Sometimes the most difficult part of keeping a journal is knowing where to start.  I’m going to make it easy for you….I’ll be giving you prompts and topics every day and you can tailor them to your own style. Spend 5 minutes or spend an hour. It’s up to you.

I love to map things out….it’s a great way of documenting memories without having to write out paragraph after paragraph. If I have to go to the DMV or doctor’s office, I take my journal along…..and I start to enjoy the wait.

Sometimes memories are happy….. and sometimes they are painful. By creating a map, you can document things from the surface…..and revisit them later when you feel ready to tell the story.

Creative writing comes from the details……so let’s dig in and see what we remember…….

Maybe you remember very little…..just jot down or sketch anything.  What did the chairs look like? What did your teacher look like?  What did the cafeteria look like? Did you ride the bus? Was there a bully in your class?  Etc.  Open an old album and see if any photos jog a memory. Maybe reach out to a friend from grade school and see what they remember.  It’s a process…..you can always come back to this page later.

Today’s the first day! Welcome to the The Lil Journal Project.

I’m glad you’re here.

For years I kept journals full of stories, lists, sketches, quotes….they were dumping grounds for anything and everything.  I find myself flipping through them almost daily for inspiration or to prompt a memory.

As we start on this journey it might seem fragmented at first but I promise as we keep going you’ll find yourself flipping back and forth, filling in spaces as memories are triggered, and running for your journal when you want to write something down for the future.

Today’s prompt is easy and simple but it has an important purpose: to get something, anything, down on paper as a starting point. You won’t even have to figure out what to write….unless you want to.

Open up your journal to the first page, and with your non-dominant hand (i.e. your left if you are right-handed) write the following:

this is my journal.
there are no rules.
it’s imperfect.
and perfect.
all at the same time.

Doesn’t look quite how you expected your first page to look, right? Worried about the punctuation and lack of caps? Messy and “wrong” can be liberating….I promise.

Now, for a quick intro into sketching…..draw your pen or pencil, with your non-dominant hand. Take as long as you need.

Write today’s date next to it.

If you have blank space at the bottom of your page…..don’t worry, we’ll use it for something else later. We’ll skip around from page to page and revisit old ones weeks later.

Just remember that writing with your non-dominant hand can unleash creativity. Our dominant hand knows too many tricks and will write exactly how it is expected to……but sometimes, the unexpected is a much welcome surprise. Whenever I have a creative block or I’m unhappy with a painting or drawing, I switch to my left hand, and I’m able to work through it with a new perspective.

See you tomorrow!  And we’ll start to dig in……

You can get your daily prompts at the following places:
Right here on the blog
@lilblueboo on Instagram (#theliljournalproject)
@lilblueboo on Pinterest (The Lil Journal Project board)