Why doesn’t creative journaling work step by step?

I like to look back at my TikTok posts sometimes for inspiration on what to create or discuss, and recently I stumbled across a searched term that caught my attention: step-by-step creative journaling.

It makes sense because people want a clear way in, especially when something feels intimidating or unfamiliar.

Tutorials are absolutely helpful when you’re brand new; they help you familiarize yourself with the tools, the flow, and what’s even possible.

But eventually, you reach a point where what you make starts to look vastly different than what you followed. That moment when the steps stop being easy to understand, is what I mean when I say creative journaling doesn’t really work step by step.

Before You Ask "How Do I do It Then?" Ask Yourself These Questions:

Why do you want your spreads to look a certain way?

Where did that image come from?

Is it inspiration… or pressure to imitate?

Do you feel frustrated—or even a little angry—when you sit down to create and nothing comes out the way you imagined?

Do you reach for tutorials, layouts, or rules hoping they’ll unlock something that feels stuck?

Are you looking at your creativity as a way to monetize your art? (common in the age of mass consumerism)

All of these things, regardless of your answers are normal. It’s part of the process.

But here’s the thing no step-by-step guide really talks about:

Creative blocks usually aren’t skill problems.

They’re permission problems.

We try to use logic to solve what feels like a creative issue.

We look for the "right" way to do it.

Maybe if you get the right supplies or the right formula, you'll finally "get better"

In reality, creativity responds to inner safety more than it does to instructions and art lessons.

When you’re not energetically clear (not grounded, not rested, not emotionally spacious), the block doesn’t go away just because you followed the steps “correctly.”

It stays and then you blame yourself. (Sometimes it's not your fault. We fail to consider our environments, our upbringings, our traumas even at our best etc.)

The way I see it, creative journaling isn’t about making something work.

It’s about doing the work to remove the pressure that’s preventing it from happening naturally. If you don't feel excited about doing something, that's when you need to slow down and reflect.

Forget:
“What should today's page look like?”

Instead Ask:
“What do I want to express right now?”

Not:
“What’s the right way to do this?”

But:
“What happens if I just started and let one thing lead to another?”

A Step by Step process is a WAY, but not THE way

Logical thinking is powerful because it helps us learn, organize, and understand what we’re doing. But when it comes to creativity and the arts, it has to be used strategically, not dominantly.

Logic is great for setting up the space, choosing supplies, or learning a technique—but if it takes over during the act of creating, it can shut down the intuitive signals that actually guide the work.

Creative journaling asks for a balance: structure to support you, and intuition to lead. When logic steps back at the right moment, creation stops feeling like something to figure out and starts feeling like something you’re allowing.