100+ Writing Prompts for Journaling with Fountain Pens

I’ve spent a lot of time collecting writing prompts (and journaling prompts, writing prompts for introspection or for creating fun travel memories, etc.). What better way to share them than by posting them here on Bottle and Plume?

I hope these prompts give you an excuse to enjoy the act of introspection, reflection, journaling, and just generally having an excuse to write with fountain pens (hopefully with beautiful fountain pen ink, on gorgeously smooth fountain-pen friendly paper that you buy at Bottle and Plume!).

If you’re just starting out with fountain pens (or you’re just interested), I recommend trying one of the fountain pen beginner kits that I’ve put together — they include everything you need to get started and enjoy the hobby to its fullest, at a pretty unbeatable price.

Note: This is a living document that I’m always refining and adding to. Feel free to send in your favorite writing prompts to support@, and I’ll add them!

Now that you’ve got a fountain pen in hand, let’s get started writing!

Meaningful/Reflective Writing

• Copy favorite passages from books you love (not random ones you don’t understand). Build a “Commonplace Book” — a notebook where you hand-copy inspiring, moving, or beautiful things you read.

• Write letters (even if you don’t mail them): to friends, family, your future self, your child, your past self, historical figures, or fictional characters.

• Daily gratitude journaling — but using full sentences instead of bullet points to really enjoy the writing process.

• Write short essays or musings about things you’re curious about, observations about your day, or philosophical questions you’re pondering.

• Prayers or meditations — you can write down prayers you know or create your own reflective or meditative writings.

• Poetry or song lyrics — even if just short pieces. You don’t have to share them.

• Create a “Life Lessons” book: Kind of like a more personal commonplace book. Write down, beautifully and slowly, lessons you’ve learned in life, one per page.

• Hand-copy and annotate a sacred text you care about (Bible, Torah, Tao Te Ching, Stoic writings, etc.) — writing slowly and adding your reflections.

• Write out the major events of your life — autobiographical storytelling one moment at a time.

General Writing Prompts

• Write a letter that you'll never send (to real or fictional people, your future self)

• Write a mini essay on a question or idea ("what is the good life?")

• Identify and discuss a life lesson you've learned

• In your personal journey, what inner “artifacts” (memories, truths, fears) are you seeking or avoiding? What might it look like if you deliberately pursued these inner adventures?

• Write briefly about an adventure you wish Indiana Jones would undertake that symbolizes a personal growth challenge you’ve faced or are facing.

• “Letter from Your Future Self”: Write a letter from yourself 5 years in the future, describing how your life looks and feels, and offering wisdom or encouragement to your present self.

• “Legacy Objects”: Describe 3 items you’d want future generations to inherit from you. Why these items? What stories, emotions, or values do they embody?

• “Alternate Lives”: Write briefly about three alternate versions of your life, exploring paths not taken. How do these lives feel? Do they reveal any hidden desires or regrets?

• “Gratitude Inventory”: Take 10 minutes to fill a page with things you’re deeply thankful for. Include people, places, experiences, lessons, small pleasures, etc. Reflect on the patterns or themes that emerge.

Learning

• Hand-copy quotes in a different language you’re learning — even a phrase or two at a time — with the translation next to it. This makes it feel purposeful.

• Write vocabulary lists in a foreign language you’re studying — with small example sentences you invent.

• Summarize what you’re learning: if you read an article or watch a documentary, summarize it by hand. This happens to be one of the best ways to cement your learning.

• Make “study notes” on any topic you want to learn more about: history, philosophy, science, finance.

• Handwrite famous historical speeches (e.g., Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy,” JFK’s Moon speech) — educational, meaningful, and helps you internalize powerful language.

Organizational/Practical Ideas

• Hand-plan your week: not just “to-dos” but writing intentions, reflections on what you want from your week. Yes, I actually do this. I actually grab tasks from my digital organization system and write them out on paper to make a “tomorrow” TO-DO list, every night, in my Dot-grid Rhodia Notepad. This helps me prevent overplanning because there is a physical limit to what I can put down for a given day.

• Create project journals: if you have different projects (home improvement, hobbies, travel planning), dedicate a beautiful notebook to each and handwrite notes and plans. I’m more of a digital organizer, but this works for some people, judging by the size of the “bujo” (Bullet Journal) subreddit.

Travel Journaling Prompts

The Five Senses Exercise

At some point during your trip—on the plane, in a café, on a street—pause and silently note:

• Five things you see

• Four things you feel (physically)

• Three things you hear

• Two things you smell

• One thing you taste (or imagine tasting)

Bookshop at the End of the World: You stumble into a mysterious bookshop that stocks exactly one book per person—custom-written for each visitor. What is your book’s title, and what secret, truth, or forgotten memory does it reveal to you?

Museum of Lost Feelings: Write a scene about walking through an imaginary museum filled with physical representations of emotions you no longer feel. Describe the exhibits vividly. Do you wish to recover any of these emotions?

Life Soundtrack: Imagine you could create an album representing your life. Write the track list with song titles that capture different life chapters or key moments. For each song, write a paragraph explaining its significance.

Personal Constellation: Draw a constellation using stars representing the important people, events, places, and turning points in your life. Write about each star—why is it part of your personal sky?

Inhabit Another Self: Write a detailed account of one day in your life from the perspective of someone who deeply admires you. What do they notice that you often overlook?

Interview with the Universe: Write an imagined conversation where you get to interview the universe itself. Ask about your purpose, the meaning of your struggles, or why certain people entered your life. How does the universe answer?

Wisdom Capsule: Imagine you can send a capsule of wisdom and guidance back to your teenage self. Write down exactly what you’d put inside—letters, objects, memories, advice—and why.

Hidden Doorways: Every city has secret portals to other worlds, visible only to those traveling alone. Describe discovering one. Do you step through, and what do you find on the other side?

Traveler’s Recipe: Write a recipe capturing your personal approach to meaningful travel. What ingredients (attitudes, rituals, objects, people) and methods (habits, techniques, outlooks) ensure your journeys always nourish your soul?

Library of Places: If every city or country you’ve visited became a book in a magical library, describe browsing these books. Which one do you pull down to reread, and why? For me, these are always surprisingly mundane (i.e. not the most scenic places I’ve ever visited). They’re often spots I felt happy in my childhood. What are they for you?

Writing Prompts for Mindfulness and Presence

One Perfect Moment: Write slowly and deliberately about a single, perfect moment—real or imagined—in exquisite sensory detail. Describe it so vividly that anyone reading it feels as though they lived it too.

Postcards from Stillness: Write a series of brief “postcards” describing moments of calm or stillness you’ve experienced during otherwise hectic times in your life. Capture each in just a few vivid lines.

Grain of Sand: Imagine holding a grain of sand from a meaningful place. Write about its journey through time—what it’s witnessed, the oceans it’s traveled, and why it ended up in your palm.

Creative Constraints for Writing; Experiments

Some of the best writing can come from setting constraints for yourself. Try these:

Six-Word Memoirs: Write your autobiography repeatedly using exactly six words each time. Experiment with different themes: childhood, love, ambition, regret, hope. I find six words to be pretty difficult; start with 12 or 20 to warm up.

Colors of Emotion: Choose an emotion—nostalgia, joy, longing, hope—and write about it without naming it directly, using only descriptions of color, texture, scent, taste, and sound.

Letters Never Sent: Write short, heartfelt letters to people you’ve never actually met but who profoundly influenced your life (authors, historical figures, ancestors, strangers you passed briefly). Express precisely what you feel toward them.

Journaling about the past, exploring nostalgia, etc.

I’m a nostalgic person by nature, so I’ve found it both useful and pleasurable to explore and dig into the motivations behind my own nostalgia.

The Nostalgia Inventory: Make a list of vivid childhood memories that regularly evoke nostalgia. For each memory, answer briefly:

• What sensory details (smells, tastes, textures, sounds, sights) stand out?

• Who were you with, and why is this significant?

• What emotions dominate this memory—joy, freedom, security, adventure?

Reflect: Which emotional themes recur frequently?

Letters to Childhood Places: Choose three places significant to your childhood—perhaps your childhood home, schoolyard, or a favorite hideaway. Write each place a heartfelt letter, answering:

• What did you teach me that I still carry today?

• Why do I miss you deeply?

• If I visited you today, what would I hope to find, or fear to lose?

Reflect: What deeper truths or needs emerge from your letters?

Interview Your Younger Self: Imagine having a conversation with yourself at age 8–10. Write out this interview as dialogue, asking questions like:

• What do you love most about being a child?

• What do adults forget that you wish they remembered?

• What should I, as your adult self, never lose sight of?

Reflect: What surprising insights or emotions does this dialogue reveal?

The Objects of Nostalgia: Choose a childhood object you remember vividly—perhaps a toy, a book, or a piece of clothing. Write about it with vivid sensory detail:

• What made this object special or comforting?

• How did it represent security, imagination, or identity for you?

• Where is this object now, physically or symbolically, and how does that make you feel?

Meaningful Rituals: Recall a routine or ritual from childhood (e.g., bedtime stories, weekend adventures, holiday traditions). Reflect in writing:

• Why was this ritual meaningful, safe, or joyful for me?

• How could I incorporate elements of this ritual (or the feelings it evoked) into my adult life now?

The Wisdom of Nostalgia (Integrative Exercise)

• Write briefly about a key insight you gained from each previous exercise.

• Identify one practical, gentle step you could take to bring the emotional truth behind your nostalgia into your current adult life.

(Example: If you miss carefree exploration, plan monthly adventures; if you miss imaginative play, engage in creative hobbies.)

Idealized Memory vs. Real Childhood:

Write honestly about aspects of childhood you tend to idealize or overlook. How does embracing a more nuanced truth affect your feelings of nostalgia?

Creative

Create your own “field guides”: write descriptions of plants you see on walks, or birds, or clouds, etc. Include little drawings if you want.

• Invent short fictional scenes — even just a page — like micro-stories or descriptions of imagined worlds.

• Design a handwritten family recipe book — writing down your favorite or family recipes. If you want to get fancy, try a fountain pen with a flex nib. Make sure to use permanent ink so this can stand the test of time.

Mini-essays

Invisible Teacher: Describe something unexpected or unusual—perhaps an animal, a stranger, or even an object—that taught you a valuable life lesson. What did you learn, and how did the lesson surprise you?

Small Comforts, Big Meanings: Pick three small daily comforts that bring you joy—maybe your morning coffee, writing with your favorite fountain pen, or wearing a favorite garment. Write about why these seemingly trivial pleasures actually carry significant emotional meaning for you.

What My Desk Says About Me: Describe your desk or workspace as if you were an anthropologist analyzing a fascinating character (yourself!). What story do the objects, arrangement, and atmosphere tell about your values, personality, and aspirations?

Advice I Gladly Ignored: Write about a piece of advice you intentionally chose not to follow. How did that decision shape your life? Would you still make the same choice today?

What’s in My Backpack?: Imagine you’re setting out on a journey to an unknown destination (perhaps a bit like your current adventure). Write a detailed inventory of the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual items you would carry. Explain why each is important.

Ode to a Useless Skill: Celebrate a completely “useless” skill you have (or wish to cultivate). Why is this skill delightful, and why does it deserve a place in your life even though it has no practical purpose?

Alternate Lives in Miniature: Briefly imagine yourself in three entirely different careers or lifestyles (e.g., lighthouse keeper, chef, astronomer, forest ranger). Write a short reflection on each alternative life. How would each change you as a person?

Manual of Me: Write a humorous yet truthful instruction manual titled “How to Operate `$YOUR_NAME`.” Include sections like “Troubleshooting,” “Routine Maintenance,” “Common Errors,” and “Features and Benefits.”

Five Minutes as a Kid Again: Imagine you’re granted exactly five minutes to relive any experience from your childhood. Which moment would you pick, and why? Describe that experience vividly, focusing especially on how it would feel now, revisiting as an adult.

If Cities Were People: Choose three cities or places you’ve visited or lived in, and describe each as if it were a person with distinctive personality traits, attitudes, quirks, and secrets. Reflect on your relationship with these “people.”

Letters from My Pens: Write short, playful letters from three of your fountain pens, each with its own personality. What does each pen appreciate or dislike about how you use it? What advice do they have for you?

Daydream Dictionary: Make a mini “dictionary” defining five of your recurring daydreams or fantasies. Briefly explain why you think these particular daydreams appeal to you and what they reveal about your inner self.

Failures Worth Celebrating: Reflect on a personal failure that ultimately led to significant growth or a positive outcome. How did this event shape your current self positively?

Tiny Revolutions: Write about three tiny habits or rituals you’ve recently adopted that have noticeably improved your life. Explain why small, subtle shifts can sometimes create surprisingly powerful effects.

Life Recipe: Create your personal “recipe” for a meaningful, fulfilling life. What ingredients (habits, attitudes, experiences, people) do you need, and why?

Museum of My Life: Imagine curating a small personal museum exhibit about your life so far. Select three key objects, photographs, or writings. Describe them in detail, and explain why each represents a meaningful moment or phase in your life.

Childhood Sanctuary: Visualize clearly a place from your childhood that you associate with complete comfort or happiness. Write vividly about the sensory details of that place—smells, textures, sounds. Why did it feel safe or special?

Advice from Child-Me: Imagine a short letter written by your childhood self, giving advice to the adult you. What wisdom or reminders does your younger self offer?

Alternate Personal History: Write a brief, creative history of your life as though you were raised in a different era or country. How would you still be essentially “you,” despite changed circumstances?

Lost Skills Inventory: Write humorously about skills you once had but have forgotten (tying certain knots, playground tricks, old video games). Why might rediscovering one be meaningful?

The Magic Fountain Pen: Your pen has a secret—it can write letters that reach anyone, living or historical. Who do you write to first, and why?

Your Personal Coat of Arms: Sketch or describe a symbolic coat of arms representing your personal strengths, family history, and life philosophy.

The Stoic Evening Journal

Every evening, try a brief stoic reflection:

• What did I learn today that I’ll carry into tomorrow?

• Did I react today in alignment with my principles and values?

• What good did I accomplish today? What can I do better tomorrow?

This encourages gentle self-assessment, clarity, and continual growth.

The Journey Backwards Method

Instead of chronological journaling, try working backwards—write from a desired future back into your present reality.

• Imagine it’s 10 years from today: What does your ideal day look like?

• Write backward through the milestones and choices required to make this future real, until you reach today.

• Which parts surprise you, excite you, or scare you?