How to be More Playful and Creative in the Pages of Your Journal

I truly believe that play is a portal to our creative self-expression!

There are many ways to to add more play and creativity to journaling.  This can be done in simple ways like using colourful pen and markers to make your journal entries visually interesting. You can add stickers, doodles, snippets of collage, or glue images and quotes into the pages your journal. You don’t have to be an artist to engage with creative play in your journal.

You can also use different writing styles and journaling techniques for an infinite treasure trove of creative and effective ways to journal. You can create poems, short stories, lists, dialogues, or play with metaphors. In our recent IAJW member monthly Writing Alone Together circle we played with the metaphor of “Spread Your Wings and Soar” inspired by the eagles I see each day where we live along the shores of Salt Spring Island. We played with journaling prompts like “where do you want to soar more in your life at this time?”

One of my favourite and fun ways to play in my journal is with Alphapoems.  You might recall making an alphapoem in elementary school. They are simple. You choose a word and write it on the vertical and then pick a word for each letter.

Here is an example of an alphapoem from one of our IAJW Members that she was inspired to create after listening to Susan Borkin’s interview in our Go To The Page Speaker Series

I is for inspiring
A is for authentic
J is for joyful
W is for wizardry
Spells IAJW 

By Suzanne Thurlow, IAJW Member

Your turn…

Let’s play with Alphapoems!

I invite you to make a list of words.  A single word can hold a whole world of meaning, memories, emotions and stories. Alphapoems are a fun way to play with words and layers of words.

We can get inspired by each other’s sharing. One person’s creativity can be fuel for another person’s self-expression.

Give yourself permission to play and create. Your self-expression matters!

It can be helpful to hold our creativity lightly, to laugh, to surprise ourselves, to invite moments of delight on the page and beyond.

Please add your alphapoems to the comments below, I look forward to reading them! 

Author: Lynda Monk, Director, IAJW.org loves to engage in creative journaling for self-care and personal growth.  She is the co-editor and co-author of a numerous books on journaling including The Great Book of Journaling: How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning and Purpose.