Building A Feature-rich Journaling App In Just A Month

Three months ago, I discovered indie hacking and made an exciting pact with myself: I would build one app each month for 12 months. Some of these apps would go into my portfolio, and I would try to monetize the rest.

The journey has been an adventure. It's not all black and white, but that's what makes it thrilling. Let me explain why. Keyword research is the first, most fun, and most important step in building an app that people actually want. Keywords are just a bunch of relative terms that show you people are searching for something, but they don't tell you exactly what that something entails, what the search intent is, or even what to build. So you're stuck not knowing what to make even if you know how to rank for it.

This brings me to my exciting discovery. A month ago, I found an intriguing keyword and decided to build an app around it—a journaling app.

Great! Idea realized! Now, how to implement it? Start with a simple feature. As a journaler, I want to write, speak, and watch my thoughts turn to text in real time.

So, I built a two-part interface:
Left side: add all the entries, Right side: see their detailed content.

Something amazing happened after I started building the interface. I realized I could do more with it, so I added features like edit, delete, and timestamp, a transcription feature, and an auto-correct feature. I also included smart suggestions, multilingual support, and text completions. The app was coming to life! I know what you're thinking (of course, that's what a journaling app should have), but it's not that I didn't expect to build these features—it's that I didn't think I could. I've never built anything like this before, so it's a big achievement for me.

Then came the prompts, the real reason behind the app. I wanted to create a gamified interface that makes it fun for users to find prompts to write or speak about in their journals. So, I built a "spin-the-wheel" feature to offer daily or random journaling prompts. This makes it easier and more exciting to find things to write about if you're stuck.

Having prompts to inspire writing is fun, but do you know what would be better? A streak tracking system to show your commitment to daily journaling and consistency. We have that too:

And just like that, feature ideas kept pouring out of me - I had a clear picture of what I wanted to make, so I built a few more:

Future Letters

Have something to look forward to? Send letters to your future self so you can have something to reflect on later.

Goal Setting

Are you a big fan of setting and tracking goals? Here's an interactive goal tracker with achievements to show for it.

Do you want to build a storyboard?

Our storytelling feature helps you escape negative thoughts by writing yourself a better situation.

Feeling sour? Let's cheer you up! A mood checker with combo features!

And just like that, a month later, we have SpeakDiary!

An interactive, fun-to-use app that gives you all you need and then some.

How did I achieve this masterpiece? Show up daily, commit often, share in public, and don't lose sight of the bigger picture. Those are all the ingredients you will ever need!

Feeling inspired? Go out there and make your own story come to life!