December Illustrated Journal Prompts

A simple set of journal prompts to mix into your month

Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

December is coming! Last year when I set up a special set of December prompts, I had just watched House of Dragons, which I loved. “Winter is coming!” was in my head. I should watch House of Dragons again. It was good! For now, I’ll just wander around chanting “December is coming.” And it is!

🎯 I have a new set of illustrated journal (or writing) prompts for December 2023.

These prompts are now available to everyone. Enjoy!

These prompts are available (now) to paid subscribers. They are also available (now) to anyone making a donation or tip jar contribution. And they will be available, soon, to everyone.

(No one could possibly be more awkward trying to make something “paid” than me. I’m so bad at it that I talked myself out of it. For those worried about this, please read all the way through.)

What Are They?

This is a simple set of 31 prompts to nudge your illustrated journaling in December. While not “Christmas” themed, many of the prompts do have “holiday” grounding.

Why December Prompts?

I know. I know. I know. Prompt sets are less than a dime a dozen. It’s a cliché that works. Prompt sets are everywhere. Every creator has a prompt set. Pinterest is full of prompt sets. Instagram is swimming in prompts and monthly challenges. Google “writing prompts” or “art prompts” for any month of the year, and you’ll find scads of options. You will also find that many are similar. For whatever month it is, December in this case, prompts are often going to pick up on certain themes, certain icons and symbols and markers.

So why aren’t these free? Why not just give them out? Ultimately, I am. But also…

I do that all year long.

I provide the #illustrateyourweek prompts every week for free.

I’m like clockwork. The prompts show up every Sunday. They don’t fall from the sky every weekend. I work at them. I work on them. I struggle with choosing and selecting. I set everything up. It’s a job. Those using the prompts expect to find them, ready and waiting, for the new week. I try to make sure that happens.

I enjoy providing the Illustrate Your Week challenge. I enjoy the small group of people who are using the prompts as part of their illustrated journal practice, their personal recording and documentation. It is a project I believe in, and it is inspiring to see people keeping their own beautifully illustrated records of their lives and contemplating or using the weekly prompt set as part of the process.

The weekly #illustrateyourweek prompts (posted on Sundays) offer a lot of encouragement for illustrated journaling. The weekly prompts are designed as a set of gentle nudges that you can work into your journal, sketchbook, or planner and that you can mix and match or choose from when you are looking for things to record that week. With an average of 9+ prompts per week, I offer close to 40 prompts a month to inspire you to work in your own visual journal.

But December is coming, and December is special.

Will Illustrate Your Week Continue in December?

Yes.

We are winding down the third full year of #illustrateyourweek. Those weekly prompt sets come out in December, too. It’s my favorite month of the year. Last year, I discovered joy in drawing nutcrackers from images online. And ornaments. Always ornaments. Go back and listen to December Creativity Matters Podcast shows through the years, and there are always ornaments. There is always something (for me) to draw in December because there is a tree full of ornaments.

The most recent ornament-themed show was Episode 480 from last year.

Illustrate Your Week will continue through December. But last year, I put together a special set of prompts for the month, an extra set. I shared the prompts with anyone who made a small donation in support of the podcast or #illustrateyourweek. (We can count the number of people I shared with on fingers. But I never learn…)

I have made a new prompt set for December 2023.

December Prompt List

It’s a simple set of 31 prompts for the month. These are not life-changing prompts. They are simply a collection of 31 nudges, things you might be inspired to draw or remember or write about. There is a balance. As with all of my prompts, these are fairly open so that you can interpret them through the lens of your own life, your mindset, your gratitude, your hope, and your memory.

I do (typically) offer some year-end prompts that are designed to help you summarize your year, think especially about your creative year, and plan for the creative year ahead.

This set of 31 prompts for December is not that kind of prompt set. It doesn’t deal with year-end planning, goal-setting, and wrapping up 2023. Bundling those prompts into a more general “December” set feels too unbalanced. We can do that later, as December comes to an end. (Yes, I hope you’ll join me in doing that.)

This prompt set is simply “December.”

31 Up Front

For those who already do Illustrate Your Week, you may find layering the December List into your journal practice fun. Having all of the prompts up front for the month lets you see the whole month at once and pick and choose what you add and when. You might:

• Go through the list in order, doing whatever prompt is on the list for the day of the month.

• Choose randomly from the list when working in your illustrated sketchbook week to week.

• Make a game of it and check the prompts off as you use them. Can you do them all?

• Come up with some “roll the dice” approach to choosing a prompt.

Are They About Christmas?

I don’t think so. Some of the prompts maybe have a bit of a holiday vibe, specifically a Christmas vibe. But your interpretation has a lot to do with that. This is not a religious-based list, but it does include a few prompts that loosely surround Christmas…. if you interpret prompts about decorations, gifts, and traditions in December as about Christmas. I think this will really depend on you. It’s not a Santa list.

I try to write prompts in a way that they can be interpreted to fit your life, traditions, rituals, habits, and beliefs.

How to Get the Prompts

I give these prompts as a thank you to those who are supporting my work here on the substack, or with Illustrate Your Week, or with the podcast. (They are linked below.)

I am not selling prompts. I do know that prompts are everywhere.

The prompts are a thank you. A simple thing that I can offer and that you might enjoy.

I was going to hold these prompts again this year for donation because, overall, I do truly believe I give a lot. But I changed my mind.

I’m going to keep the paywall up until December 6. Current paid subscribers have access below. I will send the PDF to anyone who makes a donation (or chooses to switch to a paid subscription here).

On December 6, I’ll unlock the post. (That still gives you plenty of time to work with the prompts in your illustrated journal through the end of the year.)

(Note: It is possible that the week of Thanksgiving I will offer a limited-time discounted price for subscriptions.)

What Will I Receive?

The prompts are in PDF format. They are a simple one-page sheet with 31 prompts and very minimal design. You are not being given a piece of art. You are being given the encouragement to make your own art throughout December.

How to Donate

If you are not a paid subscriber, the prompts are available for anyone making a PayPal Friends and Family donation (to oamyoamy AT gmail.com) or a Ko-Fi donation of $4 or more in support of my creative work. (As a thank you for donations of $6 or more, I’ll also send last year’s prompt set. You probably really do not NEED that many prompts. Trust me!)

I am sensitive to access, and I realize that even a donation of $4 may not feel possible to some. If this is your situation and you really “need” the prompts before December 6 (and you are someone who does Illustrate Your Week), email me and let me know. I will make them available, no questions asked.

Note: Because of the way substack works, only paid subscribers will be able to comment on THIS post. I am sorry about that. I really hate running into that problem on other substacks. I trust you can find a way to reach me if you need to.

(Important: If you choose to donate this way, please be sure to include your email address and name so I know how to send the prompts.)

The prompts will be accessible to everyone on December 6.

Thank you to those who are able to support my work - and do.

Thank you to those who have done Illustrate Your Week this year.

I hope you find these fun. They are simple. It’s a thank you.

I’ll be trying not to duplicate these in the regular weekly prompts in December, but there may be some things that will come up again or be similar.

Enjoy!

(It seems way TOO early to be posting these, still two weeks before the first of December. But I see other December prompts and challenges starting, so I decided to go ahead and share this information early.)

❄ You can access the December 2023 prompts here.

(Need the 2022 set just for posterity? Let me know.)

(Please don’t share these or post them online.)