Journal Writing Techniques
You have gotten yourself a journal to write in. You bought a special pen just for the occasion. You sit down, get comfortable, open your journal, and get your pen in hand. You are ready, but you don’t know where to go next. What to do?
Other people don’t seem to have this problem. They write and write, and never seem to run out of ideas. They could probably write forever if they really wanted to. You could probably find a stack of finished journals and notebooks in their closet. You haven’t had much experience with journaling and don’t seem to know where to start.
I can’t tell you exactly how to keep a journal and exactly what you should be writing. There is no manual on how to keep a journal because journal writing is all about you. You decide what you should write. If you still can’t think of anything, start by figuring out why you are keeping a journal in the first place.
What are you trying to accomplish through writing in a journal? Are you trying to improve your creative writing? Do you need to write as therapy? Do you want to record your travel experiences or keep track of a goal?
Now that you know why you are keeping a journal, write down a list of topics. For example, if you are trying to improve your creative writing, write down a list of possible short story ideas. Even writing down these ideas can be a journal entry.
If you are writing a journal about your weight loss, you could decide that you will say how you feel physically each day. You could make a weekly entry and write about how well you stuck to your plan. Make a large list so that you don’t run out of ideas and update it frequently.
There are no rules with journal writing. Nowhere does it say you have to do it this way or that way. You can, however, develop your own journal writing techniques. Make a plan to follow if you can’t get yourself to write or if you keep getting stuck.
Often people use journals to help discover who they are and their purpose. You might start your journal one way and slowly watch yourself grow throughout time as your record all that is happening. Dont make journal writing too constructed and planned. Just write whatever comes to you and let it flow. You will be happy that you did!
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