Getting Creative With Journaling

How I got started journaling and you can, too!

I never did much journaling growing up. I’d always filled notebooks with ideas for fiction stories and didn’t have much interest in chronicling my (chronically) boring adolescence. That changed once I became a mom because I wanted a place to write down the endlessly funny things my boys would say and to look back on memories over the years (yes, motherhood has made me a sap.)

Then came the pandemic, which coincided with my husband gifting me an Erin Condren notebook and suddenly I had all the time in the world to keep more of an eye on what was going on within myself. I started keeping a log of books to read, and writing out goals and gratitude lists.

In the summer of 2020, I found Art Journaling magazine.

Unfortunately, I am the half of Adele with absolutely zero artistic talent, so I knew my journals would never look like the ones showcased in this magazine. However, flipping through the pages during quarantine sparked some inspiration in me. I started doing some black-out poetry and cutting and gluing pictures from old magazines to go along with whatever was on my mind.

Then I got the idea to create a themed journal I called the Nostalgia Diaries. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in my wish to recapture memories of childhood in the midst of the world going crazy. Making these little pages brought some joy into being stuck in the house.

I haven’t journaled like this in a while, but last night I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep. My brain started mulling over Adele’s summer novella-in-progress, and then drifted toward the notebook I’d bought recently, stuffed into a drawer because I didn’t know what to do with it.

I’m usually a bit hesitant to start a new notebook, because they are pretty, and those blank pages are perfect, and I couldn’t possibly come up with something good enough to fill them. But then I get over it. I’m still not completely sure what’s going to fill these particular pages, but I know whatever it is will bring me joy.

Do you keep a journal? If so, what do you write about? Do you try to make it pretty? I’d love to know! And if you’re thinking of starting a journal, definitely check out Art Journaling Magazine. They aren’t giving me a kickback to say that, I just think you’ll like it!

Spreading a little joy is part of Adele’s mission. So if you’re like us—afraid to read the news to see what fresh hell the day has brought—we invite you to skip the doom scrolling and settle in with one of our stories. Because you know there’s gonna be a happy ending. And if you enjoy our books, please take a moment to leave a rating or review on Amazon. It really helps us out!