A Writer's Journal
The YouTuber seduced me with a decorated page that tracked her word count, before she flipped over to her vision board displaying her projected Instagram followers and her dream book cover.
The airship of my story was down in flames, but I had new inspiration: a writing journal.
Why Journal?
From Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages to Ryder Carroll’s Bullet Method, journalling is known to have benefits for productivity and mental health.
Amber Lea Starfire lists the benefits of regular journalling in her book Week by Week.
Journalling –
- Moves stress from your mind and body to the page.
- Gives time away from the demands of others.
- Allows you to tap into your emotions.
- Can help heal old wounds and prevent new ones.
- Brings clarity and helps organise your thoughts.
- Improves analytical skills.
- Helps you find your process and your voice.
In her book, A Writer’s Journal, Lucy van Smit says we don’t learn from experience, we learn when we reflect our experiences.
Photo by Aaron Burden of Unsplash (www.unsplash.com)
The benefits of handwriting over typing are well documented. An article in Psychology Today (February 2024) states that handwriting stimulates brain connections to downloading new information and to memory. The article highlights a 2021 study of preliterate children. The children who wrote by hand showed brain activity in the region of the brain related to learning to read. Other studies have shown the brain lights up when we handwrite, but not so much when we type.
A journal can be kept digitally, and there are itinerant writers who prefer this method, but it is the benefits of a physical journal that keeps me motivated and excited for the next pretty notebook. If you are a beginner, then a regular composition or exercise book of any kind is all you require. If your creativity leans toward photos, ephemera or memorabilia, a heavier paged notebook will be required.
What goes into a writing journal?
I record notes from seminars and workshops relating to writing with photos in a memory-keeping/scrapbook kind of way. I journal the progress of the next project in a few sentences following a writing or editing session, with reflections on the day’s creativity. A submission tracker documents the due date, who the submission is to, when submitted, and the outcome.
Other spreads are Writing Bingo. This page is set out in a grid with writing related challenges such as: ‘create a movie tagline for your WIP’, ‘write a Goodreads review,’ or ‘share a writing tip on social media,’ coloured in once achieved. Other ideas include meaningful inspirational quotes as they relate to writing; a vision board on which future goals are set, and more memory-keeping with photos or memorabilia of events, people or book covers.
My writing journal is my inspiration. It compliments my writing projects and has improved productivity which keeps me accountable, if only to myself. The creative outlet satisfies my multi-media artist/scrapbooker tendencies, and all of it adds colour and fun to this writing life.
Authors who Journal
Check out these authors who journal as part of their creative process.
Sarra Cannon. https://heartbreathings.com/
Helen Redfern. https://helenredfernwriter.com/
Amber Lea Starfire. https://writingthroughlife.com/a-writers-journal/
Caylie Jeffery. https://www.facebook.com/CaylieJefferyWriter
Other Resources
A Writer’s Journal, Lucy van Smit
Week by Week, Amber Lea Starfire
The Artists’ Way, Julia Cameron
About Raelene Purtill
Raelene Purtill has been involved in the writing community in Brisbane since 2012. Her short stories have been published in local and national anthologies. She is studying for a Bachelor of Creative Industries, majoring in Creative Writing and Publishing at the Petrie campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast. She facilitates the Strathpine Writers Group, a monthly meeting of keen and varied wordsmiths, and she is a frequent attendee at writing conferences and retreats. When she is not working on assessments for university or writing her steampunk dragon fantasy, she enjoys multi-media art, a brisk walk around the block and coffee with friends. Raelene is a member of Women Writers Queensland. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PurtillWriter/
