Thursday, November 12, 2015

JOURNALING/JOURNAL WRITING

 A record of your thoughts, experiences, feelings, or possible material for use in your writing. Find a blank book, steno pad, notebook, or whatever paper source you are comfortable with, but save it exclusively for your journal writing. It helps to have a set time and place to write in your journal, such as before or after reading or having your personal devotions, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, or any established time during the day that works for you. Some may prefer to keep it on the computer.

It is not necessary to write several pages to make it worthwhile. Even a short entry each day, if it
 
reflects your true thoughts and feelings, will have great value. Some days you may only write a
 
sentence or two, while others may naturally produce a few pages. Avoid routine entries like:
 
“Cleaned the house today,” or “Met Mary for lunch.” A personal journal is not a calendar of
 
events, but tracking the events of your life as you see them through your heart and mind. It is
 
 an intensely personal experience. For the writer, it is good practice in expressing yourself on paper
 
and helps clarify your thinking. A journal must be kept private, or you won’t be honest. Never tear
 
out pages or edit it once it is written.

Date your entries and number the pages, but avoid printed journals that give you a dated page for
 
every day or restrict you to one page. If you don’t write every day, those blank pages tend to make
 
e you feel like you’ve failed. A journal needs to be a “want to” not a “have to” experience, and quires
 
 some discipline—especially when developing the habit.

Rather than a personal journal, some may prefer to keep a literary journal. In this kind, you jot down
 
notes that might later be used in a story or poem, overheard dialogue or speech patterns, news items,
 
 unusual phrases, descriptions, etc. In other words, notes that may be useful in your writing. A
 
personal journal may also be used for writing some day. For example, keeping a detailed journ
 
al through the experience of losing a child, and later using it to write a book to help other parents who
 
 were experiencing the same thing. Not every writer enjoys or feels comfortable regularly writing in a
 
journal. If you are one of those writers, don't feel like you have to keep one. For general instructions
 
on journaling, go to: http://www.journalingsaves.com/how-to-journal. For instruction on spiritual
 


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