Time to Gear Up for International Fake Journal Month 2011

It's time, if you haven't already begun, to start thinking about this year's fake journal project. You've read my post on International Fake Journal Month, what it is and what a fake journal is.

To broaden your understanding of International Fake Journal Month and the process of keeping a fake Journal I also suggest that you take a moment to read my post "To Prep or Not to Prep…"

In that post I walk you through my process of selecting my 2010 book, my testing of art materials, and how I set parameters for the project's daily activity. This overview will provide a template for your own decisions if you have not worked on a project like this before. There will always be little inconveniences, and sometimes large inconveniences, that pop up. Part of the fun of IFJM is the surprises that you're faced with on the spur of a moment. How you negotiate those surprises will give you new skills to bring back to your regular journal practice.

I harp on this a lot, so this year will be no different. Remember it is important that you consider the time commitment you give to this project. I want you to have a successful 2011 IFJM. I want you to have lots of pages at the end of April, as well as a sense of having reached something inside your journaling process. To do that, to have the best possibility for success I know that you need to keep the daily time commitment small. Thirty minutes is great, sixty minutes is pretty much the end of the world.

Fake journaling is not something that you can do on weekend journaling binges. Fake journaling, just like your regular journaling, is something that is done on a daily basis. Finding time for a fake journal on a daily basis means that you need to look at your life, your current commitments, your family obligations, your work schedule, and then make an honest assessment of how much time each day you can give to this project. Perhaps you'll do a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule and only produce 12 entries for the month. That's huge. If that fits with your life, go with it. It is better to commit to something that is doable than to overwhelm yourself and bow out before you reach your goal—exhausted and frustrated.

If you haven't selected a journal to house your fake journal yet, I recommend that you read this post: "International Fake Journal Month Is Only 56 Days Away! In that post I walk you through some steps that will help you decide what type of journal you'll be using.

For me, because I make my own journals 99.9 percent of the time, IFJM is my opportunity to try out commercially bound journals. You have to think about things like the type of media you'll be using, and who your character is and the type of art that character will be creating. Does he need smooth paper for writing or rough paper for watercolor washes, etc. Will the art be black and white, full of color, lots of collage (so heavier weight papers for pages will work as better support), etc.

Journal size and page size are also important, both because of the type of media you're using (if you use a fine tipped pen and have an 11 x 15 inch page to fill that's a huge time commitment each day) and portability issues (will you be taking the journal with you or will it be sitting on your desk for the start or end of the day?). If you would like to use a commercially bound journal but don't know many choices, read my "Commercially Bound Journals" page at Roz Wound Up, my regular blog. That page will give you some suggestions and possibilities to which you can begin to apply your character's criteria and tastes.

What am I going to do in 2011? Currently the plan is to use a large 8.25 x 11.75 inch Moleskine, portrait, sketchbook—with those slick, yellowy pages that people always complain about. I'm thinking that I'll use acrylic paints if I can't get gouache and other media to work on the pages. I'm not doing any pre-testing of the pages, I'll just see how it goes as my character dives in. One thing I am convinced of is that this year's character does not pre-cut pages out of her journals to make room for collage on other pages, so I expect that by the end of the month the journal will start to bulge at the fore edge.

The one potential drawback to the Moleskine plan right now is that when I took the wrapping off the journal it had a rather strong chemical smell, and the smell is coming from the paper. This year I have set aside time to work in the larger format and if the pages don't air out in time, I might have to go with a different book.  There's no way I can bend my head over these smelly pages for the working time I've set aside. I have a landscape format watercolor paper Moleskine of the same size that I could use. I am not fond of the landscape format (and I wanted to use those slick pages), but I bought that book 2 years ago and it has aired out.  We'll see.

If you've read this introductory material and have selected your book to work in, take a moment to read "Get Ready, Get Set—Now Throw Out All Your Prep…" This post is a sort of final pep talk for participants last year, and the information still applies.

Whether you are a returning participant or this is your first go at keeping a fake journal, the main thing to remember is that IFJM is really, really fun. You get to leave your internal critic behind and go exploring. You get to explore not only new ideas and new character traits, but also new visual ideas and methods (if that appeals to you).

If you are going to spend 30 to 60 minutes a day for the month of April, you need to spend a little prep time now, reading the above links and becoming aware of the ins and outs of the possibilities of the project. It might be that you discover this project is not for you. It might also happen that you end up starting tomorrow (you can keep a fake journal any time, it's just that April is International Fake Journal Month and it's fun to celebrate then!).

If you do decide that this project if for you, I look forward to hearing from you about how the project is going for you—what are your discoveries and epiphanies? Do you have a sticking point or problem you need feedback on? If you do, chances are someone else does too, so I'll try to answer as many questions as I can relating to the practice of fake journaling.

Tomorrow I'll start posting details on this year's contest–drawing. It's divided into three parts. I'll explain the entry process and announce the prizes in three posts.  And again this year, you'll be able to help spread the word by putting a small linking button on your blog. (I'll have details about that in a couple days.)

My main goal for today was to get you all thinking about picking up a new journal, and letting your character speak.

I hope it's a great 2011 IFJM for you all!

The 2010 International Fake Journal Month Contest

Left: The prizes for this year's contest—two weirdly shaped journals, hand bound by me with 90 lb. watercolor paper for text pages and hand-painted decorative paper on the covers. The fabric for both books is a rich plum-purple. Each book is approximately 3.5 x 8 inches and has 60 pages—just perfect for your 2011 fake journal right? The odd shape of these journals is perfect for your "character."

Last year I held a contest for participants in International Fake Journal month. I thought it would be fun to do so again this year—but, I've changed my approach to accommodate the number of people who keep telling me they are going to participate.
This year's contest has two different portions. You can enter both contests, however, you can only win in one. I'm going to call them Contest Promotion and Contest Post.

Contest Promotion is for people who have blogs (and who may or may not actually keep a fake journal this year!):
1. To enter this contest you will need to go to Roz Wound Up and scroll down until you see the International Fake Journal Month Button in the left column: it is a blue dog on a pink background.

2. Click on this image, drag it to your desktop or put it in the folder you store your own blog information in.

3. Keep this bit of code handy, it's the link you'll need:
http://officialinternationalfakejournalblog.blogspot.com/

4. Go to the "design" page of your blog, however that is set up in your blog platform. You will need to upload the IFJM dog button up to your blog and then put it in the margin column on your blog—just as you add other buttons. Here's an example of how to do it with Blogger:
Then you want to go to your blogger dashboard and click on the LAYOUT selection for your blog.

Go to your dashboard and find LAYOUT, and then Page Elements. Click on "ADD A GADGET" in the column of your blog outline. A selection of gadgets will come up.
Scroll down to one that reads "PICTURE" and select it. You will be asked to give it a title and caption. DON'T DO THAT AS THEY SHOW UP AND MAKE IT LOOK MESSY. Instead leave those lines blank.

FOR LINK you want to enter the URL for this blog as provided above.

Next you need to click the button under Image, that says "From your computer" there is a circle that should have a dot in it when you select it.

Next hit BROWSE button next to that open box under "From your computer" and navigate to the folder on your desktop where you put that IFJM dog button/logo and SELECT that image. Follow any other instructions to upload it. It should take only seconds and you'll be back at this box where you want to be sure "shrink to fit is selected (it's the default and anyway I think my logo is about 220 pixels, don't recall). Then click save.

You will return to the outline of your blog and the new element will be in the column and you can drag it where you want it, click save and you're done.

5. Once you have posted the link button for IFJM on your blog you need to send me an email with a link to YOUR blog, so that I can go and verify that it's there. I'll check when you put up the notice. Write to me at roz@tcinternet.net, with "Contest Promotion IFJM" in the subject line.

6. To be eligible for this contest you'll need to post the button on your blog by April 10 and display it until May 3.

7. You do not need to participate in IFJM—this contest is for all those folks who are still sitting on the fence. You like the idea of participating and would love to encourage people to do so, but your circumstances don't allow you to participate this year.

If you follow these instructions and meet these criteria then your name will go into the drawing for one of the pictured journals. The drawing will be held after I have verified listings on May 3.

Contest Post—This contest is for people who are going to keep a fake journal and publish the results:
This portion of this year's contest has two ways to enter.

A. Post on YOUR OWN BLOG, at least 5 (five) journal pages or spreads (depending on how you are working), during the month of April. You will need to send me a link to your blog EACH TIME you post an fake journal image on your blog.

The email should go to roz@tcinternet.net. Subject line: IFJM MY BLOG Post # (and list the number, 1 through 5 as appropriate). You need to provide a link to your blog in the body of your message. Include your postal address with your first entry so that I can mail your prize if you win.

Please don't wait to send me notification until the end of April, as I will be putting up a weekend update with any links provided. In this way, people who arrive at this blog will find your blog and your journal pieces as you are working.

OR YOU CAN DO THE FOLLOWING:

B. Send me at least 5 jpgs (of pages or spreads) from throughout the month of April. They need to be 500 pixels wide and 72 dpi. (DO NOT send larger files, you will go in the trash folder. Each file sent must be smaller than 1.3MB and sent attached to a separate email.) The emails should come to me at roz@tcinternet.net, with "IFJM YOU POST #" in the subject line (the number being which entry you are up to, 1 through 5 of course). Include your mailing address in the first entry so I can send your prize if you win.

People participating in part B have until May 2 to send me their fifth image (this assumes they might have created that image on April 30 and not had time to scan and send it).

The drawing for the prize for "Contest Post" will be held as soon as I have 1. checked all the links sent me to people following option A, and 2. posted all the images received by May 2 (I don't know how quickly I'll be able to post things if there is a large participation in the contest).

Everyone posting his or her fake journal entries from April 2010 in either of these two ways will become eligible for the drawing for the second journal.

(And just in case you are worried, I will not use your postal addresses for anything or give them to anyone. I ask for them in your first entry because in past contests I've sometimes had difficulty tracking down the winners. I'd like to simply pop the books in the mail when the drawing is finished!)

There you have it. Two opportunities to share your fake journal work and participate in the journal give away.

I hope you'll consider helping me spread the word about International Fake Journal Month by joining Contest Promotion too!

Note: you do not have to live in the U.S. to enter. I will send these prizes out overseas.

VERY IMPORTANT ADDENDUM (3.30.10)
This year's contest is arranged differently than last year's so when I made this post I killed my sidebar instructions on submissions. I forgot to include subject matter restrictions in these instructions. Here's the deal: My taste in art is pretty wide, in styles and subject matter. If you are sending links and images for the contest that include excessive or gratuitous violence, child abuse, or pornographic elements I would rule against listing and including them. I made a distinction last year about nudity: If your character is spending all his time in life-drawing sessions those pages would probably fall within the guidelines (and there are many other instances where nudity would also fall within the parameters of posting), but if your character is involved in X-rated sexual behavior and sketching those events—probably not.

I know someone could make a fabulous fake journal about the latter, and indeed, about some of the other excluded topics—but I think to be valuable, that artist will need to explore those things in private first. Many fake journals are best not published. I feel an obligation to protect the creator who might rush to show work in the context of the month-long project, before considering aspects of exposure and privacy. That breach of the artist's personal boundaries defeats many of the positive effects of fake journaling.