One Simple Way to Shake Up Your Scrapbook Page Journaling

Journaling on your layouts can be one of the most challenging parts of scrapbooking. Whether you’re not sure what to write or your writing feels boring, I have one trick I use again and again to shake things up.

I change the point of view.

Writing from the third person is often what feels most natural for storytelling, but the result is not very dynamic. I’ll illustrate with an example.

Joey was so excited to receive an A+ on his test. He spent a lot of time studying for this one.

Simply by changing the point of view, we can make this story more engaging and meaningful. Here are two ways:

First Person

I was so proud of Joey for receiving an A+ on his test. He was so excited all that studying paid off!

In this layout I described my feelings about being stepmom to a child going off to college. (Credits: Pop Goes the World by Dani Mogstad.)

Second Person

You were so excited to receive an A+ on this test, after spending so much time studying hard.

In this layout I write directly towards my daughter to tell her how much she is deeply treasured. (Credits: Huntington by Paislee Press.)

I like writing in first person, because it gives my journaling a more authentic, honest perspective. I use second person less, but I love using it to write letters to my subject or even to someone else about my subject.

Writing from either first or second person perspective is often easier than the detached third person. Because it honors your role as a witness to the story, what you write has more dimension and heart to it.

What point of view do you use in your scrapbook journaling? 

Learn how to develop a journaling practice and dig deeper into your stories with the upcoming Scrap Habits mini-course, available exclusively to Premium Members.