Sunday, March 1, 2009

Journal Writing Techniques

By Nadine Ritz

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.

Are you keeping a journal to improve your writing because you want to become a creative writer? Do you want to keep a journal recording your feelings about a specific goal you are trying to reach? Do you want to keep a travel journal recording all your travel experiences?

Once you know what you want to accomplish, jot down a list of different topics you could use. If you are keeping a journal to improve your writing you can write down a list of story or poem ideas.

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.

What type of technique should you use? There is no specific journaling technique, but you could make up your own. Maybe you always write beginning with your day then writing how you felt about it. Or, your technique could be not to have a technique. Everyday you write in a completely different way from the day before. The point is that journaling a creative act. You be as creative as you want. Explore new things and give yourself a time to cope with life.

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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