Writing Journals

First off, let’s define what a writing journal is. It s not a diary (though you could certainly combine them, if you chose to) its a tool. A journal is the book you carry with you everywhere to catch all the random bits and ideas that drop into your head through the day. I find mine invaluable. I also am neurotic and keep a general one, as well as a few for specific projects. In the random one, I use post it tags to mark passages that involve current stories. Sometimes I even highlight them.

I also carry a mini notebook in my purse for those days where you just can’t bring the big one, and a digital voice recorder for my commutes in the car.

Here are some prompts to get you started. Whether with a journal or not! (I’ll be adding as I think of more!)

Go to a public place. Pick a comfortable spot and people watch. Keep an ear out for flashes of conversation as people pass. Write down anything that piques your interest. You never know when a random statement might prompt something else. And besides, people watching in itself is interesting.
While you’re out watching, you might choose one person and “sketch” them with words. Describe them. Give them a reason to be there. Maybe they’re on a secret mission. Maybe they forgot an important party gift.
Don’t be afraid to use it for everyday things. I write notes to myself in mine. Grocery Lists. To do lists. Recipes. Those types of things. Sometimes you look back at it and the combinations of things can spark an idea. Recipes have been known to inspire a setting for a scene, or research on a country I might not have thought of otherwise.
Pick a classical piece of music you’ve never heard before. Listen to it, eyes closed, then write for five minutes whatever comes into your head. A scene, random words, doesn’t matter. Just write.
In a similar vein, pick a song lyric and write it on the journal page. Use it to begin a scene. See where it takes you.
Clip a photo from a magazine, or find one online to print out. Place it in the notebook and take a minute to study it. Then write the scene that takes place around that photo.
Pick a country you don’t know much about. Research local superstitions, folklore, and mythology. Write a scene with a character who believes in them. Tell us what happens to them when they ignore one of their superstitions.
Look up a list of ridiculous laws still in existence. Have a character commit one of these “crimes” and get arrested. Write the scene where they use their one phone call. Who do they call? What do they tell the person they call or what do they ask for?
Doodle. A writer’s notebook isn’t ONLY for words. Don’t feel like you can’t make a mess.
Keep your writing journal next to the bed with a pen. If you have a dream, write it down then! Don’t wait until morning. Deciphering bad handwriting is easier than trying to remember what you wanted to write down.
Keep old ticket stubs and things. Write notes to yourself about the event. What you liked, what stuck out to you. Strange things that happened (or strange people around you while you were there)