I accidentally started a Journaling Club

Dear Reader,

I (accidentally) started a Journaling Club.

This is what I remember about how it all began. I remember asking my friend, as we ate Vietnamese food, if she’d like to do some of the prompts in Suleika’s book together. I remember that she said yes and then I kind of blacked out for the next few steps. A few weeks later we had both invited friends to join us, both of them said yes, and our Journaling Club was born.

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The idea to get together with others and go through some of the prompts from Suleika Jaouad’s book, The Book of Alchemy, came to me for a few reasons.1

First of all, I don’t get to write as often now that I’m also teaching theater. I thought it might be a good way to stir up new writing ideas for this newsletter. Also, I’m a healthier person when I process life through the written word. Finally, I could use more time to connect with other humans face to face.

All good and noble reasons.

But I’m still not sure I set out to start a “club”.

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After a couple of false starts due to sickness and weather (I’m looking at you Ice Storm, 2026), we got together for the first time last week.

I’ll be honest, I don’t think I would have formed this group 4-5 years ago. A group where you intentionally gather to answer prompts that will inevitably produce vulnerable content? And then everyone is supposed to share their writing?

Years of friendship hurt would have made this impossible a few years back. The fact that I was sitting there, willing and open and even leading the time reminded me of the healing I’ve experienced in the past several years and I felt incredibly grateful.

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So what do you do in a journaling club, you might be wondering?

Suleika shared a Journaling Club “starter kit” in her newsletter a while back so I used that as a guideline. We did some basic introductions, like “What’s your relationship with journaling and writing?” and “Why did you say yes to this group?”

Then we did the suggested opening activity which was to draw a giraffe with our eyes closed. Now drawing doesn’t seem like a normal part of a club centered around writing and two of the women know that I love to do these types of art exercises. I hastily explained that this activity was actually in the Suleika’s guidelines, not something I came up with to torture them. It turned out to be a good way to get everybody laughing. Personally I’d like to see all of our giraffes on a safari one day.

Next we read one of the essays from the book and spent ten minutes writing quietly. No one was forced to share what they’d written but everyone opted to and there were even similar themes that showed up.

Finally we ended with another question from the starter guide: If you were to write your unofficial resume, what’s one thing you would include?

(My answer was “Excellent bath-taker”, just in case you’re curious.)

When I say I accidentally started a journaling club I guess that’s not exactly what I mean. Clearly I initiated the idea, invited the friends, helped set the date and location, and planned the first meeting. I guess what I actually mean is that I often start things without fully thinking through what it will be like once the idea moves out of my head and into the world. It sometimes makes for a messy transition. But it also means that I end up committing to good things that I probably wouldn’t have, if I would have fully thought through them first.

All in all it was a great first gathering and I’m looking forward to seeing where we end up.

Here’s another post about journaling from a few years back:

And one on keeping a five-year journal:

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My daughter just started a new life in Chicago, continuing her work as a nurse as she learns all about big city life. She’s always been part science geek and part actress/filmmaker/visual artist. Even while working in the ER for the first several years of her nursing career she started her own art business, doing pop-up events and selling her art via social media platforms. I was lucky enough to hire her to create the art for my theater production last year and her work added such beauty and texture to the production.

Now she’s starting her own “snail mail” art club called Fish on Mars through Patreon and I highly recommend you check it out. She’s putting together a different collection of themed prints, stickers and more that will arrive in your physical mailbox every month. For less than an Acai bowl or a salad, you can support an artist and get whimsical art delivered right to your house. This is exactly what we need in a world that’s already oversaturated with AI garbage.

Here’s what you get in the first month, for just 7 dollars. Check it out!

May you find space for beauty and art this week,

Aimee