A First Word Journal

Today, I'm celebrating three years of work filling this 6"x9" Moleskine journal!  Yes, it is thick.  That is from the assorted zines in it.  (I love doing zines and it was natural for me to include them, but that's not for everyone.)

This word journal was started in 2022 when I chose a word for the year as a theme to focus on.  Similarly for 2023 and 2024, I chose a different word for each of them.  As you know 2024 hasn't ended yet, but I've run out of pages in this first word journal.  So, I'll be starting another Moleskine to finish up the year and begin other years down-the road.  

Focusing on a word for a full year is an intriguing experience.  It is a journey of thinking about your experiences, thoughts, emotions, etc. from the perspective of the word and in a sense -- drawing more of the energy of the word to you.  In my first year of doing this, I took a class with a very supportive and fun group of people, and through it, I've been able to continue the practice on my own.  

Some of the contents of each year's entries for me have been zines (noted above) especially ones about what I want to explore with my chosen word among other elements like:

1. dictionary definitions of my word;
2. related art images or art I've created;
3. related poems and/or short stories;
4. related quotes;
5. related flowcharts;
6. related journal entries about the word;
7. reviews of books with the word in their title;
8. music with the word in the title or lyrics;
9. asking and answering questions related to the word; and,
10. using the word as an acronym and labeling them with other words that feel like they relate (fun or playful ones work too).  

I'm sure you can dream up many more ideas, if a word journal is something you want to try out.  They take time to fill.  Though with this one, I see the value of all the work.  With commitment, there is so much concentrated material within a word journal that makes it an immensely valuable tool for self-revelation and/or prompting other creative works, etc.

The 2022 class I took was 'One Little Word' offered by Ali Edwards.  She offers many products, but you can start and do you work in the journal you have.   The process and conversations are the most valuable parts of the course.  To learn more information about this class, visit:  https://aliedwards.com/one-little-word-2021.  Note:  Ali's 2024 class is coming to an end and 2025 class information may not be available until later in the year.