R&W: Collected Journal #1

This swap is a re-boot of an idea I cobbled together about a year ago, and hosted as a public swap for several rounds. This is a fun, lightweight and inexpensive way to share thoughts and create a collaborative journal without all of the postage cost - and less worry of a lost journal! This swap will be International and you will have 1 partner to send to, and you can join as many or as few rounds as you wish.

The whole design is to only need to send 1-3 sheets of paper, and should qualify as a letter to mail. If you have ANY questions, PLEASE send me a PM and ask! It might be a bit confusing, but I'll do my best to explain! Please just ask.

This swap can be handwritten OR typed, but the page size should be standard computer paper (8.5 x 11 or A4). As long as the type/print does not bleed through, you may print/write on the back of the sheet as well. Writing should be clear and legible, and decoration is up to sender.

There are 4 sections for this swap.

In Section 1 you will introduce yourself a little bit, but not in a regular paragraph form! For the introduction, we will use the format for an "I Am" poem! :) The format can be found HERE , or you can follow this form:

I am ...

I wonder ...

I hear ...

I see ...

I feel...

I want ...

I hope ...

I worry ...

I try...

I wish ...

I say ...

I believe ...

I understand ...

I dream ...

I am...

You will, then fill in the blanks. So, I may say "I wish .... lots would sign up for this swap!" :) We all have an intro on our profile, and it can be annoying to re-write an intro each time. So I thought this might be a bit more fun. :)

Section 2, you will talk about your day and week Date each entry (this is important!) and write about a paragraph (5 sentences) about your day. Do this for at least 3 days. They don't have to be consecutive, it can be any 3 days in the time line of the swap. You can be as detailed or as brief as you would like, but it should be at least a paragraph.

Section 3 will be a journal prompt. You can choose any 3 of the prompts below and write a journal entry about that prompt. Each entry should be at least a paragraph (5 sentences). Again, you can be as detailed as you wish, and you can certainly write more than a paragraph if you wish.

Section 4 is a book recommendation. You can look at your partner's profile if you wish to find something you think they may like, or talk about the last book you read that you really loved. This can be a print book, audio or ebook. Title and author (English, please) are all that's required, but you may certainly talk more about the book and why you recommend it.

That's it! Then you send only the pages you filled out on to your partner with the swap name and your ID on the page, and fold and mail in a standard size envelope. Of course the number of pages depends on the length of your writing, but this should be able to be mailed as a regular letter.

There will, hopefully, be a series of these swaps. You can add them to a binder or folder - so they are COLLECTED JOURNAL PAGES. Clever name, huh? :)

THE PROMPTS

The prompts you can choose for section 3 are listed below. Please use each one only once, and be sure to date your entry and state the prompt you chose.

Letting go of ...

I'm looking forward to ...

I've overcome ...

I like to relax by/with ...

I couldn't live without ...

If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self ...

Journaling helps me ...

My favorite memory is ...

Last night's dream was ...

Free form - tell me anything!

If you have ANY questions or need ANY clarification, please SEND ME A PM AND ASK!

If you would like an example, I can email you a copy of an older version of the Collected Journal swap that I did last year. It's a little different than this format, but it should still help you to see what I've got in mind. :) If you would like an example like that, please PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.

As always, if you are WATCHING, please leave a comment below.

Thank you! :)