Creative Journal Ideas to Spark Creativity in Beginners

Journaling is a hobby that can positively impact your life in many ways. Whether you keep a journal to document memories or make art, there are so many different ways to express yourself creatively. Journaling can really be a great way to organize your creative ideas and get things done.

In today’s blog post I’m going to be sharing different creative journal ideas to help you break out of your journaling shell and try something new. I hope these new ideas inspire you to grab a notebook and start filing it in. And if you enjoyed today’s post, make sure you check out the rest of my journaling posts here.

Now before we get started discussing different types of journals, let’s discuss what a journal is.

What is a Journal?

To put this in my own words, a journal is a notebook where you can collect different thoughts and ideas, with the purpose of being able to look back at them on a later date. Keeping a journal is about documentation. Whether you’re using your journal to stay organized or to express your creativity, it’s all about getting the creative juices flowing.

What Kind of Notebook do you need to Start a Journal?

There’s no specific notebook that you need. As long as it has blank pages in it, you can use whatever fits your needs best! For more budget friendly options, I like composition books that I can pick up from The Dollar Tree or Wal Mart.

For more expensive options, you can use a moleskine or a leuchtturm notebook. The possibilities are endless. All that matters is that you are able to write and get your thoughts down!

What kind of pen is best to use for Journaling?

Again, it doesn’t really matter what pen you use. But with that being said, some more seasoned journalers will be pickier about their supplies.

I prefer a fine point pen that doesn’t smear and that doesn’t bleed through to the other side of the page. My favorite is these.

Creative Journal Ideas for Beginners

Track Your Life with a Daily Journal

Growing up, I went through phases with keeping a daily journal. I would write down the minutiae of my everyday life, but I would also write down all of my feelings and emotions and things I had to work through. In the earlier years I would share everything with my best friend from my neighborhood, but as I great up my journal became more private.

This kind of journal is what I consider to be a traditional journal. All you need is a writing utensil and a notebook. Just start writing about what you did that day, who you saw, and even what you ate! It’s your journal so you can write down whatever you want.

Document Your Story with a Journal for your Kids

Do you ever spend time thinking about your family? I do. I often wonder what my grandmother was like when she was a girl. She’s had an interesting life and it would be cool to know all of her stories about growing up, her family, and more.

That’s why it can be fun to keep a journal full of stories that you will one day pass down to your kids or grandkids! I have started this recently because although I’m not a mother yet, I want to start documenting my early years so that I can share these different stories from my life with my future child.

Some things you can write about:

• Your early childhood
• Your school years
• Your relationships with your family
• Your most embarrassing moments
• Your teen years
• Some of your most memorable high school moments
• How you felt graduating from highschool
• What your early adulthood was like

Collect Odds & Ends in your Ephemera Journal

It’s fun to collect ephemera! These mementos can remind you of the fun activities you’ve participated in. It’s fun to look back on things and remember all the good times you’ve had.

Some things you can paste into an ephemera journal:

• Movie ticket stubs
• Concert ticket stubs
• Fortune cookie fortunes
• Magazine and newspaper clippings
• Photobooth strips
• Matchbook covers
• Playbills and programs
• Wristbands
• & pieces of paper from pretty much anywhere!

Doodle & Draw in your Sketchbook Journal

While it’s important for writers to be able to write things down at any moment, it’s also important for artists to have a blank space to sketch. No matter what your choice of art is, a sketchbook can help you keep track of your thoughts and practice.

Some people draw caricatures. Others create comic strips. And some even draw landscapes and fill them in with watercolor. The creative possibilities are endless. Just let your mind be your map and figure it out as you go.

Plan Your Life in your Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling is a popular planning style invented by Ryder Carroll. By using the bullet journal system, you focus on mindfulness and productivity. On the bullet journal website, Ryder describes it as not just an organization system, but a way of changing how you live.

To find out more about the system and how to get started, click here.

I’ve been following bullet journal content online for many years and when it comes down to it, all you need is a pen and a notebook. Then you can visit Ryder’s website for more information on how to get started.

Log your Activity in your Fitness Journal

I have this joke that I like to make with my boyfriend. If I go on a walk or do a physical and I forget to wear my Apple watch, did that exercise even count?

Of course it does. But when it comes down to it, I like to have a place to track my workouts, physical activities, and daily movement. It’s easy to do! Just start a fresh notebook and start writing down what you do.

One of my goals for 2024 is to fit daily movement into my schedule. In my composition book, I divide the page into seven sections so that I can write a few tidbits about what activity I did that day and how it made me feel.

Discuss & Review Books in your Reading Journal

My first experience with reading journals is with my Nany (maternal grandmother). I was on vacation with her many years ago and she pulled out the paperback that she was reading. She also pulled out a small notebook and a pen. She explained that she liked to write down the different characters while she read, along with a few thoughts about the book when she was done.

I do keep track of my yearly reading on goodreads, but this year I’ve decided to keep a physical reading journal as well. That way I can write down notes and quotes that will help me write better book reviews on this here blog. I’m also going to use it to create a giant TBR list of every book I have in my library at home. It will be so satisfying to check the books off as I read them.

If you’re looking for inspiration, I just love this account on Instagram. She manages to combine her love of reading with journaling and art, and I just thing that’s so cool.

Organize your life in your Lists Journal

If you like to make lists, why not keep all of your lists in one place by writing them in a journal? A journal of lists can be filled will all kinds of lists. You can write grocery lists, things to remember, movies you want to watch, books to read, questions to ask your mom, packing lists for vacation, songs to download, and more. And oh yeah! I almost forgot the most important thing, which is the all encompassing to-do list.

Remember to be Grateful in Your Gratitude Journal

Life can be good and life can be bad. Sometimes, it’s difficult to remember the good because we get so caught up in the bad. That’s natural. It’s something that we all do. But a fun way to turn things around is to keep a gratitude journal. Write down the things that you are thankful for. This can help you remember to be grateful in the present, but it can also help you when you look back at past entries and remember how much good you have going on in your life.

But just remember, there’s no wrong way to journal. If you don’t want to dedicate an entire journal to gratitude, you can try fitting it in in other places. Sometimes I close out my journal entries by writing out one thing I am grateful for.

Track your Vacations in a Travel Journal

Every vacation or trip is a special opportunity, so doesn’t it make sense to write down your memories in a journal? Sure, it’s easy enough to put together a photo album after you print out all your photos. But captions can only say so much! I think it’s important to write down your funny experiences along with all of the cool sights you see along the way. One of my favorite things about journaling is looking back through all my notebooks that I’ve created in the past. I think that would be such a cool thing to do, to go back and read about the cool places you’ve visited in your life.

And as I mentioned earlier, future generations will love reading about these trips as well!

Remember Holidays with a Christmas Journal

This might seem like a peculiar idea, but my Mom started keeping a Christmas journal when I was a kid and it’s really fun to look back on. It’s this big hard covered notebook with a candy cane fabric cover. Back when I was younger, my Mom started writing down details about our Christmases celebrated together as a family.

She would write down different gifts that people got and different things that we did. It’s fun to look back on and remember things that we did when I was younger. My Mom used to be the one to write in it every year, but now she has passed it on to me to continue on with.

How Can Journaling Help You?

Journaling in different styles and with different techniques can help you in a variety of ways:

• You can use your journal as a place to write fiction, essays, and short stories. It can help you overcome writer’s block.
• You can use your journal to let go of your inner critic and try out new writing techniques. Write a short story. Write an outline. Write a novella.
• You can use your journal to track your mental health and daily habits.
• Journaling practice can help you develop your writing skills

​What are Some Ideas for Journaling?

• Write a page about your favorite place
• Reflect on last year
• Start a visual journal and make a collage
• Write a gratitude list
• List new techniques you would like to try as an artist
• Write out your creative process
• Describe the best thing about yourself
• Brainstorm creative ways to write headings in your journal
• Track your ideas for social media posts
• Document your progress on creative projects
• Create mind maps for future projects
• Cut & Paste images, quotes, and more into a mood board
• Design a mood tracker to look back on how you feel

In Conclusion

I hope you found these creative journaling ideas helpful! As part of my journaling for beginners series, I’ll also be sharing some upcoming posts with creative journal prompts and ideas you can use in your own notebooks. The first thing to do when starting a journal is creating your first journal entry, and I have so many writing, memory keeping, and art journal ideas to share with you.

And just remember, journaling doesn’t have to be too serious! You can write about your favorite books, favorite songs, your best ideas, song lyrics, current goals, and more. At the end of the day, just open your journal and write it all down. Keeping a journal is a great way to open your mind and get in touch with your creative side. Picking up a notebook is the first step!

xo Marian

But wait, there’s more!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you check out my other posts on journaling. And if you also like to plan, check out my free printables here.