Creative journal prompts
Creative journal prompts get you writing, drawing or thinking in a new direction without needing a project. Some are strange little warm-ups. Some make you list ideas fast, since the better ones often come late.1 And the last group asks honest questions about a creative block.
How to use these. Set a timer for ten minutes and don't stop to edit. Bad ideas are part of the method. Doodles, lists and half-sentences all count.
Warm-ups
Low stakes, a little strange. Pick one and go.
Describe my kitchen as if I'm a detective seeing it for the first time.
Answer this with JoyWrite a short letter from my houseplant, my shoes or my phone, to me.
Answer this with JoyA door appears in my bedroom wall. Where does it lead, and what's the first thing I hear?
Answer this with JoyWrite the first paragraph of a story that ends with someone saying "I knew it was you."
Answer this with JoyTwenty-five ideas
Your first few ideas are often the obvious ones. In idea-generation tests, later answers came out more creative than early ones, which is the reason for a number as high as 25.1
Keep going after you think you've run out.
List 25 uses for a paper clip, a shoebox or a spoon. Keep going after it gets silly.
Answer this with JoyTen ways I could make my morning routine more fun, including some I'd never do.
Answer this with JoyIf my current project had to be finished in one day, with no budget, what would I make?
Answer this with JoyAfter a walk
Go for a walk, then sit down and write straight away.
What problem was I chewing on before the walk, and what new angle do I see now?
Answer this with JoyNotice like an artist
These train your eye on what's already in the room.
Five colors I can see from where I'm sitting, described without using their names.
Answer this with JoyBlocked
A block often has a reason under it. These look for the reason.
What's the smallest finished piece I could make today, even a bad one?
Answer this with JoyWalking, easy breaks and late ideas
Walking raised the scores of 81% of participants in Stanford experiments where people came up with creative uses for everyday objects, walking against sitting.2 The lift lasted a while after they sat back down, which is why the walk group says to write straight away.2 Walking outside produced the most novel analogies of all.2
Breaks help too, if they're the right kind. People who worked on creativity problems, then did an easy task during a break, improved more on the return than people who rested, did a hard task or had no break at all.3
The easy task left room for the mind to wander. Many of the warm-ups here are that kind of task.
The untested part: writing without editing
The warm-ups that ask you not to edit come from practices like Julia Cameron's morning pages in The Artist's Way: three pages of free writing every morning.4 It's popular with artists, and it hasn't been tested the way the walking and break studies were. Treat it as a habit worth trying, and keep the walk and the 25 ideas for the days you want something with evidence behind it.
Example entry: "25 uses for a shoebox: planter, phone stand, a tiny stage for a puppet show, a time capsule for 2035, a bed for the neighbor's cat, a drum. Around number 18 it got good: a box of one-sentence letters to my future kids."
- Warm up: One strange prompt, five minutes, no editing.
- Make many: List 25 ideas. The good ones show up late.
- Walk: Ten minutes, then write straight away.
- Finish small: Make one tiny finished thing today.
When the block isn't about ideas
Lost interest in things you used to love making, and in most other things too? That can be low mood, and the journal prompts for depression are written for it. If it's lasted weeks, get help with it.
If the block is there because the work feels tied to your worth, try the confidence prompts.
Questions people ask about creative journaling
What are good creative journal prompts?
Specific and a little odd: a letter from your houseplant, 25 uses for a shoebox, a door in your wall. "Write something creative" gives your mind nothing to push against.
How do I get creative ideas when I'm stuck?
Three things with research behind them: make a long list fast without judging it, take a short walk, or switch to an easy task for a while and come back.2,3,1
Do I have to be good at writing or art for a creative journal?
No. Nobody sees it. Lists, doodles, collages and bad first drafts all belong in it, and the bad drafts are where number 18 comes from.
Related
In the journaling section: inner child journal prompts, morning journal prompts and journal prompts for self-discovery.