What is journaling, anyway? It’s telling the story of your photos and memories. You might write a simple headline like “At The Beach” and supplement it with the four W’s: who, what, when, where and why. Or you might write long journal entries with thoughts, observations, quotes, song lyrics—whatever it takes to tell your story. And you might use different journaling with different kinds of pages.

You can write directly on your background paper if you wish, but writing on a separate piece of paper and adding it to the page is easier and looks more polished. In that case, you only need a black acid-free pen.

You can also use a computer to journal your story—write out your story and print it onto acid-free paper. This allows you to spell-check, use the grammar function and mix font types and sizes. It also frees you from worrying about your handwriting.

Another option when journaling is to use Alphabet Tiles Cut-Outs™ or sticker letters. Alphabet Tiles are a bit easier to use, since you can try them out on different areas on the page before attaching them with repositionable adhesive or foam tape.

How can you tell your story? You can speak in the first person (“I spent the summer in Barcelona.”) if you choose, or tell the story from your family’s point of view (“The Smith Family Reunion”). You can tell the story to your children (“You were so excited on your third birthday”). And don’t be shy about using a few creative writing techniques, from “Once Upon a Time” to Top-10 lists.