How to Creatively Ruin Your Wreck This Journal

Last Updated: September 3, 2020

Wreck This Journal is a book; not the kind that you read, though, it is a participatory book. Its pages are filled with instructions on how to ruin your newly purchased copy of Wreck This Journal, and it is up to you on how to follow them. By the end of your journal, it will hopefully be ruined yet at the same time you'll have a creation in your hands.

Steps

1
Purchase a Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith. You can find these at Borders, on Amazon.com,Barns and Nobles, and other places. It costs around $13.00 to purchase one.
2
Look through the instructions and keep a vague order in mind. Some instructions may require you to tear all or part of a page out, so keep that in mind before you work on both sides of one part only to find out that the page behind it requires you to tear it out.

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3
Look at the flickr group for ideas. If you enter the book title into google, you should find the flickr group for it; there are thousands of photos people have taken of certain pages. This should give you some ideas.
4
Play around with the wording, make your own interpretation. Instead of following the instructions exactly the way they're worded, see if you can find a way to technically follow the instructions without doing what it appears to be asking. Some examples are:
- One page gives the instructions "Add your own page numbers". It doesn't say to go through and number them in consecutive order, so you could try something like numbering the pages in the order you do them. At the end, your page numbers could go like this: 10, 1, 5, 15, 20, 23, etc.
- Another page says "Leave this page blank on purpose". It says nothing about not folding it, tearing it, or crumpling it, so try ripping that page out and making origami with it.
- Finally, one page says "Ask a friend to do something destructive to this page. Don't look." One might think that this means don't look ever again, but it could also mean don't look while your friend is destroying it.
5
Color! Even on pages that don't require color, color everything! Make drawings, write something, mutilate your color pencil box. Some examples would be:
- For the page about documenting what it was like to sleep with the journal, you could draw a snapshot of a dream you had while sleeping with the journal.
- On the compost pages, draw a flower or draw the bottom part of a plant with roots and dirt (and maybe even include a drawing of what composting paper looks like).
- On pages asking you to write, use various colored pencils, pens, or markers to write instead of using just a black pen or pencil.
- Before you cut up the page for paper chains, color it so it looks cool when you make the chain.
6
Share and use the book with friends. This is a fun activity that shouldn't be kept to yourself; bring it with you when you go out somewhere, so everyone can help you wreck your journal. If they don't wreck it themselves, they can give you ideas on how to improve upon your creative destruction.
7
Use different materials in your journal. Just coloring every page with your box of crayolas is somewhat boring, that's for sure. Use tape, glue, markers, paint, dirt, different colored threads, plastic wrap, wax, and anything else you can think of to spice up your pages.
8
Take your time with it, don't rush. If you rush, you may find that your ideas become lackluster and your urge to destroy it fades. Set the book aside when you feel like you are done for the day, and don't push yourself to finish it.
9
Forget all of these directions. There are no instructions on how to wreck your journal. Everyone's different, therefore, everyone's journal will be unique. Just let your creativity out and interpret the instructions how you want to interpret them. Have fun with it.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I have to go in a certain order?

Community Answer

No, you can go in any order you want. It's your journal!
Question

Do different journals have different pages?

Community Answer

No. They all have the same instructions, but you can make yours different by adding more colors.
Question

What can I put on the edges?

Community Answer

I did a rainbow watercolor ombre, but you can do whatever you want. I've seen other people write quotes or draw patterns. It's up to you!

Warnings

You will get dirty, and you will get wet.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 112 Not Helpful 30
One page gives the option to to burn it, kids will need parental supervision.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 95 Not Helpful 33
Some instructions may be "gross", such as documenting your dinner by smearing it or rubbing it on the page, or spitting your coffee onto the page.

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