Get in the Spirit With Journal Writing

Every expert in the world thinks you should keep a journal. Physical trainers say keep an exercise journal and nutritionists say keep track of your meals. Oprah insists on a gratitude journal and business consultants recommend journaling workplace activities.

But journals are, first and foremost, the forté of writers. Your journal provides that sacred space where thoughts, ideas, stories, and poems are recorded. It is where we turn for inspiration, or where we write down the things that inspire us, tucked away for future use.

Some journals are topical while others are a hodgepodge of entries. You might use several journals, each for different projects or topics, or you might use one journal for everything. There’s no right or wrong way, and there are no limits to the types of journals or topics that you can use to inform and inspire your creative writing projects. The important thing is just to get started!

Inspiration Journal

What inspires you? A sunset? A day with friends and family? A great movie or inspiring song? Quotes from the greats? You can record all the things that inspire you in an inspiration journal, taking notes from some of the world’s most successful creators. You can even paste photos and clippings, using images to capture moments that were especially inspiring. Then, when your creativity meter is running low, you can flip through your inspiration journal to harvest ideas.

The Dream Journal

The subconscious is a wondrous thing. Artists and geniuses alike have attributed some of their best work to the messages they received while dreaming. A dream journal is useful for anyone interested in exploring the subconscious mind, where creativity often lives and breathes. This type of journal is also ideal for folks who are interested in dream interpretation or trying to achieve lucid dreaming. For writers, a dream journal can provide a myriad of images and plots that the waking creative mind simply can’t drudge up. Keep your journal near your bed and make sure you jot down your dreams as soon as you wake up, otherwise with each minute that passes, you’ll lose chunks of your nighttime imaginings.

Art Journal

Even us writers have to admit that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words. Symbols are particularly powerful and speak directly to the subconscious, which is where your muse might be hiding. Like a dream journal, an art journal is a clever way to get in touch with the deeper recesses of your mind, where some of your most creative ideas are lurking. You don’t have to be a fine artist to use an art journal. Doodles and stick figures will open up your right brain too! An art journal is also perfect for sketching your characters, scenery, and maps of the worlds you are creating for your fiction.

Freewriting Journal

Sometimes called stream of consciousness writing, freewriting is a way to clear your mind of clutter. If you keep at it long enough, some pretty interesting stuff will start spewing out. Yes, it’s yet another way to tap into your hidden creativity. If you can stop your conscious thinking and let the words flow, you’ll be amazed at the creative stew that is brewing just beneath the surface. You can do straight freewriting, or try topical freewriting. This is a great way to hash out conversations with your characters, accumulate raw material that can later be honed into poetry, and brainstorm for just about any writing project that you’re planning or working on.

Idea Journal

How many ideas have you lost? If you write them down, there’s a good chance you won’t lose any at all. This is why so many writers keep their journal with them at all times. In fact many writers use miniature notebooks for this very reason - there’s nothing worse than coming up with a brilliant idea when you’re at a party, in the middle of a phone conversation, or trying to fall asleep. Keep your journal near your person at all times, and you’ll never lose an idea again. Or, pick up several miniature notebooks and keep them in convenient places - your nightstand, purse, car, office desk, even the bathroom!

Life Events or Diary

A diary is pretty straightforward — you simply record the goings-on in your life. Some people start journals for special times or events in their lives, such as when they are getting married or having a baby, traveling, or moving to a new place. This is a great place to start if you’re interested in writing a memoir or autobiography. It’s also a perfect place to record the real experiences that you’ve had even if you plan on fictionalizing them later. Some of the best dialog, descriptions, and scenes come straight out of real life!

Reader’s Journal

If you want to be a writer, read. Read a lot, then read some more. You just can’t read enough. If you keep a journal documenting what you’ve read, you can capture what worked and what didn’t work from a writer’s perspective. You’ll pick up neat writing tricks, jot down techniques that you think miss the mark, and of course, as you read and get ideas for your own projects, you can include those as well. Best of all, you’ll have a place where you’ve listed everything you’ve read and by keeping notes, you’ll retain all of it much better.

If you’ve ever kept a journal, was it topical? Do you jot your ideas down on napkins or do you keep a tidy notebook in your pocket at all times? Has a dream ever inspired a piece of your writing? Share your journaling experiences in the comments.There is something to be said about putting pen to paper, something that the computer just can’t mimic.

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