Welcome to International Fake Journal Month 2013!

What is IFJM?
Please read the page "What Is IFJM" for details.
Learn the difference between Faux, Fake, and Fake Historical Journals.

2019 IFJM Celebration
IFJM has been suspended indefinitely. Please read the pinned post about this below.

Participants who Post Their Journals
A list of 2018 participants who are posting their fake journals this year will appear near the top of the right side bar of this blog around April 6. Lists of participants who posted their pages in 2010 through 2017 appear lower in the same column. Please pay them a visit and check out their fake journals.

View a Couple of Roz's Past Fake Journals
Roz's 2009 fake journal takes place in an alternate Twin Cites, where disease has killed the human and bird populations. (It ends up being an upbeat tale of friendship.) Watch a video flip through of Roz's 2009 fake journal here.

Read an explanation of Roz's insanely complex 2011 fake journal.

Tips on Keeping a Fake Journal
Click on "tips" in the category cloud.

Remember, "Life's so short, why live only one?"


Monday, April 30, 2018

Day 30, April 30, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
When I was eleven things were –––––––––––––––––––––.  

List B: Questions
Which matters most?

List C: Quotations
What is the most important thing in the circus? Time. Hovey Burgess

List D: Found Dialogue 
I reached for it and the entire curtain came away in my hand, the fabric just disintegrated.

List E: Objects
First thing your character sees at lunch.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Day 29, April 29, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
Seems sad not to go ahead with…

List B: Questions
What did I learn at the retreat?

List C: Quotations
I like to explore things. I don't expect to enjoy them. Jerry Seinfeld

List D: Found Dialogue 
That's your problem. You need to pay attention to your dreams; they contain crucial information.

List E: Objects
Something metallic.

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Day 28, April 28, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
He wouldn't say that if he knew… [You can change gender if desired.]

List B: Questions
Agree to disagree?

List C: Quotations
Still I rise. Maya Angelou

List D: Found Dialogue 
Whose truth?

List E: Objects
Something bumpy and lumpy.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Day 27, April 27, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
I'm interested in any secret which…

List B: Questions
How elaborate do I need to be?

List C: Quotations
The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous. Frederick Douglass

List D: Found Dialogue 
I've never met such a taciturn and talkative man.

List E: Objects
Something dust covered.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Day 26, April 26, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
Get –––––––––––––––––––––.  

List B: Questions
What am I trying to say?

List C: Quotations
It's fun to be on the edge. I think you do your best work when you take chances, when you're not safe, when you're not in the middle of the road, at least for me anyway. Danny De Vito

List D: Found Dialogue 
We should discount that. He has advanced dementia.

List E: Objects
Your character's prize possession.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Day 25, April 25, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
I'm not trying to offend you…

List B: Questions
Why do I reduce everything to nonsense?

List C: Quotations
Never explain—your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. Elbert Hubbard.

List D: Found Dialogue 
Better say nothing than make a mistake.

List E: Objects
A series, i.e., a series of objects that your character sits down to sketch at a specific moment in the day, or at different moments throughout the day, but all sketches that are on the same page spread.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Day 24, April 24, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
It all started Saturday when…

List B: Questions
Oh why am I so suspicious of [other character's name]'s motives?

List C: Quotations
I am interested in imperfections, quirkiness, insanity, unpredictability. That's what we really pay attention to anyway. We don't talk about planes flying; we talk about them crashing. Timor Kalman

List D: Found Dialogue 
I bet it was him. There was such a tone..

List E: Objects
Beauty- or health-related product in a container, tube, etc..

Monday, April 23, 2018

Day 23, April 23, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
Yoga might be the…

List B: Questions
What is the real reason [his/her] actions bother me?

List C: Quotations
Doing great. Living the life. Glenn Rhee on "The Walking Dead."

List D: Found Dialogue 
If I thought you were able to understand it I would have told you at the time. This proves it doesn't it? [One side of phone conversation.]

List E: Objects
A container. [Nothing beauty-product or health-product related.]

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Day 22, April 22, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
I'm tired of delineating the obvious…

List B: Questions
Am I willing to make a sacrifice to change this?

List C: Quotations
The question is not what you look at but what you see. Henry David Thoreau

List D: Found Dialogue 
I don't care what he calls himself—he's an absentee slumlord.

List E: Objects
Something mechanical.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Day 21, April 21, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
Reports suggest…

List B: Questions
Is the end in sight?

List C: Quotations
We meet our destiny on the road we take to avoid it. Jung

List D: Found Dialogue 
You've got to pull them out and rotate them.

List E: Objects
Your character's neighbor.

Friday, April 20, 2018

Day 20, April 20, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
Gotcha…

List B: Questions
What could be more inappropriate?

List C: Quotations
Isolation tempers the strong. Paul Cezanne

List D: Found Dialogue 
Rich emotional stew…

List E: Objects
Haven.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Day 19, April 19, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
Who picked up the –––––––––––––––––––––?  

List B: Questions
Do I need to order more –––––––––––––––––––––––––?

List C: Quotations
The art of drawing is the art of omission. Max Lieberman

List D: Found Dialogue 
Be careful of her; you can tell by her pants she's a rule breaker.

List E: Objects
An object that really changed your character's life. [Think purloined letter type of change.]

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Day 18, April 18, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.
List A: Finish This Sentence…
I would ask you……?

List B: Questions
Which pigments were used in this painting? [Include a print of the painting your character is discussing as part of your page layout.]

List C: Quotations
Comedy is the most senseless profession on earth. I was born with this eyeball that sees everything different. Tragedy strikes, I got news for you—we have the jokes that night. Steve Harvey

List D: Found Dialogue 
Mom she hit her boyfriend with a car because of you. [pause] See that's your attitude. [One side of a phone conversation.]

List E: Objects
Something noisy.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Day 17, April 17, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

My total was –––––––––––––––––––––. (Your total can be anything/any subject.)

List B: Questions

Did I plan for everything?

List C: Quotations

It's a mistake to think you can't be hurt if you don't care. Errol Flynn

List D: Found Dialogue 

He [she] walks in drama.

List E: Objects

The street your character lives on.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Day 16, April 16, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompt

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

We did get to hear…

List B: Questions

Who else knows about this?

List C: Quotations

[Something the REAL YOU has said] Your character is quoting the real you; attribute it to your real self.

List D: Found Dialogue 

I'm what's leftover.

List E: Objects

Weather. (Look outside your window.)

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Day 15, April 15, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

The last time I achieved a meditative state I –––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

Why did I expect much of value?

List C: Quotations

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

List D: Found Dialogue 

I suggest that she separate the lights from the darks but she just stuck them all in together.

List E: Objects

Leftovers. (Doesn't have to be food. What story do they tell?)

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Day 14, April 14, 2018 International Fake Journal Month

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

What's the word I'm looking for to describe –––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

Who has suffered the most?

List C: Quotations

Black ink only, no blue. I'm not a street artist. Captain Holt on "Brooklyn 99."

List D: Found Dialogue 

Kid: You aren't a good mom.
Mom: Why not?
Kid: What? Why? You aren't.

List E: Objects

Afternoon snack/late night snack. (Select based on the actual time you're working because we are always letting our characters work in present time. If you are a morning time sketcher/journal keeper think about switching to a different time today to explore it from your character's perspective. You might find he's more available to you later or earlier in the day from when you typically work.)

Friday, April 13, 2018

Day 13, April 13, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

So my aunt believes –––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

Which condiment can I live without?

List C: Quotations

Possibilities are so much more thrilling than certainties. Flavia De Luce in "The Grave's a fine and Private Place."

List D: Found Dialogue 

It's part of growing up…

List E: Objects

Your character's favorite world leader. (Current leader, ALIVE.)

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Day 12, April 12, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

I got this the day I replaced –––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

When is the right time to move?

List C: Quotations

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Ancient Roman saying.

List D: Found Dialogue 

That's easy—you can wear his shirt, belted; and he can wear your pajama bottoms tucked into his boots.

List E: Objects

Postage stamp of your character's dreams. (It can be a real stamp he wants to collect or one imagined by him as the ideal postage stamp commemorating some favorite event, concept, etc.).

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Day 11, April 11, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

Everyone knows I am a fan of –––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

Isn't love just the same thing as attention?

List C: Quotations

We're born naked, the rest is drag. Rupaul Charles

List D: Found Dialogue 

It's funny, dark, smart, and extremely entertaining for a puppet show.

List E: Objects

Proof.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Day 10, April 10, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

When I put the book down…

List B: Questions

People see what they are looking for. (Statement? Question? True or false? Why is your character thinking of this and how is he thinking about this issue?)

List C: Quotations

Sometimes the flowers arrange themselves. Robert California on "The Office" (U.S. Version)

List D: Found Dialogue 

Nothing but numbers that nobody understands.

List E: Objects

A stem, or stems.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Day 9, April 9, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

He couldn't remember…

List B: Questions

What can I do today?

List C: Quotations

Geography is destiny.

List D: Found Dialogue 

It's amazing how fast your hair grows. The older you are the faster it grows.

List E: Objects

Crumbs.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Day 8, April 8, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

And she said, "Have you eaten today?"–––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

Did I imagine that?

List C: Quotations

Sitting on your biscuit, never having to risk it.—Darryl on "The Office" (U.S. Version)

List D: Found Dialogue 

When he opened the dish cupboard thousands, THOUSANDS, of mustard and ketchup packets spilled out onto the floor. He just smiled.

List E: Objects

Something inevitable.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Day 7, April 7, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

What's the worst I can say about–––––––––––––––––––––?

List B: Questions

Why do I –––––––––––––––––––?

List C: Quotations

Birth, life, death is a cycle. And they're all beautiful. Animals do grieve, but they move on. That's the lesson behind animals. Cesar Milan

List D: Found Dialogue 

You know he's only going to add fuel to the fire…we'll just have to tread carefully.

List E: Objects

An article of clothing or jewelry.

Friday, April 6, 2018

Day 6, April 6, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

The wording on the package says…

List B: Questions

What makes this special?

List C: Quotations

Things aren't unresolved; they just are what they are. Frankie's sister on "Grace and Frankie."

List D: Found Dialogue 

Trust your gut.

List E: Objects

An inextinguishable hope.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Day 5, April 5, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

Allegedly…

List B: Questions

Will [your character] do something about [whatever]?

List C: Quotations

Pissed off beats scared every time. Frank Castle, The Punisher (Marvel Comix/TV)

List D: Found Dialogue 

What do you want for supper?…Are you sure?…What brands?…What color is the can?…How many? [One side of a phone conversation]

List E: Objects

Something on your desktop (or workspace). You do not have to draw the desktop (or workspace).

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Day 4, April 4, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

Choose…

List B: Questions

What's happening to me?

List C: Quotations

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Lao Tzu

List D: Found Dialogue 

Anecdotes do not equal evidence.

List E: Objects

A clock (any size, including one in a tower or on a wrist)

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Day 3, April 3, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

Happiness is…

List B: Questions

Describe the tongue of a woodpecker.

List C: Quotations

The important thing is to keep on drawing when you start to paint. Never graduate from drawing. John Sloan

List D: Found Dialogue 

Everything that needs to be said has already been said.

List E: Objects

Kitchen utensils or pan, etc.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Day 2, April 2, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Here are the five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal today.

List A: Finish This Sentence…

When the zombie apocalypse comes I'll be able to…

List B: Questions

What's the word of the day?

List C: Quotations

Everybody's got dead people. It's no excuse to get everyone else dead along the way.—Rocket Raccoon, "Guardians of the Galaxy"

List D: Found Dialogue 

It's about more than just one night.

List E: Objects

Something organic.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Day 1, April 1, 2018 International Fake Journal Month Prompts

Welcome to the first day of the 2018 IFJM Celebration.

Here are your five prompts which YOUR CHARACTER can respond to or incorporate into his journal.

Remember you can incorporate all five prompts into your entry, or one, two… You can also ignore the prompts entirely. Just because you don't use them at the beginning of the month doesn't mean you can't use them later (come back each day for new prompts). And if you get frustrated with incorporating the prompts stop using them!

List A: Finish This Sentence…

Your character finishes this sentence or thought by writing about something he thought, saw, drew, noticed, tec. Sometimes it is a matter of filling in the blank as your character writes, or setting up a context where he is thinking about this.

My life is about…

List B: Questions

Begin journaling with this question and explore an event in your character's mind or develop a context in the journal in which the character will write about this. Or have your character write with thins obviously in mind, in which case you don't need to actually state the question because the character just writes about it and is obviously thinking about it. Of course your character can also be involved in a prompts project and respond just as he would to a prompt in a prompt project.

What would change look like today?

List C: Quotations

Have your character use these on the page in some decorative way, or as a way your character generates ideas to write about, or in journaling text because you are developing a context in which your character just came upon that quotation.

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity. Dorothy Parker

List D: Found Dialogue

These are statements that are overheard by your character. That means that you are out and about in your real day and decide to journal in your character's voice and while he's doing that he overheads this statement. Your character responds to it not you. These types of inclusions in the journal help to better describe your character's world, the place he lives, the people around him, and the attitudes of the people around him.They also give him an opportunity to comment back in his journal—to agree, disagree, or wonder and otherwise explore. Be specific as your character writes. Be specific about where, when, how, does he/she overhear this and WHO is saying it to Whom? How are those people interacting? What is the scene like? What are the sounds, sights, smells, weather like when this is overhead? How does your character feel about what is said? Or about the people who said it? About the person addressed? Maybe a partial statement sends your character off on a reverie about that topic, a related topic, or a past event that has been weighing on his mind.

My ears are my most attractive feature.

List E: Objects

Your character will draw the following items. He will either do it because he is following a prompt project, or because he (and you) are going out to do something that will allow him time to sketch such an item.

Bakery goods (or home baked items).