The Power of Journaling for Writers
Queen Erica Miner shares . . .
Anne Frank ... Virginia Woolf …Anaïs Nin ... Sylvia Plath …
Henry David Thoreau ... James M. Barrie … Franz Kafka … Samuel Pepys
Some of these authors are best known for their journals; others have used journaling as both a source of inspiration and a stepping-stone to self-enlightenment. But they, among many others, have one important element in common: they have all engaged in that wonderful, creative activity we call journaling.
We all follow journeys of self-discovery at some points in our lives, but as writers we take these journeys on a daily basis. Journaling is a powerful way for us to chronicle these fantastic voyages. And as I like to point out in my journaling workshops and lectures, it’s no coincidence that the words ‘journey’ and ‘journaling’ come from the same root.
Not only do we gain personal insights and discover new layers of our psyches through journaling; it can also help us get our creative juices flowing and often help us through bouts of writers’ block. I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts and wisdom about journaling that have served me well, both as a writer and as a voyager through life.
Just to give you a little background about myself, I was born in Detroit and started journaling at the tender age of thirteen, when I was just starting high school. Already I found my journal to be my best friend, allowing me to confide my deepest secrets, fears and emotions at that hormone- infused time of life. My recall of that era is so vivid that I am able to recapture my experiences in the novel series I have been working on about a young girl growing up in the volatile 60s and 70s – even though those journals have long been lost.
Years later, when I was going through a devastating divorce, journaling saved my life – literally. Suddenly I found myself with two children to raise and support on my own, and on my worst days I was ready to jump out of my ninth floor apartment window – until I started journaling and poured my heart and soul into my writing instead. And I’m not the only one who has had that kind of profound experience from journaling: Oprah herself credits journaling for saving her life. How powerful is that?
Yes, a journal can see you through difficult times. It can also be a veritable treasure chest of creative ideas and personal history that you can use again and again in your writing. I fervently believe we all have a book inside of us, if not more than one. How many of us have family histories just crying to be told, for example? Your journal could become a novel, or a movie – witness ‘Angela’s Ashes’ or ‘In America.’ The possibilities are endless. A number of writers I have met recently are penning novels that stem from stories they have lived: one woman is writing a novel about living through the ‘blitz’ in London as a young girl; another, a man who survived the battlefields of World War II, is turning his story into a screenplay. Even our own personal family histories handed down by elderly family members can make for compelling writing.
What about travel journals? My own novel, Travels With My Lovers, started as a journal that I had written over a number of years. A number of my other travel experiences have ended up as articles in magazines. People love to read evocative descriptions of far-off places written from the point of view of an expressive observer. In fact, the entire June issue of Vision Magazine, to which I have contributed an article, is devoted to the ‘Traveler’s Path.’
There are so many other ways we can use journaling to enhance our lives. Journals have been kept to help women heal from traumatic illnesses: actress Lynn Redgrave published a book of her healing journey from cancer recently. I met a woman who keeps what she calls a ‘dinner table’ journal, chronicling her favorite culinary and entertaining experiences and the conversations that went along with them. Parents who are motivated enough to take the time to journal the miraculous changes that their babies go through from day to day are rewarded with a joyful record of their children’s early journeys through life.
And the beauty of all this is that you can journal in any way you like, in any form and under any circumstances. The only limitations are those of the human imagination.
So to get you started – or re-started, as the case may be – here are some of my suggestions for making your journaling journey pleasurable and rewarding.
Believe it or not, the type of equipment you use can be a major factor. It’s of utmost importance to choose the type of journal that will inspire you to crack it open and sully the pages with your thoughts and feelings. It can be a bound book of blank pages with a beautiful cover; an artist’s sketch book to which you can add your own inventive touches; a pocket-sized notebook for travel; or a journal with quotes from writers on artists on each page to help inspire you. There’s no limit to the types of journals you can find in stores and on the web.
It’s also important to use the type of writing implement that’s comfortable for you. If you have a favorite pen that feels nice in your hand or even makes your writing look more legible (trust me, even for hopelessly illegible penmanship like mine, there are pens that can do this!) then use that. Of course, if you prefer using your computer to journal, that will work well, too. I am often asked during my talks whether I prefer journaling in longhand or on my computer. I confess that I like to think of journaling as a cozy, intimate activity; and for that, only longhand will do.
Find your perfect time of day or night, when you can quiet your mind and let your thoughts flow. Sit by the fire or light a candle – both are conducive to deep concentration – and let your muse take over.
After you’re set up with that, here are just a few of the many ‘hints’ and techniques I’ve got up my sleeve to get those creative juices flowing:
· Create your own imaginary world and describe it in vivid detail
· Write about someone you met only once but still remember strongly
· Describe your favorite ‘secret hideaway’
And my own personal favorite:
· Recount your very first childhood memory
These are but a few of the wealth of possibilities for journaling that I like to impart to my readers. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send me an email through my website, http://www.ericaminer.com/. And for those of you for whom journaling is truly a passion and who would like to learn more, you may subscribe to my monthly newsletter in which I pass along a new set of journaling hints in each issue: http://www.ericaminer.com/newsletter.php.
The key is just to take pen in hand, or create a private journaling file on your computer, and see where your personal journey will take you. Once you settle into your own ‘ritual’ you will discover what you have been missing!
Author of Travels With My Lovers
Fiction Prize Winner,
Direct from the Author Book AwardsTop-rated Lecturer,
Celebrity Cruise Lines
© 2005, Erica Miner
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posted by Allyn Evans at 10:03 AM
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