Comic Journaling: 25 Ideas to Get You Started

Most journals die in January. You buy a beautiful notebook, write three heartfelt entries, then watch it gather dust on the nightstand. Comic journaling flips that script. Instead of facing a blank page and the pressure to write something profound, you capture a moment as a tiny illustrated scene — a panel, a punchline, a snapshot of your day drawn (or generated) into a comic.

Comic journaling is exactly what it sounds like: keeping a diary in comic form. Each entry becomes a small story with characters, expressions, and a setting. And it tends to stick far better than plain text journaling, for a few reasons worth understanding before you start.

Why comic journaling sticks

It works with your visual memory. Our brains are wired for images. A single panel of you spilling coffee on a Monday morning will bring back the whole moment years later in a way that "had a rough start today" never could.

It's fun, not homework. Text journaling can feel like a chore or a confession booth. Comics invite playfulness. When you're framing your day as a mini story, you naturally look for the funny, the absurd, and the sweet — and that makes you want to come back.

It's low friction. You don't need to write three paragraphs. One scene, one caption, one feeling. A good entry can take less than a minute to capture.

It builds a series over time. This is the magic. Page after page, you aren't just keeping a diary — you're writing the ongoing comic book of your life, with you and the people you love as recurring characters. Flip back through it in a year and you'll have something you actually want to reread and share.

25 comic journaling ideas to get you started

Stuck on what to draw? Here are 25 concrete prompts, grouped by theme. Pick one that matches your day and turn it into a panel.

Daily life

• A small win you're weirdly proud of (finally fixed that squeaky door).
• Your morning commute — the chaos, the playlist, the same dog you see every day.
• The one thing that made you laugh out loud today.
• Your meal as a tiny food critic review with a star rating.
• The internal battle between you and the snooze button.

Family & kids

• The funniest thing your kid said this week (kids write the best dialogue).
• A bedtime negotiation, captured in all its dramatic glory.
• A family dinner moment — who told the story, who rolled their eyes.
• An inside joke that only your household would understand.

Pets

• What you imagine your pet is actually thinking right now.
• The dramatic re-enactment of them demanding food.
• That one spot they've claimed as their throne.

Travel & adventures

• The view that stopped you in your tracks.
• A travel mishap that's funny now (the missed train, the wrong turn).
• A meal in a new place and your reaction to the first bite.
• The stranger who unexpectedly made your trip better.

Dreams

• That bizarre dream you had last night — comics are perfect for the surreal.
• A daydream about where you'd go if money were no object.

Milestones & firsts

• A "first" you want to remember (first day, first try, first time).
• A goal you finally hit, drawn as a tiny victory scene.
• A birthday or anniversary moment, frozen in one frame.

Work life

• The meeting that could have been an email, as a comic.
• A small career win nobody else noticed but you.
• Your relationship with your inbox, dramatized.
• The coworker moment that made the day better.

How to make it a habit

Twenty-five ideas are useless without a routine to hang them on. The good news is that comic journaling is one of the easiest habits to keep, as long as you set it up right.

Do it at the same time each day

Anchor it to something you already do — your evening tea, your commute home, the ten minutes before bed. Same time, same trigger, every day. Consistency beats ambition.

Keep it short

One panel is a complete entry. You don't owe your journal a masterpiece. The goal is showing up, not impressing anyone. A single moment a day adds up faster than you think.

Let it become your comic book

Watch the pages stack up. Once you've got a few weeks of entries, the habit starts feeding itself — flipping back through your own growing series is genuinely delightful, and that's what pulls you forward to the next entry.

Make it effortless with My Comic Series

If drawing isn't your thing, that's where My Comic Series comes in. You type or speak a quick entry — "the kids built a blanket fort and refused to come out for dinner" — and it turns that moment into a finished comic, complete with consistent personal characters that look the same in every panel. Each entry is saved to your personal library, so your diary really does grow into a comic book of your life, one day at a time.

My Comic Series is available on the App Store. You can download it on the App Store today. To spark your next entry, try the comic idea generator, or read more about how to make a comic strip about your life and start building your series today.