deeper about something,” Dr. Romanoff adds.

In this article, we suggest some journal prompts that can spark your creativity . We also ask the expert for some strategies that can help you create your own journal prompts.

Prompted journaling, also known as guided journaling, offers several benefits:

• Starting point: If you’ve never tried journaling before or if you’re experiencing writer’s block, journal prompts can help you get started.
• Direction: Prompts can provide direction to your writing, says Dr. Romanoff. By focusing on a specific topic or question, you can explore your thoughts and feelings around it. 
• Structure: Sometimes, you might prefer to write down your thoughts freely as they occur. However, there may be times when you want to organize your thoughts more coherently. Journal prompts can provide the structure you need to organize your thoughts.
• Creativity: Using different journal prompts can introduce variety to your journaling experience. It can encourage you to think more creatively and approach things from different angles.
• Insight: Journal prompts can provide topics or themes that help you explore fresh perspectives and new dimensions of yourself, says Dr. Romanoff. This process can help you discover personal insights and promote greater self-awareness .
• Consistency: Having a prompt to guide each journaling session can encourage you to maintain a regular journaling practice. The prompts can make journaling feel like a purposeful and engaging activity, which may help you be more consistent with it.

These are some strategies that can help you use journal prompts:

• Find prompts that inspire you: Dr. Romanoff suggests making a list of prompts that you find inspiring or motivating—you can come up with your own, buy a journal with prompts, or look online for examples.
• Decide your frequency: It can be helpful to set a frequency for journaling, such as daily, weekly, monthly or at any other interval that works for you. You can use prompts every time you journal or just when you’re feeling stagnant and craving inspiration or motivation for your journaling session, says Dr. Romanoff.
• Keep an open mind: Approach prompted journaling with an open mind . Reflect on the prompt and explore where it takes you. You can write as much or as little as you like. 
• Get creative: Don’t be afraid to get creative with your responses or limit yourself only to words. You can even pen down your thoughts and feelings in the form of drawings or poetry, if you prefer.
• Be honest and authentic: Honesty is key to getting the most out of journaling. Write from the heart and don't be afraid to express your true feelings, even if they are complex or challenging.
• Reflect on your responses: After you've written your responses, take a moment to reflect on what you've written. Consider how your thoughts and emotions have evolved over the course of writing them down.

These are some journal prompts that can help you get started.

Self-Discovery Prompts

Self-discovery prompts can help you self-reflect and get to know yourself better. Greater self-awareness is linked to improved emotional intelligence.

These are some journal prompts that can enable self-discovery:

• First, list five words that best describe you. Then, think about which five words you would like to describe yourself.
• Complete this sentence: “My life would be incomplete without….”
• Reflect on a phrase, quote, or mantra that resonates with you. Explain why it’s significant to you.
• Make a list of the things in your life that you’re most grateful for.
• Explain what you do best.
• Reflect on the qualities that you value most in others.
• Share three things that made you smile today.
• List your best and worst habits.
• Write down three life lessons you’ve learned.
• Explain what love means to you.
• Describe the values that are most important to you and consider whether your actions align with them.
• Think about what you would do with your life if you had unlimited resources and explain why.
• Describe what is stressing you out and how you’re coping with it.
• Write about your biggest regret and what you would do differently in hindsight.
• Identify and label the fears and insecurities that are holding you back right now.

Personal Growth Prompts

These are some journal prompts that can encourage personal growth:

• What are three short-term goals you would like to achieve within the next three months?
• What are three long-term goals you would like to achieve within the next five years?
• Which skill would you like to cultivate in yourself?
• Which qualities do you admire most in others that you would like to develop in yourself?
• Which areas of your life would benefit from more self-discipline ?
• What is your worst habit and how would you change it?
• What’s something new you would like to try?
• What habit do you want to add to your daily routine?
• What would you like to contribute to your community?
• What is the biggest challenge you’re dealing with right now?
• What is the biggest failure you’ve ever faced and what have you learned from it?
• How would you like to be remembered by others?
• How can you better support your loved ones?
• What boundaries would you like to set in your relationships to protect yourself?

Mindfulness Prompts

Mindfulness prompts can help you become more aware of your thoughts, emotions, senses, and surroundings. Being more mindful can help you be more intentional and purposeful in the way you live your life.

These are some journal prompts that can support greater mindfulness:

• Describe a meal you ate today. What colors, textures, tastes, and feelings did you experience?
• Pick an everyday object from your surroundings, like a plant or a pencil. Write a detailed description of it as if you've never seen it before.
• Focus on a sound in the background, such as the ticking of a clock or the rustling of the breeze. Describe the sound and its impact on you.
• Close your eyes for a minute and pay attention to your breath. When you open your eyes, write down what it felt like.
• Describe your ideal day from morning to night. What activities, people, and experiences would be part of it?
• Reflect on your thoughts without judgment . Identify and describe any feelings you're experiencing in the present moment.
• Write about a recent interaction with someone. What were their words, expressions, and gestures? How did you feel during the interaction?
• Think back to a moment of happiness you experienced recently. Relive the sensations, thoughts, and emotions associated with it.
• Think about the place where you feel most at peace. What makes it special to you?
• Recall a time when you were worrying about something in the future. How did it affect your present moment and what would you have done differently?

Creativity Prompts

These are some journal prompts that can spark creativity :

• Write a letter to your favorite fictional character, describing your life to them.
• Make a list of questions you would like to ask a future version of yourself.
• Think about your favorite word or phrase. Explain why you love it.
• Choose a random object from your surroundings. What qualities do you have in common with it?
• Make a list of ten unusual ways to use a common household item. Get creative and think outside the box.
• Write a conversation between two inanimate objects, giving them personalities and voices.
• Invent a gadget that would make your life more efficient or interesting.
• Choose a word from a foreign language that doesn't have a direct English translation. Describe the last time you encountered or experienced it.
• Imagine you get the chance to be any animal for a day. Which animal would you pick and what would you do?
• Invent a new holiday and outline the traditions, celebrations, and rituals associated with it, based on your values.
• If you have a time machine and you can go anywhere in the past or future, where would you go and what would you do there?

These are some strategies that can help you come up with your own journal prompts:

• Decide your goals: First, consider what your goal of journaling is and then work backwards to find ways to achieve that goal, says Dr. Romanoff. For instance, she says gratitude , relationships, learning, self-growth, or creativity are goals that you might want to pursue.
• Find prompts that align with your goals: Write down a few prompts that resonate with you and align with your current goals, interests, or areas of focus. You can add more or tweak them as you go along.
• Mix and match different prompts: Feel free to mix and match prompts from different sources or create your own variations. Experiment with different types of prompts to keep your journaling practice engaging and varied.
• Build on existing prompts: If a prompt leads you to new insights or questions, consider exploring those ideas in subsequent journal entries. You can use your initial response as a springboard for deeper exploration.

Journaling can be a form of self-care , a way to connect with yourself, or a creative exercise. 

If you enjoy journaling, having prompts can help guide your thoughts and focus your attention in a specific direction. Having a new journal prompt to work on every time you’re in the mood to journal can be exciting, comforting, and even a little scary. Just think of each prompt as an opportunity to learn something new about yourself.

Pena‐Silva RA, Velasco‐Castro JM, Matsingos C, Jaramillo‐Rincon SX. Journaling as an effective tool to promote metacognition and enhance study methods in a pharmacology course, during and after the pandemic . FASEB J . 2022;36(Suppl 1):10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R4840. doi:10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R4840

Drigas AS, Papoutsi C. A new layered model on emotional intelligence . Behav Sci (Basel) . 2018;8(5):45. doi:10.3390/bs8050045

Crego A, Yela JR, Gómez-Martínez MÁ, Riesco-Matías P, Petisco-Rodríguez C. Relationships between mindfulness, purpose in life, happiness, anxiety, and depression: testing a mediation model in a sample of women . Int J Environ Res Public Health . 2021;18(3):925. doi:10.3390/ijerph18030925

By Sanjana Gupta Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

15 Types of Creative Journaling Plus Benefits and Techniques

Discover our guide with the best prompts for creative journaling and become a seasoned writer in no time!

All writers struggle from time to time with writer’s block or feeling stuck in a rut. When your creative spark doesn’t ignite, it can be frustrating; sometimes  stream of consciousness journaling can help you break through this wall. Creative journaling is one of my favorite low-stress solutions when I’m feeling uninspired. It comes in all forms, can help you focus or brainstorm, and feels good. Let’s explore how it works.

What is a Creative Journaling?

1. traditional written journal, 2. freeform journaling, 3. a poetry journal, 4. mixed scrapbook journaling, 5. travel journaling, 6. junk journaling, 7. a journal with prompts, 8. sketch or art journaling, 9. mind mapping, 10. bullet journaling, 11. dream journaling, 12. morning journal, 13. a reading journal, 14. food journal, 15. draft journal, 16. affirmation journal, what are some examples of creative journaling, can creative journaling help me organize, what are some creative exercises i can do in my journal.

Creative journaling is a way of getting your thoughts onto the page – and not necessarily with the written word, either! It helps encourage imagination and creative thinking as you combine mediums or try new types of prose and poetry to express thoughts. The result is a more flexible approach to writing and often some great ideas for both nonfiction and fiction approaches in your work.

“What?” you might be thinking, “How is a traditional journal creative? I already know how those work.” The goal is to use a traditional journal to unlock new thoughts. Open up a notebook, and you are confronted with very normal lines to write on. But, with creative journaling, you can find new ways to express thoughts by just getting the words out and seeing what happens. This is a great way to stumble across writing techniques and approaches you would have never thought of before, especially for forms like fiction or creative nonfiction.

In freeform journaling, write freely without sticking to the traditional writing rules. Why not skip as many lines as you want between sentences, and write wherever you want on the page? Why not write one section in the first person and the next in the second person? Why not write an entire paragraph in nouns, and the next in verbs, while still trying to convey your meaning?

As you can see, this kind of daily journal is a great way to play around with grammar and explore writing styles you don’t often use. It doesn’t always have to make sense, and it doesn’t have to be printable. The goal is to let creativity take over and write whatever comes to mind.

Even if you don’t usually try poetry, a poetry journal can be one of the powerful creative journaling ideas that jumpstart your writing. Noting down poems and playing with writing techniques such as metaphor, rhyme, and simile can inspire creative thinking and generate new ideas for your writing.  

Also called a mixed media journal, this DIY journaling style allows you to be creative. While a traditional scrapbook focuses on pasting in complementary photos, shapes, and artwork, a mixed media version is much more freeform. You can write, draw, or paste in shapes and photos as you desire. Break out the crayons and color up a page! Write a paragraph, then doodle your thoughts about that paragraph around it.

Look for ways to combine thoughts with colors and images that you identify with those thoughts, then find suitable materials for the job. Maybe even grab a pack of stickers to use. Later on, when you are writing more traditionally, consider how references to colors or imagery could help strengthen your writing.

Travel journaling can be considered a form of diary writing; it is about recording the new places you visit, the new people you meet, and the new experiences you have. You don’t have to write in any particular form; remember to be descriptive and record what happened so you can remember it clearly. This will improve your descriptive writing and help you reference your experiences for later inspiration.

Junk journaling is travel-related scrapbooking where you paste actual mementos of your experiences. It’s focused on things that you would otherwise throw away after use. That could include train tickets, subway passports from a different city, wrappers from the food you ate on an airplane, pieces of a map you used, etc.

It’s a way to improve your memory and create a special journal to share with others. This type of journaling doesn’t require travel, either. Junk journaling can record actual receipts you collected or candy wrappers from a particular snack you had. 

Create a daily journal with writing prompts for each session to give you a starting place. There are many  journals prompts like this, with many different themes, so you can customize the prompts for what you had in mind. Here’s an affordable option on Amazon for generic prompts to give you an idea. Writing prompts are helpful because they give you a starting place, and you don’t have to develop a subject independently. 

This type of journaling uses black sketchbooks and lets you choose what to put on the canvas. That opens a lot of doors for creative sketching and drawing. Again, even if you aren’t that type of artist, you can still find a lot of value in this journaling method. Sketching (no matter how good or bad you are) can unveil hidden possibilities in the world around you.

No matter how absently, drawing can help you focus your thoughts and create new realizations. Journaling has been found to offer many multiple benefits for creatives. If you are an artist, check out our article on art journaling for the complete lowdown. If not, have fun with lettering and doodles as you go.

Mind mapping is a digital option that’s closely related to brainstorming. Here, you can use an app to create and connect thought bubbles in various ways. The first benefit is that you don’t need to write or type that much to start mind mapping: Grab a good app, like the popular Xmind .

The second benefit is that you can start listing random thoughts or ideas that you’re having, in no particular order, then connect and categorize them later. It’s a good option for people who like to start with many different thoughts and find ways to link them together.

Bullet journaling means using bullet points when you journal. It’s a popular recommendation for people working on to-do lists and checklists they want to tackle. But bullet points can be used creatively by listing thoughts and feelings or creating lists of story ideas – you can write random ideas, even if they’re only a word or two.

The draw behind creative bullet journaling is that not every bullet has to be useful or meaningful. It can be easy to get words out of your head and onto a list so you can judge which are helpful later on. This may also be a handy precursor to creating an outline.

The rules for this journal are simple: Jot down everything you remember from your dreams. Any fragments qualify; it doesn’t matter how much sense they make. It’s usually best to do this early in the morning before you forget your dreams. Sometimes you can find the seed of a good idea from your dreams when you look at them later. Or you may discover a different option to describe something or a scenario that will work perfectly for your characters. It’s a little like reaching your hand into a grab bag.

A morning journal is an alternative or type of journaling you can combine with a dream journal. When you write in a morning journal, you jot down your stream-of-consciousness thoughts. They could be random worries about the day, hopeful plans, what you want for breakfast, how much you wish you could go back to sleep…just whatever you are thinking and feeling.

A morning journal like this can help you uncover new ideas, and it’s a common suggestion for all kinds of artists. It’s also a great substitute if you don’t remember any dreams from the night before but still need to journal.

As the name suggests, a reading journal is where you take notes on the novels you are currently reading. You can use these journals to keep track of more complex novels and make important notes to keep everything straight. That’s especially useful if you don’t have much time to read.

You can also use a reading journal to critique the novels you read. By critiquing another work, you often discover ways to improve your writing and new techniques you can use. Or, if you don’t want to get so technical, you can describe your feelings and thoughts while reading. Studying your reactions as a reader is also a great way to improve as a writer.

For this kind of creative journal, focus on describing a meal you had or the food you are eating. Use multiple senses beyond taste, and find the right words to describe what you like or dislike. Eating can be a very intense experience, and practicing it can help you improve the way you communicate sensory information. Plus, you may find you like being a food blogger!

This is a more significant journal for drafts of your writing work. Use it to create chapter openings, start writing critical essays, and experiment with upcoming player dialogue. Many writers prefer making drafts this way because there is less pressure to get it “just right.” Also, putting pen to paper may help open up more creativity than putting hands to keyboard for some journalers. Also, you don’t have to tote around a laptop to work on your drafts, so it’s a bit more flexible. Just getting a challenging section started can be a big help.

An affirmation journal is designed for positive thoughts – which can be immensely helpful for many writers who feel depressed or unfortunate. Use it to record when you’ve reached goals and empowering statements like, “I like writing a lot,” and “I completed an entire draft this month.” This can help create positive feedback in your mind that’s very healthy, emotionally, and as a creator.

FAQs on Creative Journaling

Inspiration for creative journaling can come from many places and creative people, so you don’t need to stop at this list. For example, you may want to look at the University of British Columbia’s guide  and how students there have found success in creative journaling. 

Keep in mind some types of creative journaling can be intensely practical. Some creative journaling types focus on fitness, budgeting, or recipes. These aren’t always as inspiring for writing, but they help you get organized. The popularity of gratitude journaling has skyrocketed in recent years and is known to improve your well-being. 

1. Confine yourself to a single line. That’s all you get to express an idea: How will you do it? 2. Or, you could give yourself a brief time limit: Write everything you want in 5 seconds. Then reflect on what and why you wrote.

Looking for inspiration? Check out our best  quotes about journaling !

Tyler has been published on Huffington Post and Motely Fool. His article and blogs experience includes working for The Content Standard, Mad Mobile, Digital Landing, and Apass Education, among many others.

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A Journal of The Literary Arts

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Grist: A Journal of the Literary Arts,  seeks high quality submissions from both emerging and established writers. We publish craft essays and interviews as well as fiction, nonfiction, and poetry—and we want to see your best work, regardless of form, style, or subject matter.

Past issues have included such writers as Dan Albergotti, Dorothy Allison, Ellen Bass, Richard Bausch, Katherine Boo, Maud Casey, May-lee Chai, Peter Ho Davies, Timothy Donnelly, Denise Duhamel, Tom Franklin, Elizabeth Gilbert, Joy Harjo, Lyn Hejinian, Bob Hicok, T.R. Hummer, Adam Johnson, Fady Joudah, Dorianne Laux, Dorothea Lasky, Dana Levin, Julia B. Levine, Lisa Lewis, Thomas Lynch, Khaled Mattawa, Joseph Millar, Ander Monson, Danielle Pafunda, Ron Rash, Hilda Raz, Maggie Smith, Maura Stanton, Michael Steinberg, Virgil Suárez, Julie Marie Wade, William Wenthe, and many others.

We read between May 15th and August 15th. Please note that we do not accept snail mail submissions. Please do not mix genres in the same submission. For each genre, please wait until we have responded to your current submission before submitting another. We do not consider previously published work. We discourage the submission of multiple drafts of the same work during a submission period unless a revision was requested by an editor.  We do not consider work from those currently or recently affiliated with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable as long as we are immediately notified if the piece has been accepted elsewhere. While we can’t always personally respond to each withdrawal or partial withdrawal notice, rest assured that the information has been entered into the system. We’re sorry, but  Grist  does not accept authors in back-to-back issues.

Grist  is committed to diversity, inclusivity, cultural interchange, and respect for all individuals. In the case of all submitted and/or accepted work, if an author behaves or speaks publicly—or is revealed or accused to have behaved or spoken, even in private—in ways that contradict these expressed values of the journal, then we reserve the right to disqualify an author’s submission, release the author from any contract, and/or remove their work from our archives.

Our submission fee ( waived for subscribers ) is $4 for three to five poems, for one work of fiction up to 7,000 words, or for one work of non-fiction up to 7,000 words (in all of our prose categories, we are also open to considering flash pieces as long as they are submitted in one document and do not total over 7000 words). The bulk of our reading fee goes to paying our writers; the rest covers our Submittable fees and a portion of our publishing costs, which helps us to make a high-quality home for a wide variety of the best national and international creative and literary work available to us. We hope that you will regard this fee as an investment in you, the writers who keep us going, while also serving as a sign of your support for the literary art we all value so much.

Average response time is 2-4 months. If you have not received a response after four months, send a query email to your genre’s editor.

Submissions will be considered for publication in either the print issue or here online. Payment is $10 per poem or 1 cent per word for prose (up to $50), as well as a contributor copy. Additional copies are also available at a reduced price for contributors.

To submit your work to the journal, please read our guidelines below and then submit via our online submissions manager,  Submittable . To pitch ideas or submit reviews or craft essays please read our submission guidelines on this page. To submit to our annual ProForma contest, please see our  Contest  page.

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ISSUE 16 GRIST STAFF

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Alive in Ohio

Abby Wheeler lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was a 2021 finalist for the Great Midwest Writing Contest, and has work published or forthcoming in SWWIM, The Free State Review and elsewhere. Her chapbook, In the Roots , is available from Finishing Line Press.

Confessional to Famous Iranian Pop Singer Dariush II

Darius Atefat-Peckham is an Iranian-American poet and essayist. His work has appeared in Indiana Review, Barrow Street, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Florida Review, Brevity, Crab Orchard Review and elsewhere. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies, including My Shadow is My Skin: Voices from the Iranian Diaspora (University of Texas Press). Atefat-Peckham lives in Huntington, West Virginia and studies Creative Writing at Harvard College.

beach house

Rachel B. Glaser is the author of the novel Paulina & Fran, the short story collection Pee On Water, and the poetry books MOODS and HAIRDO. Glaser studied painting at RISD and received her MFA in Creative Writing from Umass-Amherst. In 2017, she was on Granta’s list of Best of Young American Novelists. Her fiction has been anthologized in New American Stories. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts and teaches at the Mountainview Low-Residency MFA.

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Claudia Looi

Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station looks like a museum. It has vaulted ceilings and baroque decor.

Hidden underground, in the heart of Moscow, are historical and architectural treasures of Russia. These are Soviet-era creations – the metro stations of Moscow.

Our guide Maria introduced these elaborate metro stations as “the palaces for the people.” Built between 1937 and 1955, each station holds its own history and stories. Stalin had the idea of building beautiful underground spaces that the masses could enjoy. They would look like museums, art centers, concert halls, palaces and churches. Each would have a different theme. None would be alike.

The two-hour private tour was with a former Intourist tour guide named Maria. Maria lived in Moscow all her life and through the communist era of 60s to 90s. She has been a tour guide for more than 30 years. Being in her 60s, she moved rather quickly for her age. We traveled and crammed with Maria and other Muscovites on the metro to visit 10 different metro stations.

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

To Maria, every street, metro and building told a story. I couldn’t keep up with her stories. I don’t remember most of what she said because I was just thrilled being in Moscow.   Added to that, she spilled out so many Russian words and names, which to one who can’t read Cyrillic, sounded so foreign and could be easily forgotten.

The metro tour was the first part of our all day tour of Moscow with Maria. Here are the stations we visited:

1. Komsomolskaya Metro Station  is the most beautiful of them all. Painted yellow and decorated with chandeliers, gold leaves and semi precious stones, the station looks like a stately museum. And possibly decorated like a palace. I saw Komsomolskaya first, before the rest of the stations upon arrival in Moscow by train from St. Petersburg.

2. Revolution Square Metro Station (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) has marble arches and 72 bronze sculptures designed by Alexey Dushkin. The marble arches are flanked by the bronze sculptures. If you look closely you will see passersby touching the bronze dog's nose. Legend has it that good luck comes to those who touch the dog's nose.

Touch the dog's nose for good luck. At the Revolution Square station

Revolution Square Metro Station

3. Arbatskaya Metro Station served as a shelter during the Soviet-era. It is one of the largest and the deepest metro stations in Moscow.

Arbatskaya Metro Station

4. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station was built in 1935 and named after the Russian State Library. It is located near the library and has a big mosaic portrait of Lenin and yellow ceramic tiles on the track walls.

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

5. Kievskaya Metro Station was one of the first to be completed in Moscow. Named after the capital city of Ukraine by Kiev-born, Nikita Khruschev, Stalin's successor.

Kievskaya Metro Station

6. Novoslobodskaya Metro Station  was built in 1952. It has 32 stained glass murals with brass borders.

Novoslobodskaya metro station

7. Kurskaya Metro Station was one of the first few to be built in Moscow in 1938. It has ceiling panels and artwork showing Soviet leadership, Soviet lifestyle and political power. It has a dome with patriotic slogans decorated with red stars representing the Soviet's World War II Hall of Fame. Kurskaya Metro Station is a must-visit station in Moscow.

Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

8. Mayakovskaya Metro Station built in 1938. It was named after Russian poet Vladmir Mayakovsky. This is one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world with 34 mosaics painted by Alexander Deyneka.

Mayakovskaya station

One of the over 30 ceiling mosaics in Mayakovskaya metro station

9. Belorusskaya Metro Station is named after the people of Belarus. In the picture below, there are statues of 3 members of the Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II. The statues were sculpted by Sergei Orlov, S. Rabinovich and I. Slonim.

10. Teatralnaya Metro Station (Theatre Metro Station) is located near the Bolshoi Theatre.

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Taking the metro's escalator at the end of the tour with Maria the tour guide.

Have you visited the Moscow Metro? Leave your comment below.

January 15, 2017 at 8:17 am

An excellent read! Thanks for much for sharing the Russian metro system with us. We're heading to Moscow in April and exploring the metro stations were on our list and after reading your post, I'm even more excited to go visit them. Thanks again 🙂

December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Hi, do you remember which tour company you contacted for this tour?

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MMLA 2024: Creative Writing Poetry (EXTENDED DEADLINE)

2024 MMLA Annual Convention: November 14-16, 2024, Chicago, Illinois

Creative Writing II: Poetry Permanent Section CFP 

“Health in/of the Humanities”

The Creative Writing II: Poetry  permanent section of the Midwest Modern Language Association seeks creative, critical, and hybrid proposals that connect to this year’s convention theme of “Health in/of the Humanities.” We are particularly interested in presentations from poets and poet-scholars who engage with health, disability studies, and other medical humanities-oriented poetics and praxis. Questions to consider include: How does (your) poetry and poetic practice engage with the body? How does poetry complicate or redefine health, sickness, and/or recovery? What possibilities and interventions does poetry have to offer when it comes to medical ethics, technologies, etc.?

We welcome poetry, critical-creative papers, and digital poetics projects, and are especially interested in works that are socially conscious and politically engaged. Presentations should be approximately 15 minutes in length.  

To submit your work for consideration, please send a 200-300 word abstract and a brief bio to the section chair, Hannah Kroonblawd ( [email protected] ), by  April 26, 2024 . Proposals of creative projects should include a brief sample of creative work (3-5 pages of poetry) along with the abstract. Please include your name, professional affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title in your submission.

MMLA's 2024 convention will take place in Chicago, Illinois from November 14-16. More information about the convention can be found at:  https://www.midwest-mla.org/convention