Here’s an idea: why not start a journal on a pad of quadrille paper? You know the stuff I mean-draftsmen and other people with a technical bent use it to help them create drawings and sketches with proportion.  You can buy pads of the stuff at an office supply store, or even at your favorite big-box department store. You can even print it out for free at http://www.printfreegraphpaper.com.

Now that you’ve got it, what can you do with it?

Graph paper is wonderful for doodling. You can create some remarkably symmetrical images with very little effort. Just let your pen roam freely, then fill in the missing pieces to please your artistic eye.

You can sketch accurately with graph paper, too. If you are trying to capture a visual idea, you can use the guide of the graph paper to draw things in proportion.

It’s fun to put shadows onto drawings. Try shading where a shadow would go.

Take your best shot at creating decorative, graphic lettering to match your current topic and mood. No reason not to break out the markers, crayons or colored pencils to give your letters just the right touch.

Want to get really creative? How about making your own journal in a binder and adding lots of different kinds of paper to suit your mood?