For Your Journal: Writing Prompt

Do you keep a journal – or wish you could get one started? Literary Mama wants to help.

Three times a month, I’ll post a writing prompt. Open a notebook and write for 10 minutes. Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation – just write. Then let the writing simmer and your mind wander for awhile.

And who knows? Maybe you’ll discover a character for your next short story or a theme for a narrative essay. Or maybe you’ll use the idea to create a special holiday card or photo album for someone in your family. However you decide to use your journal entry, I know you’ll enjoy re-reading it months–and years–down the road.
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Are you recording your family’s funny one-liners?

Syndicated cartoonist Bil Keane did for 50 years, and his Family Circus comic strip became the most widely syndicated panel in the world.

From the King Features Syndicate website:

Keane did not always try to make his cartoons especially funny. “I would rather have the readers react with a warm smile, a tug at the heart, or a lump in the throat as they recall doing the same things in their own families,” he said.

“If The Family Circus has any social value,” Keane said, “it shows parents that their children are normal. And if there is a philosophy behind the feature, it’s this: A home filled with love and laughter is the happiest place in the world.”

Keane passed away last November. His son, Jeff, continues the tradition, looking to his own family for inspiration.

Journal Entry: Create a comic that depicts a funny statement your child made. Can you tell the story in a single-panel, one-liner cartoon or do you need multiple panels to tell the story? Use speech bubbles to show how the comment was made.