There was no reason at all to doubt that this would be another wonderful journal and yet...it didn't work. I cannot fully explain it. I have all kinds of reasons, but none of them seem quite good enough. Yes, the book was a bit more bulky when writing on the couch. The paper didn't feel as nice when writing with my fountain pens. It felt like it took more effort to use it. I just never looked forward to writing/working in it and found myself skipping my journal sessions more and more.
I couldn't believe myself! This was not a book with crappy paper (as I have had in the past sometimes). This was also not a type of book I never used before. So I felt I had to at least give it a good try and not give up right away. But after over a month of working in it I just gave up. I longed for another Leuchtturm and I bought one and have filled two more since then without any hiccups.
Here are some spreads from this journal that just wouldn't work.
When I look at these pages I see absolutely nothing wrong with them, but I still remember the struggle of working in this book very well. Strange how that goes sometimes, isn't it?
Apparently over the past year or so I have had a great need for a compact book with smooth paper in which I can write endlessly with a fountain pen and just stick in an image here and there and maybe draw a little with felt tip pens. That's all I need and want right now.
The Leuchtturm notebooks feel like they are made for my current journaling style, and that is funny considering that in the past I have journaled in just about anything, from regular sketchbooks, to scrapbooks, to handmade books to huge altered atlasses.
I am by no means saying that this brand of notebook is perfect for everyone or even recommending them to anyone. That's not what this post is about. I am saying that just like in life in journaling there is a time and place for everything and for changing your style too. We are not robots or machines, we evolve.
So if you come across a journal and it simply will not work, maybe you could try another one or a different approach before you decide that journaling is not for you. Yes, it's possible that journaling is just not your thing, but it might also just be something very simple like needing a more comfortable pen and paper.
I am a seasoned journaler so I know that there's an eb and flow to the process and I can get over these things pretty easily. But if you're new to journaling you might not recognize the difference between not being a journal person or just having materials that don't fit you and you might be giving up on something that might enrich your life if you just went for a different approach. I would hate for that to happen to anyone.
When I stopped this book after a month and went back into a Leuchtturm notebook I wrote for twenty pages straight! That should tell you something, haha.
Hope you are finding the materials that suit you in your creative endeavors and wishing you all a wonderful and artsy day.