journaling class: lesson 3

How To Get Started Journaling
Step 1: Investigate and select your preferred journaling tools
Step 2: Create your preferred environment and mood
As you gather your preferred journaling tools, think about what kind of mood will support you in exploring your thoughts and feelings, and take a moment to create that mood in your environment.
HHHHmmm.. some interesting things to think about.
For those reading this: Do you prefer to write in silence or with music in the background? If the latter, what kind of music would you prefer to use for journaling? Do you have a favorite place in your home or neighborhood where you like to write? Is writing indoors or outdoors best for you? What kind of seating do you prefer for writing?

Step 3: Focus on your journaling goals
Write your goals down in the first page or two of your journal so they're always close at hand. Any time you want to move your journaling habit in a new direction, you'll find it helpful to focus your writing by first focusing on your journaling goals. Firmly reminded of what you want to create for yourself through journaling, it's time to decide what you want to write about.

Step 4: Select a journaling exercise to help you achieve your session goals
Some journalers keep either books or lists of prompts and exercises nearby to help jump-start their journaling. At other times, though, you may know what you want to write about and not feel a need for an external structure. In these cases, all you really need to do is pick a starting place and dive in. Have you had a tough day and need to write about it? Has something happened to you that you want to process in your journal? Did someone say something to you that you want to record?

Step 5: Write for a specific amount of time
Remember, there are no journaling police looking over your shoulder, judging every session! You are free to do—or not do—whatever works for you. For beginning journalers in particular, it can be extremely helpful to write for a limited length of time at the start. Do not expect to write for hours.
If at any point you stall in your writing and don't know what to write next, try one of these ideas:


Keep your writing instrument or hands moving on your keyboard. Doodle freely or type nonsense characters or a series of dots or dashes on your keyboard to help you work through the block. You'll be amazed at how often this simple trick will get you writing again.


Get up and move around, then sit down and try again. Or, take care of a small chore, then return to your writing. Sometimes just moving your body helps a new thought or insight to emerge.


If you're listening to music, try a different kind of music, or try silence. If you're writing in silence, try listening to music with words. Music is a powerful muse that you can use to your advantage, but not everyone will react to the same melodies in the same way. Study your reactions and note what impact they have on your ability to write what you want to write.


Try a different journaling technique. If you're currently freewriting, try a list or a timed writing. Try all the writing tools in your toolbox until you come to one that moves you past what is blocking you.


Go for a walk or complete some form of physical exercise or chore that lasts 20 minutes or more. Sometimes you need a complete change of scenery! If you've tried the other tips and you're still stuck, give this trick a try.

Step 6: Do not judge or edit your writing
To help you put your internal critic in its place, consider these ideas and suggestions:


Remember that your critic's opinions are not always the truth.


Julia Cameron suggests allowing your critic to rattle on while you keep your hand moving across the page. Write down the instructions your critic is shouting at you if that helps.


Cameron also suggests drawing a cartoon of your critic, putting an X through it, and posting it near your writing space or in your journal.


Kathleen Adams, author of Journal to the Self, encourages her readers to focus their attention on the tip of their pen. "Just watch the words flow out of your pen, notice how you intuitively know how to form the letters, how your hand returns automatically to the left side of the page when you reach the end of the line. This will help center you in the present moment, and nowness is one of the keys to satisfying journal writing."


Adams also urges journalers to keep writing when they make a mistake or feel tempted to correct what they have just written. From her perspective, each little mistake is, in many cases, a Freudian slip—a way for your subconscious mind to feed you valuable information.


Develop a list of affirmations that you can read when you find yourself possessed by the spirit of perfectionism.


Be faithful in continuing your journaling practice, and your critic will eventually quiet into silence.

Writing naturally means that you make it up as you go along.

Writing naturally means that you trust your inner wisdom to guide you to the places you need to go.

Writing naturally means that you freely create your diary world with confidence and ease.

Writing naturally means that you give yourself permission to play, and to cry, and to cuss, and to celebrate, and to be fully, vibrantly alive.

Writing naturally means that you allow yourself to use your journal as a blank canvas onto which the rich and intricate portrait of your life can be painted as it organically emerges.

There is only one person who can write the story of your life, with all its foibles, follies, treasures, and tears. That person is you.

Writing naturally means that you let yourself be you.


Journaling Techniques:

The most common journaling technique is called freewriting, also referred to as stream of consciousness writing. That's because freewriting is similar to what best-selling author Julia Cameron calls a mind dump.

freewriting is cathartic in that it purges you of tension.

I like this idea:
The most famous example of freewriting is the Morning Pages exercise created by Julia Cameron and described in The Artist's Way, a 12-week course in uncovering and rediscovering your creativity. Cameron recommends that you have two 8 ½-by—11 sheets of paper nearby when you first wake in the morning. She suggests journaling nonstop as soon as possible after rising (before breakfast, coffee, or brushing your teeth!) until you have filled both sides of the first page and one side of the second page. It takes most people 20-30 minutes to do this.

What does she suggest you write about? Absolutely anything and everything! It simply doesn't matter, because your sole purpose is to empty your mind and heart of whatever thoughts and feelings you woke up with. She urges you to write without concern for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and any social niceties. She urges you to be real with yourself and let it all hang out. Can I do that with a blog? HHHMMM...

Other technique: Timed Writing
Timed writing usually has a focus and always has a time limit. Instead of being unstructured, it is structured writing with a specific purpose and firm deadline.
The time limit and the focus of timed writing form its chief benefit: structure.


Some interesting finds from resources section:

20 Ways to Fill Page One

One might be the loneliest number, but it shouldn't be the loneliest page. Use these ideas to start your journal off right.

by Lori Ritchie



There is something daunting about the crisp, first page of a new journal.

I have been journaling for more than 15 years, but I still struggle with moving past that first page. There's a feeling of wanting it to be "just right." Well, relax—there is no right or wrong way to begin a journal, just as there is no right or wrong way to maintain one. Take a deep breath and begin writing. HERE ARE a few ideas to get your pen moving:

1. Blank Page

Skipping the first page may seem like an obvious choice, but I struggled with many journals before the idea occurred to me. No rule says you MUST start with the first page. Give yourself permission to begin randomly anywhere within the pages of your new journal.

2. Greeting

Write a greeting to your journal as a way to open communication and honor the intimate relationship you will be sharing. Welcome your journal into your life, reflect on the place where you are now, and look ahead at the places to which you hope to journey within the sanctuary of its pages.

3. Dedication

Many published books begin with a dedication page. Try this technique to honor someone who has been important in your life or who has brought you inspiration. Explore the ways this person has impacted your life.

4. Acquisition

Begin with the story of how you acquired your journal. Was it a gift? What prompted you to purchase your new journal or notebook? Has a significant event or transition in your life prompted you to begin a journal?

5. Goal Setting

"If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else," Yogi Berra wisely warned. Outline your short-term and long-term goals. Consider the areas of your life you want to nurture within six months, and those in which you hope to grow within five years. Reviewing your progress and accomplishments is a great way to keep on track. The first page of your journal is a great place to host these goals. Not only will they be easy to locate, but you will be reminded of them each time you open your journal.

6. Table of Contents

Leaving the first couple of pages blank will allow you to make a quick reference table of contents as you fill the pages with entries. Number the pages in your journal so you can more easily reference each topic and page number in your homemade index.

7. Collage

Add a third dimension to the first page of your journal by including some of your favorite items. Photographs, ticket stubs, dried flowers, drawings, comics, horoscope clippings. Add to the collage as you add to your journal.

8. Practical Matters

Record birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates for easy reference on page one. Or consider using this private place to list pin numbers and passwords for personal and computer accounts. Still another practical suggestion is to use these opening pages to create monthly calendars to keep your appointments and priorities organized.

9. Personal Mission

Take a cue from successful businesses, and craft a personal mission statement. This should be a focused statement of purpose in which you identify the most important roles, relationships and other priorities in your life. Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? To whom and to what do you want to give your life? What legacy do you hope to leave? What principles would make sound anchors for your existence?

10. Spirituality

Pen a prayer, verse, meditation, mantra or affirmation. Use this space to examine your progress thus far in your spiritual journey or to define your personal theology. Find a picture from a magazine or postcard that symbolizes your spirituality, and paste it onto the page next to your writing.

11. Lyrics

Write the lyrics to one of your favorite songs. Explore what makes the song so special to you. Try www.lyrics.com for a free directory of thousands of lyrics indexed alphabetically by artist.

12. Current Events

Take some time to capture the events that are shaping history. What is going on in your city, your country, the world? What are your thoughts and opinions about these events?

13. Genealogy

Draw a diagram of your family tree. Reminisce about your family's history, and recall your favorite childhood memories. What funny or sad stories can you remember or have you been told about your relatives?

14. Theme

Choose a theme for your journal, such as Nature, Dreams, Inspiration or Wisdom. Write the theme boldly upon the page and find quotations that relate to this word or phrase. Look up the definition of the word, or write your own. What does the word mean to you? How will it apply to your writing?

15. Letters

Compose a letter to a lost friend or loved one. Write a letter to someone who has inspired you or to someone with whom you have unresolved issues. This therapeutic exercise can often stir some heavy emotions.

16. About You

Paste some snapshots of yourself to the page, and write a synopsis of your vital statistics—height, weight, occupation and current circumstances. You may want to do this again on the last page of your journal to see what (if anything) has changed.

17. Poetry

Grace the first page of your journal with a special poem. I used Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Success" at the beginning of one of my journals to remind me that there are many different measures of being successful. Emerson's words were a comforting reminder when I found myself journaling some of life's disappointments. If you are a natural poet, this is a great place to showcase one of your own favorite poems.

18. Clustering

Draw a circle with the word "journal" in the middle. Write down all of the words that come to mind. Circle each word and draw a connecting line between each circle. Use free-association to build upon each word or short phrase. This exercise will probably generate ideas for writing past the first page of your new journal.

19. Refocusing

Instead of concentrating on the first page, try randomly writing quotations, prompts or drawings at the top of other pages. This technique will give you inspiration down your journaling road.

20. Gratitude

In the words of a French proverb, "Gratitude is the heart's memory." Use your heart's memory to list the people, places and experiences for which you are grateful.

Timed Writing Workshop -- Freeing Up the Subconscious in Writing

© by Holly Lisle
All Rights Reserved


The past

The future

Ghosts

Anger

Hope

Peace

Rage

Today

Yesterday

Tomorrow

Food

Fantasy

A color

A smell

Water

Weather

I fear ...

I love ...

I hate ...

I want ...

Wind

Walking

I Remember

Places
Hurt

Dreams

Reality

What feels good

What feels bad

Family

Who I am

Who I wish I were

What I am

What I wish I were

Who I was

What I was


Daily Writing Prompts from Writer's Digest