Starting and Staying with Inktober 2025
Actionable pointers on beginning a creative ritual and learning to keep it simple, steady, and yours.
Hello there!
For everyone interested in sketching or who has been part of a sketching community, you might have come across Inktober at some point or another. If you have ever thought of giving it a shot, this post is for you.
Though I’m already 14 days late with this post (really sorry about that), I hope it helps you in some way — by offering a small framework to think about Inktober and make it your own.
1. Start with the “Why”
This one is easy yet tricky. Like for many important things we do in life, we ask, “Why do I feel the need to do this?” — you should do the same with Inktober.
If you’re planning to give Inktober a try, the answer to that “why” is probably already sitting in your subconscious — just do a little probing and bring it out into the open. Write it down on a piece of paper — ideally in the same notebook where you plan to make your sketches.
Having a strong sense of “why” helps you stay motivated on days when you don’t feel like sketching.
Your answers might look like:
I want to reconnect with my creative side and explore sketching.
I want to be more regular at it.
I just want to try it out.
…and the list could go on, looking different for everyone.
For me, it looks something like this:
I want to create more original sketches — ones that reflect both my inner and outer world.
I want to avoid getting fixated on perfecting my sketches.
I want to build speed in sketching.
2. Continue with the “How”
This would be your plan of action for the month.
Outline the time windows that would be feasible for sketching in your schedule. Doing it whenever you feel like it is nice for days when motivation is high, but it creates ambiguity and mental overhead on days you’re swamped.
Decide how much time you’ll devote every day.
Think about whether there’s a style you want to stick to.
Ask yourself how you’ll ensure that you honour your why.
My Hows are:
Keeping the sketches simple and original to my imagination.
Devoting no more than 30–60 minutes every day.
Embracing imperfections and moving ahead.
Not redoing anything — reimagining a stroke and making use of it if I really hate it.
Allowing myself to take a day off when I’m sick or low on energy, and doing the prompt the next day — thinking of the challenge as 31 active days of creating, rather than something that ends when October does.
Letting myself loosen up and enjoy the process of sketching rather than worrying about how it would come out.
3. Plan the prompts
Take a notebook and pen, and sit down with the prompts before you start the challenge. Try to think of each prompt and write down what you want to make of it — a word, a line, an image, anything.
Having a pre-planned prompt list helps you overcome decision fatigue on days when you don’t have bandwidth left for imagination.
Remember: your planned prompts are just a starting point. You can always tweak or reinterpret them as you move along.
When I plan mine, I usually write down the first thought that strikes me — it helps me stay true to my imagination and respond instinctively to each prompt.
A little bit of planning goes a long way in setting up your mindset for long challenges like this and in creating mental space for it.
These steps have personally helped me a lot — I hope they help you as well.
It’s never too late to start!
Happy sketching!