Journaling for Writers

by King Shoreq Writers are the last ones you think would need help with journaling. But speaking from experience, I can tell you we do. And realizing the general benefits of journaling and the ones especially good for writers, I' decided to share them. First of all, I am not talking about normal journaling. You know the kind: Today I ___ and had a fight with my spouse because I wrote too long again, and so on. I mean intentional journaling, which really is not as bad as it sounds. You simply decide to journal, pick a specific topic, and either use a certain tool or just write whatever comes to mind. The benefits include more clarity, creativity, deeper meaning, insight, and much more! The following two journaling tools are a great help to writers: Smart Questions--Statements and questions evoke different responses from your subconscious mind. Statements are perceived as fact and use the left brain, while questions create more outside the box, intuitive, and creative responses. They, in turn, use the right brain, where intuition, creativity, spiritual matters, and more abstract thinking come from. However, you cannot just ask any old question and journal on it. Instead, it should be a "smart" question, one that will evoke a meaningful response. For example, Do I love writing? is not a smart question, but How can I enjoy writing more? is, because it produces ways to obtain the enjoyment you're looking for. Other writing-related smart questions include: How can I have more time to write? How can I market my work? How can I submit what I write? What genre should I explore next? Where is the best place for me to write? When do I write best? Who could be my writing mentor? Why do I procrastinate when I should be writing? Before writing down the answers that come to you, ask the question three times to drill it into your subconscious mind. Then, don't worry about what comes; just write what your mind throws at you without analyzing it. Later, the responses and ideas you've generated in only a short time will surprise you. List-making--This is similar to smart questions, because it starts with a question. For instance, you just finished an article about naming a baby and want to find markets for it. Whether you know of any markets or not, you can use list-making to find them. Set a minimum number of responses; then, pose your question and start writing quickly. Duplicates are ok. Your list might look something like this: Where can I send my baby-naming article? At least 10 responses required. American Baby magazine Tots to Teens magazine Parenting magazines Pregnancy magazines E-zines for moms Parenting e-zines Obstetric magazines Publishers of books for expectant parents Parenting support groups/organizations Doctors/clinics with newsletters Health textbook publishers When your list is finished, group the markets into categories--magazines, e-zines, newsletters, publishers, and organizations in this case. Then, prioritize the markets in each category, putting the ones you know most about at the top. Finally, start submitting! List-making takes the pressure off, organizes potential markets, and keeps the list up-to-date as you add new markets and re-prioritize the list. With these two journaling tools alone, you can gain greater insight into why you write, the business of writing, creativity, generating ideas and markets, self-confidence, promoting your work, and having more time to write, just to name a few areas. You can use them in other areas of your life for even more success and abundance. Practice them for a few weeks, and you will see life-changing results: guaranteed! For more journaling tools, check out the e-book Go Deeper.... Reach Higher... Journaling for Self-empowerment. It was written by John Robson, a certified journaling facilitator, and offers 40 tools like these along with exercises to encourage your journaling practice. You can find the e-book at: Higher Awareness: Journaling for Self-empowerment If you have questions or comments about this article, feel free to e-mail journaling facilitator LuAnn Kennedy any time at: luann.kennedy@gmail.com Related Articles - Journal, journaling, diary, writing, business, relationships, self-improvement, self-empowerment, greater confidence, life purpose,

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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