Journaling as a Creative Medium
Lately I’ve been reading Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney. It’s an excellent nonfiction/memoir of Romney—a rare book dealer—and her exploration of the women writers who inspired Jane Austen. While many of the women were novelists, several of them were also renowned diarists. While reading this book, I’ve been thinking about my own relationship to journaling and how it has nurtured my creativity. Throughout history, the popularity of journaling has ebbed and flowed. Even in my own life, my habit of keeping a diary has fluctuated. Still, every time that I return to journaling my appreciation for it grows. In this post, I’d like to explore how keeping a diary can be a meaningful creative medium, even if you don’t consider yourself a writer. I’ll also share some writing prompts that you can try out.
I began journaling at a young age. I wrote some of my earliest entries around age 6 or 7. Mostly I’d write about my friends, pets, or what was happening at school. Plenty of misspelled words and messy handwriting appeared in my first diary, but it didn’t matter. I was writing simply because I enjoyed it. Fast forward to 2023, when I challenged myself to journal every day. I didn’t have any set amount of words that I needed to write, just as long as I wrote something. Some days I wrote pages upon pages, while other days I only wrote a sentence or two. I haven’t gone back to read any of those entries (as of yet), but I’m really quite proud that I committed to writing every single day.
One of the best things that I gained from journaling over an entire year was creating a dedicated space for expressing my feelings, ideas, and reflections. I allowed myself the freedom to journal in different ways as well. Some of the methods I experimented with included stream of consciousness, gratitude journaling, and a combination of writing and drawing, or more accurately, doodling. (I’m very much a novice when it comes to drawing.) Whenever I utilized stream of consciousness, I would typically set a timer and just write, ignoring any grammatical or punctuation errors. I simply focused on the flow of my thoughts and wrote them down as they arose. Other times I chose gratitude journaling, which is a very popular method of writing down one’s daily thoughts, feelings, or experiences with an emphasis on cultivating thankfulness.
During that year, I decided to keep a physical journal, using pen and paper. Throughout my life though, I’ve also kept scrapbooks or digital diaries to preserve personal moments. I don’t think I have a single favorite way of journaling, as I discover benefits with every method that I try. Variety in my journaling is truly what delights me the most.
If you’re keen to give journaling a try, then these writing prompts will help get you started. It’s your choice whether you want to write in a physical or virtual journal.
“Today the most surprising and unexpected thing happened when I…”
“Today I learned something new about…”
Describe the last snack or meal you ate in as much sensory detail as possible. Try to incorporate all of your senses.
If you’re able to remember your dreams, jot them down in your journal. This can be a fun or interesting type of journaling.
Whether or not you decide to take up journaling regularly, I do hope that you’ll try at least one of the writing prompts. Keeping a diary is deeply personal, and it doesn’t need to be perfect. It’s a space that welcomes authenticity as well as creativity. I encourage you to give yourself the time and space to express yourself, explore your thoughts, and capture your personal history through the written word. Happy journaling!