"Write Where You Are" journal

To kick things off, I thought I'd post pictures of a journal I uploaded to my shop yesterday and tell you a bit about how I created it. I decorated about eight journals a few months ago, which I'm adding to my shop, and this is my favorite one. In fact, I'm tempted to keep it for myself. As a writer, I use a lot of notebooks to work on stories or jot down ideas, and I also keep a daily journal, so it sure would come in handy. But I'll give other people a chance at it too ;-)

The idea behind this pair of collages is that when you're a writer, you can hone your craft wherever you are. You don't need a specific setting or a lot of fancy tools -- if you've got something to write with and something to write on, you're all set.

I built this idea around the top picture on the front cover, the person writing on a folding table by a canyon or some other mountainous formation of some sort. I think I found this picture in an old National Geographic -- most of my collage pieces come from magazines, although I do get a few from other sources. Anyway, I loved that picture and what it said to me, so I found other photos of unusual, somewhat exotic places where you could write too. I've never tried writing in a canoe or a kayak, but I'm sure you could, especially in a canoe.

After I found the pictures I wanted to use, I started looking for words. I hunted through probably a couple dozen magazines before I finally found all four words for the front cover. The phrase "Write where you are" encourages you to be in the moment, to write from what you are experiencing here and now. On the back, I put the simple word "Discover." Whether you're discovering new places to write, or learning new things about yourself and the world around you, it's important to keep growing and experiencing new things.

Once I was happy with this collage, I signed it, and when it was dry, I covered it with contact paper to protect the collages from getting scuffed or dirty, and to keep the different pieces from getting ripped. So now it's ready to be written in, wherever you are!