As I move from making journals for myself, and think about you as the new owner, I’ve had to think through what is important to include. As I result I concluded that these journals:
- are made for recording and holding small memories and mementos, and made for people who don’t want to commit to writing pages of thoughts and ideas
- offer prompts through words and images, as well as themes, to help guide you to record memories, both during an event and afterwards as you reflect back on it
- are for use for both very short events and time spans, such as an outing or an adventure that holds lots of images and thoughts, or for a review of events that took place over a much longer time such as childhood games or friends
- are not diaries that you have to write in every day. They are happy to sit and wait until inspiration strikes, then emerge ready for action
- are intended for use in non-sequential ways. Pick a page that appeals and write a short note and tuck it in, or pull out a card and write a longer memory on it, add photos, tickets, and small items you collected that mean something to you and paste them in
- are full of tags and tabs to mark pages you want to return to and add more over time
- are for preserving ‘ephemera’ from special moments such as tickets, cards, small pieces of great advertising that remind you of the day or moment. Use the pockets to store them.
- are private or public, it is entirely your choice. The pockets and envelopes offer special places to tuck thoughts or memories you don’t want others to come across too easily
- are for recording slightly longer memories in the little notebooks included in the journal. You can also write on regular paper and add that to a pocket.
- are for recording anything by anyone. They may have a theme that you have selected to explore, but if after two notes you want to write about something else, then do so!
- are the antidote to digital life. Use a fountain pen to write with, write slowly and carefully, then use the blotter page to blot damp ink. Make writing in your journal part of your special time alone.
- are for planning and daydreaming as well as recording memories that inspire you
- are for adding printed photos from your phone. You can also get an ‘instant printer’ which costs around $130 and the paper costs about 50c a sheet.