Wednesday Sponsor Giveaway : Get It Scrapped, Transparent Touches, & Blue Moon Scrapbooking

read a lot: poetry, prose, the newspaper; listen to the lyrics of songs; even TV sitcoms have funny one-liners that merit attention. And keep a notepad handy for tracking those words or sentences that catch your eye and inspire YOU to create. But fifty years from now people will want to know mostly the Who, Where, When, and Why components of the layout. A diary is excellent for sharing more of your personal feelings.

I do my best journaling and writing when I follow the practices I was taught in school. I like to make an outline with bullet points. I then build on that outline to tell the rest of the story. In the end it ends up flowing much better than when I write without a guide.

I have a note pad on my desk. This way all the funny things my son says or does or any other special kind of event can be written down instantly (or at least throughout the day when I find the time to finally put it down).
Cool give aways btw!

my best tip for journaling? surprisingly, it's to just force yourself to do it. i tend to write a LOT in my everyday life, but for whatever reason, when i sit down to scrapbook, journaling is the last thing on my list. so i have to force myself to stop every few pages and just write stuff down - memories, word associations, whatever. and now my pages have more journaling!

I just go with it. I usually free write it on a scrap of paper and then edit. Some days I just scribble right on the page.. sometimes those turn out best.

I write things down in a notebook, so that i can reference them later and use them for journaling.
Star

Keep it simple, tell the story. I have not scrapped lately but I have been journaling alot, so I have "that" story. KD

I try to remember to write a note when it happens so I don't have to recall the moment later when I finally get around to scrapping it.

I have a little handmade journal I made in a class a few years ago that I use as a "quotebook" for my kids - cute or funny things they say. I write down things in there as soon as I can when they say it, then go to it to use as material for my pages.

I use index cards and carry a pocket calendar in my purse to write in dates and times.

Short and Sweet. Get to the point of how you felt in that moment without adding all the nonsense.

I'm terrible at journaling when I try to go back and put words with pictures, or I'm embarrased to say even layouts, done months or years earlier. My best tip: do it right away!

If I can't remember something about an event....I just ask my daughter. Her brain is a steele trap!!

Write everything down.In a journal or a notebook.
I did not do this. Which resulted in forgetting the details.
If you use scraps to write it down, make sure you have a nice pocket to put them in otherwise you will loose them.

I like using bullet points or lists to record events, emotions, etc. Sometimes, I'll put a list on the page and then use the back to write a more detailed account in paragraph form. I don't brainstorm or journal beforehand. The pictures and the memories just make the actual page journaling come out. I just write directly on the page. Lately, I have been writing down a lot of dialogue, which makes us remember how the person spoke (accent, inflection, slang). My family likes this, especially when it includes loved ones who are no longer with us or live far away.

I like to just keep it simple - just get the thoughts down. Sometimes I find myself jotting things down on the calendar so I can go back and match the photo date with my key thoughts from the calendar. just a few words or sentences is usually enough to trigger more words later - I need a starting point or I'm at a loss when it comes to capturing the original feelings evoked in the moment.

I like it to be catchy and to the point. It's easy to think in one liners, so don't get caught up in needing to say a lot.

My memory isn't what it used to be. But, I seem to recall that it was something you said at CKU Chicago or wrote that changed my journaling, Ali. And that's to speak directly to the person (or people) in my layout. So rather than simply describe my daughter's birthday celebration for example, I make sure that at least part of my journaling is directed specifically to her as if I'm talking to her. I can only imagine how meaningful this is going to be to her one day. Much more meaningful than a recounting of facts.

I just try to write little tidbits down whenever they happen with the date and then collect them in a basket on my scrap desk. When it comes time to actually scrap pages, I sift through the tidbits to see what things I've written down might work with certain photos to tell a story, usually about my kids.

For me at the moment and because of the digital age we now live in...I find that using mediums such as Facebook and Twitter are great ways to write little snippets of my life to save for journaling later...since I find myself in front of the computer more than I probably should and I just type faster than I can write, it just works as a great journaling help for me.

I upload photos to Facebook albums ASAP and then use the caption space to record the story. This way it's captured, my friends and family can all see it right away, and I don't have bits of paper all over!

I used to put together many layouts and then sit down for a journalling session and do the journally for 10-15 layouts at one time...now I "JUST DO IT" no time like the present...

I like to take parts of an e-mail or Twitter to journal, if they are available - I feel like it is more authentic of me than the usual "we had fun" or "you are beautiful" - which are true, but I overuse them a lot.

Alot of the time the journalling is fairly private so I write alot more detail on the back of the layout before it goes into the album.

I keep a notebook (lots of notebooks!) handy and write stuff down whenever the thoughts occur. I focus only on the detail and feelings and worry about the style later when I know the style of page I'm creating and how much space I have.