Journal Writing Prompt

I think personal development websites are a great source for writing prompts for meaningful journal entries. This morning, I came across this article, imagined that “someone came up to [me] right now and said “Give me five reasons that show you’re serious about your creativity and what it means in your life”“, and wrote down my response.

Keeping a Paper Journal in 2007

EMBODIMENT PAPER JOURNAL PROJECT 2007 | LEARN MORE + JOIN

Quote for September 25, 2006

Ein Tagebuch schreiben ist fotografieren mit einem Bleistift.
Keeping a diary is like taking pictures with a pencil.

Quelle unbekannt / Source unknown

20 years of journaling (Sept 19)

So according to my diary no. 1, I wrote my first ever journal entry on this day 20 years ago at 7.52 pm. I was eleven then.

A lot has happened during those 20 years. For one thing, I was a child when I started journaling, and for almost two years, my entries are clearly those of a kid. Then I started to enter adolescence and the nature of the things I wrote about changed dramatically. I wrote about almost nothing else but my crushes, and some of the stuff I wrote then makes me cringe today. Every time I wrote on something else, though, I am pleased to report that I show all the signs of being intelligent and a person who liked to make up her own mind. Eventually I turned into something resembling an adult, and I think it is fair to say that there was a time when I behaved more like an adult than I do today. The entries from this time are a little boring, though.

And yet, on February 16 1989, at the ripe old age of 13 and almost three quarters, when boys were on top of my list of topics to write about, I wrote an entry about why I keep a journal, which ends with these words: “I keep a journal because I want to be able to revisit my feelings today in 10 years time and because I want to know what I thought on all sorts of things then, too.”

Well, I don’t have anything to add to that.

Journal writing prompts (2)

I just came across this list of journal writing prompts. It’s long and divided into several sections, and some of the prompts made me itch to start writing. I reckon there are at least a handful of prompts for everybody to feel this way.

Have fun writing

QotD Writing Prompts

The Vox Question of the Day is a good way to start a journal entry when you’re not certain what you want to write about.

They are quite general questions, so everybody will be able to write at least a short answer to them, but they may also be the opening to you writing a long entry on something you haven’t thought about in a long while.

I usually have a look at the QotD when I’m feeling uninspired.

[Journal] Writing prompts (1)

It may seem difficult to find topics to write about when you start journaling. As with all writing, prompts can get you started there and help you define your own style of journal entry.

Seven for seven of the Livejournal community embodiment is one source which I check weekly. A list of seven prompts is usually posted on Wednesday for the seven days to follow.

Keeping a journal

The fact that I have been keeping a journal for almost 20 years has shaped my development as a writer a great deal. If I had not started keeping a diary, I might never have found how much I enjoy writing. Writing a journal entry every day has also helped improving my writing skills (although I have to admit that I have gone months sometimes without writing anything).

Recently I have discovered a blog on journal writing, and if you want to start journaling or need to restart, there is some good advice on how to go about it over there.