Guest Post: I Smell a Great Journal Topic

by Mari L. McCarthy

I recommend that all writers should keep a personal journal, for the self-knowledge, understanding, and creative riches that journaling offers. While my work is mainly in the area of Journaling for the Health of It ™, I also consider myself a writer and artist. I definitely use journaling to inform my artistic creations.

Here are a few ways I've found that journal writing supports other kinds of writing, even though the two disciplines are very different.

1. Clear out mental clutter
The more clear your mind, the more easily your writing flows, isn't it true? A clear mind lends to success in any endeavor. Journaling lets you do a regular 'data dump,' clearing out your mental cobwebs so that your alertness and concentration can increase.

2. Become more observant
The more you journal, the more skilled you become at remembering and arranging the details. As you write about your experiences, they become more specific in your mind. Moreover, when going about your life you begin to collect details that you want to write about: morning bird songs, shadow patterns on the floor, that strawberry you ate this afternoon, the way your shoes are pinching your feet, the intoxicating smell of fresh dark chocolate.

3. Realize the bottomless depth of your creativity
The more you journal, the more you realize that you have an endless supply of ideas, thoughts, impressions. You realize that you never run out of ideas, even if sometimes you may lack the will to access them. You see that writer's block is about your willingness, and not about an actual dearth of ideas.

4. Practice storytelling

The more you journal, the better you become at telling stories. The ability develops without much trying on your part. That is, you don't necessarily concentrate on telling a good story in your journal; your aim is just to get your body-mind responses to things on paper as fast as possible. But, over time, you'll naturally improve. You can prove this to yourself by reading over entries from six months or a year ago, and comparing them to newer posts. Does your ability to articulate clearly improve over time?

5. Practice free expression
Usually when you write, you expect that one or more other people will read it. Not so with journaling. Your journal is where you are allowed completely free expression. Journaling is where you can write for many pages about the rapture that overcomes you when you smell dark chocolate.

In sum, journaling is an essential tool for sharpening and enhancing your creative instincts for any purpose.

By Mari L. McCarthy - The Journaling Therapy Specialist, founder of Journaling for the Health of It™. Please visit Mari's blog at http://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog/. In 27 Days of Journaling to Health and Happiness (http://www.createwritenow.com/peace-of-mind-and-body---27-days-of-journaling-to-health--happiness/), Mari walks you through an easy process for accessing your natural inner strengths. Mari's latest publication is titled Who Are You? How to Use Journaling Therapy to Know and Grow Your Life. See http://www.createwritenow.com/journaling-therapy-ebook/ for details.

Guest Post: Writing Heals

by Diana M. Raab

Diana is the type of person who does everything in a big way. She earned three degrees: an undergraduate degree in Health Administration and Journalism, an RN, and a MFA. She has three wonderful children despite high risk pregnancies. And she wrote eight books and won as many writing awards. Although she spent 25 years focusing on medical and self-help writing, she has also penned memoirs and poetry. Diana’s latest book, Healing With Words: A Writer's Cancer Journey, reflects her experiences battling breast cancer at age 47 and then multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer, when she was 52. The book is part practical advice(she is a nurse, after all) and part inspiration, which takes the form of poems, journal entries, and friendly thoughts. To show readers the effect of healing writing, Diana also includes blank sections and writing prompts so the reader can contribute their own thoughts and writings. Diana describes her daily journal writing as “a daily vitamin-healing, detoxifying and essential for optimal health.”

When life takes an unexpected turn, writing can be a beneficial form of release from stress, due to either emotional or physical factors. Writing gets you grounded and gives you a reality check. It brings you face-to-face with your own truths, and in the end, it is the truth which will set you free from pain.

From a physical standpoint studies have shown that therapeutic writing, such as journaling, can decease anxiety and the incidence of depression and can also increase your immune response.

Journaling has saved my life on many occasions. The first time was at the age of ten when my mother gave me a journal to help me cope with the loss of my grandmother. I poured my grief onto the pages of my journal. Writing then helped me navigate through a difficult adolescence and then years later, a high-risk pregnancy. Eventually that last journal evolved into a self-help book for other women also having difficult pregnancies. The book has recently been updated and is now called, Your High Risk Pregnancy: A Practical and Supportive Guide. And, my most recent book, a self-help memoir, Healing With Words is a self-help memoir which also began on the pages of my journal.

Many famous writers, such as May Sarton and Anaïs Nin used their journals to pull them through difficult times. In her book, Recovering, May Sarton chronicles her battles with depression and cancer. Anaïs Nin used her journals to write to her deranged father who left the family when she was young. In Nin’s case, her journal entries became a springboard for a four-volume collection of her diaries.

Writing provides an opportunity to vent both small and large issues, from problems with your boss to the death of a loved one. It takes a great deal of energy to be angry at someone; it’s much healthier to drop it, as one would a suitcase full of trash. If you must express your feelings, better to do so first on the pages of your journal. My attitude is: “Direct the rage to the page.” Then you can see about talking with someone you are angry with.

By writing down our fears and concerns it forces us to release them. Once we are able to let go, it’s easier to gravitate to the joys in life. In addition, the act of moving the pen across the page can be meditative. At an Associated Writing Conference a few years ago, Dr. James Pennebaker, the author of Writing to Heal said, “Writing dissolves some of the barriers between you and others. If you write, it’s easier to communicate with others.” He does have one rule that he calls, “the flip out rule,” which proclaims that if you get too upset when writing, then simply stop.
Pennebaker believes that there’s a certain type of writing which erupts when we’re faced with loss, death, abuse, depression and trauma.

Learning to open up about issues from your past and present lives doesn’t happen over night, but it’s all a part of the healing process. Author Louise DeSalvo, also advocates writing for healing, began writing her own memoirs, Vertigo and Breathless as a result of coming to grips with her own pain.

Whether you’re affected by change, loss or pain, finding the time to write is critical to your healing process. Some people prefer to journal about their experience, while others may lean toward fiction or poetry to help them escape their own realities. Whatever your choice, once you try it, you’ll see that writing, in any form, can be healthy and empowering.

Good reasons to keep a journal

To discover about yourself
To vent frustrations and express joy
To record and remember events
To fine one’s purpose
To plan for the future
To tap into your intuition
To build self-confidence
To allow self-expression
To uncover secrets
To improve communication skills
To improve mental health

10 Tips on Writing For Healing

Find a quiet uninterrupted time and place to write

Choose an inspiring notebook and pen

Create a centering ritual (light a candle, meditate, play music, stretch)

Breath deeply

Put aside your inner critic

Date your entry

Begin by writing your feelings and sensations

Write nonstop for 15-20 minutes

Save what you have written

Write regularly

The Endless Benefits of Journaling

My friend Jodi passed on some info about author B. Lynn Goodman, who writes at length about the importance of journaling in her book You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers.

The book is based on Goodman's own experience as a caregiver for her mother and how she fell into the daily practice of journaling. The book includes over 200 prompts for readers to follow her lead and start the practice, as well.

The daily practice of journaling is invaluable for writers. Whether you jot down a few lines or observations about your trip to the mall, or have a set time for your journaling every day, just the practice of getting words down on a page regularly helps you establish self-discipline and can get you into the "flow" of writing regularly.

Below are a few tips for getting started with journaling:

First rule--there are no rules! Your journal is really what you make it. If you're a list maker, use your journal to jot things down. I suppose you can call my little notebook my "journal"--I have a little orange notebook that I keep in my purse. I write down article ideas and possible markets for them, lists in varying stages, reminders, quotes, book titles...you name it.

You don't need a "pretty" journal. Plenty of folks give me those pretty, leather-bound journals as gifts, but I'm embarrassed to say that I prefer a regular old spiral-bound notebook. Out of all of the journals I've kept over the years, I've never been one for the fancy books that almost look too pretty to write in. I taught a workshop about journaling over the summer, and a few other writers and I came to the same conclusion--you can rip out the spiral-bound pages...it seems like a crime to rip a page out of one of those nice books.

Don't hold back. Your journal is for you. Remember those diaries back in high school? This is the same idea. Don't be afraid to get your thoughts, fears, hopes, and dreams down on paper. Don't worry about grammar or sentence structure or any of that technical stuff--just write. As much as you can, as often as you can.

Be observant. Pay attention to the world around you. Jot down quirky or interesting phrases that you hear or physical traits that you notice as you people-watch. That information just might be useful later.

What about you? Is journaling part of your regular routine? Any other tips for those new to the practice?

My Summer Resolution

Most people associate resolutions with New Year's Day, but I find that I have a harder time being productive during the lazier summer months. So I'm going to make a resolution to be both more proactive and productive until the busier fall season rolls around. How do I intend to do that? Below are a few ideas up my sleeve:

Blog. 'Nuff said. That was one of the main reasons why I started this blog--to keep me writing!

Journal. Call it a blog in hard copy. I've been very sporadic with my journaling. I'm teaching a workshop in Personal Essays Through Journaling later this summer, so I'm making a concerted effort at getting back to this. It's true what they say--it's therapeutic.

Queries. Most writers slow it down during the summer, so it's the perfect chance for those of us who will not be slowing it down (not...not!) to get those pitches into the hands of editors. I got a jump start and send out a few last week. No bites yet, but I'm trying to be optimistic. Sending out queries regularly is just good practice.

Online Dating Stories

I'm milking my online dating experiences for all they're worth. Besides writing my weekly column for Online Dating Magazine, I recently submitted 2 dating stories (one positive, one not so much) for an anthology on real-life online dating stories. I always knew those bad dates would be good for something!

There's something to be said for "It's all material". I truly believe that writes owe it to themselves to chronicle everything. It's very easy to get so caught up in living life that we often forget to take a step back and observe it sometimes, too. It helps to be perceptive, but jotting down those little moments that are so quick to forget is really invaluable. However, I've had some experiences--especially with folks I've met through online dating sites--that are just unforgettable, plain and simple.