10 Tips to help you get your Journal writing flowing again.

I'm a huge advocate of writing in a journal.  I started doing it when I was in school.   Back then, it was more like 'Dear Diary.'  When I reached the age of 20, I felt inspired to buy plain journals and to write whenever I wanted to, with no agenda.  I used to find the process so enlightening, I connected to a part of myself and I discovered hidden messages, about life, love, career, relationship, health.  It's amazing what flows through from brain to pen.  

When you write regularly in a journal, you begin to notice patterns  - in how you feel, what you're repeating and also emotional responses to certain situations.

What I know for sure about keeping a journal is this:-
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• It's a great opportunity to reflect on your experiences, feelings, thoughts and behaviour and it can be a way of expressing yourself, especially revealing (to yourself) difficult or deep emotions.

 

• It can be a way of processing your thinking and therefore, empowering.

 

• It can be a release of pent up feelings.

 

• It helps you to recognise your own strengths.

 

• It assists you to notice patterns of your wishes, desires, dreams.

 

• It will be your go-to place whenever you need to process a situation, an interaction, thought, belief or experience.

For me, the process always begins with creating a practice.  If we turn to the page and expect that we're going to write something profound, then we are setting ourselves up for a fall.      

So what happens when you're feeling stuck and you just don't know how to get going again?

Here are my 10 tips to get your ink flowing again.

Pre-requisite: Maybe you need a new notebook (with lines or blank it doesn't matter.) Find something you'll really enjoy lushing over and go treat yourself to a lovely new pen! 

ps  .... there is no right or wrong way of doing this

1. Write about things you have enjoyed or disliked and why, write about things you have noticed, things that you haven’t understood, things that have thrown you or made you feel good.
2. Write about things that surprised you or made you stop and think.
3. If you are stuck, try freewriting – just write anything and everything that comes into your head. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar or sense.  Just see where it takes you.
4. Change your perspective by writing about yourself in the third person e.g. ‘she couldn’t understand why she felt so angry..’.
5. Write a letter to someone you love, someone you are angry with or someone you miss. Or, write a conversation with yourself, offering support or advice.
6. Try using sketches, cut- outs, different coloured pens, diagrams, mind maps  – whatever describes your feelings best.
7. Make a list of things you feel uneasy about, things you are enjoying, things you would like to do more of, things you want from life.
8. Include dreams, noting down the themes and images in the morning and looking back on your notes later.
9. Start with three things that have gone well that week and why.
10. Ask yourself: - the significant moments for me were ..... what I felt at the time ....... what did I learn .....

Hope this has got your journal writing pulsing again. 

A wonderful resource to turn to is Julia Cameron's Morning Pages, which you can find within her 12 step creative recovery programme The Artist's Way.  You can find out and watch her 2 minute video here.

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