Have you ever opened a sketchbook page and felt stuck because words just would not behave? You know what you want to record or explore but writing it out neatly feels heavy or wrong somehow.
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Medieval Village
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For years I thought journals were meant for sentences and paragraphs. Then I noticed something interesting. The pages I returned to again and again were not written at all. They were drawn. Often as maps.
Not tidy atlas style maps. More like wandering layouts. Little symbols. Shapes that meant something only to me. They felt freer and more honest.
We often put quiet pressure on ourselves to explain our experiences properly. To make them linear. To tidy them up so they make sense on the page.
But most thoughts do not arrive like that. They overlap. They circle back. They drift. Trying to force them into straight lines can actually move us further away from what we are trying to capture.
This is why maps work so beautifully in sketchbooks and journals. A map lets you place ideas instead of explaining them.
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What feels close.
What feels distant.
What is still undefined.
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My Dream Residence
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Mapping mirrors how the mind really works. You can layer meaning without overthinking. A line can suggest movement. A shape can hold a feeling. Symbols and colour sit naturally beside words.
Maps also remove pressure. They do not need to be finished. You can return to them weeks later and notice what has shifted quietly without judgment.
In my latest article I share how I use real maps fantasy maps and personal maps in my sketchbooks. I also show how I source them and how I draw them simply without worrying about perfection.
Maps are not about accuracy. They are about exploration. If you would like a gentler more visual way to work in your sketchbook the article will give you a place to start.
