For people who don't know April is International Fake Journal Month. (Come on, the reason I picked April is obvious isn't it? That link will take you to an explanation of the event.)
A friend emailed me this morning and suggested that I'd been rather silent on the subject of International Fake Journal Month (IFJM—you can find it in the category cloud of this blog). I thought she was silly, because of course I've been posting about it. But then when I searched the category I discovered I haven't posted about it here since JANUARY 17!
I haven't even posted much over on the Official International Fake Journal Month Blog because I feel, in the past few years I've posted instructions on prepping or not prepping, selecting a journal, selecting media, developing a character—all the stuff you need to think about (and then forget) in order to have a great IFJM. (My last post on that blog was March 6!)
I've pointed that blog's readers to the various helpful posts and have just trusted that they are taking appropriate steps.
Perhaps I thought I was posting more because I have been thinking about it a lot through March as I typically do. I assumed I must have posted more about it.
It has been a truly crazy early spring for me (both in weather, I'm going to go ride my bike in a few minutes!) and in work. Taking 3 classes at the Atelier has taken up all my "free" time. Which leads me to my plan for IFJM this year—something very simple.
I never explain the actual plan before the project starts, but let's just say that at the beginning of March I came up with an hilarious plan that the friend who wrote to me and Dick both loved. I've been doing mental gymnastics all month long trying to figure out how I could execute that plan and still participate in the rest of my life. IFJM has to be about balance in some way for me.
This past week I came up with an easier approach, something in the 30-minutes-a-day range. (I'm sorry Terri, the Frank idea would have taken 60 to 90 minutes a day—but he is going to make a cameo, and I may work with him next year because Dick has totally bonded with Frank in a way he never has any of my "acquisitions." And for people who want to meet Frank I'll post a cross post here when he makes an appearance in my postings on the Official International Fake Journal Month Blog.)
The new plan seems doable but it also requires some paper testing. So I'll be doing that this evening.
In the meantime I can tell everyone that the buttons have arrived. They are actually going to be available at the start of the month (details to follow on the other blog after I get information from the post office on mailing costs). You can see the button at the other blog—it's at the top of the right-hand column. "Details Matter," is this year's catch phrase. (Yes, that mirrors my life, the buttons always do.)
And there will again be a drawing, from participants, for a journal prize. Details on that will be posted in the next few days as well.
So things are moving a long here, and I seem to have found a nice bit of balance. I hope you'll pop over to the other blog and participate in the fun. Keeping a fake journal for a month can teach you a lot about yourself, your journaling practice, and your life, even though you aren't the person keeping the journal. (I've written a lot about this on the other blog, and that's for sure, not my false rememberings.)
Think about joining in—it's not too late to grab a journal and channel another character.
Life's so short, why live only one?
