" Inspiration doesn’t have to be practical, it just has to make you feel something."

Commonplace journaling is a trend that’s fairly new to me, but it’s one I’ve learned to embrace. Free-writing is a great skill to cultivate, and as writers, spending a few meditative minutes a day writing down our observations, thoughts, or daily accounts, is a wonderful way to engage our creative muscles. There is something freeing about writing something for our eyes only, it eliminates a lot of the pressure many of us feel while working on manuscripts, blogs, and social content meant for public consumption.

Commonplace journaling works a bit different from a diary, as it’s not about cataloging your day, but sharing your inner thoughts and observations (as mentioned above). You can think of topics you’re interested in that you want to write about, or focus on breaking down a moment in time, it’s all up to you. Over time, this kind of writing becomes more than just a habit, it becomes a way to understand how you think, how you notice the world, and how you process emotion.

One of the most valuable things this practice can offer writers is a deeper ability to explore perspective. When you begin to write not just from your own point of view, but from imagined ones, you start to stretch your empathy. This kind of inner perspective work allows you to better understand how your characters might interpret the same moment differently. The more you practice shifting perspective in low-pressure writing, the more naturally it shows up in your storytelling.

I encourage you to give it a try and all you need is a trusty pen and a notebook. Inspiration doesn’t have to be practical, it just has to make you feel something.

Commonplace Journaling Prompts:

• Make a list of the top three things you’re passionate about, and explore why or how they have evolved into passions.
• A list of words you find beautiful and their meanings, this could include different languages.
• Reviewing the lyrics of a song and what it means to you.
• Fictional dinner party, if you were to host a dinner party, what fictional characters would you invite, what would the theme or vibe be, what questions would you ask, what would you wear? What fictional characters do you identify with most and why?
• If you were granted three wishes, what would they be (and no, it can’t be wishing for more wishes)?
• If you had a superpower, what would it be, what limits would you have?
• The five senses, explore a list of your favourite things that correspond with each sense, your top five favourite things to hear, see, smell, touch, and taste.
• Explore a myth or legend that is rooted in your family history or culture. What lessons does it teach you, how can you relate the story to your life?
• Who is someone you never want to forget?
• If you could rebuild your life in a new place, where would it be and why?
• List whimsical things you can add to your daily life, or better yet, try to introduce whimsical things to your daily life and explore how they made a difference.
• What is a nonsensical fear you have, explore the root of it and ways of conquering that fear? What was your dream as a child and how did that shape you?
• Write out a core memory in third-person perspective.
• Describe a time you felt most alive.
• Describe a time you were filled with fear.
• Describe your childhood bedroom in detail like you would in a story.
• List different skills you want to learn and what the first steps are to learning.
• Describe how you felt receiving the best gift you’ve been given.
• Think about a memorable encounter with a stranger in passing and write about the encounter in their perspective.
• What is something about you that you hide from others and why?
• What boundaries do you struggle to maintain and why?
• If you were to fall into a portal to another time or fictional land, how would you actually react?
• Explore resentment you have towards someone or yourself.
• How do you think people see you versus how do you see yourself?