Why Should You Carry a Creative Journal?

Most of you that have been following my blog have noticed this book in a couple of entries I had posted up. The book is my creative journal and it's been a thing I've been keeping around since starting school at Academy of Art University. Any idea regarding photography that crossed my mind would be written down, structured, or noted for future references. Most of the time the thoughts I write down don't make any sense, but they seem to leave a mark in my head on certain days when there's nothing to think about. So what are the benefits to keeping something like this around? I can give you a couple of reasons.




1. It's a great tool to start projects

I can't stress enough the amount of pages I've written down when creating Moments in the Same Place and Streets. If it wasn't for a creative journal I wouldn't be able to structure what the zine would look like, what it would be for, or how I would release it. Because of those zines I had a great response towards the community of photographers that had purchased it, sold a good portion of them, and can say that I had release a project of my work for the public to promote.



2. Write now think later

Most photographers (and artists in general) carry ideas in their head everyday. Those ideas come and go and it would be a shame to forget it. Because of how our minds work we tend to be distracted by many things, forgetting those ideas ever popped in our head. It's good to always write down your ideas, because you never know when that idea can be handy in the future.




3. Shows a record of your thought process

Sometimes your mind scrambles in ways you can't even imagine. Some of the things I write can be so random. I would read it later and realize how much I need to improve on how I think these ideas through. It's pretty embarrassing at first (for me at least), but reading over some of those ideas help trigger something in my mind allowing ideas to spark. It's one big modus operandi and that is something that should be considered when you're a creative.


So, there you have it. I could only come up with three, but they are three important reasons why you should have a creative journal. No matter what having this tool can only benefit you in the long run. This is my second creative journal heading towards a third. Take note on the things you think about. You never know when it can work for future projects!