Today I’m pleased to have Author Joy E. Held as my guest. Joy has some interesting and helpful tips to share with us.~
Hi, Beth! Thanks for being a super host today. I wanted to share a list I call “The Many Joys of Journaling: Why the Journal Is A Writer’s Best Friend.”
Journals are:
1. A good opportunity to clear your head of distractions
2. A great source of story and poem ideas
3. A personal history of events, learn from the past
4. Great for exploring a range of emotions
5. A place that allows self-observation, a meta-cognitive opportunity
6. A source of awareness of growth and change
7. An opportunity to function in the present moment
8. A place for self-counseling to work out problems
9. Good place to identify problems that you can’t work out on your own, limitations
10. A way for a writer to connect with himself and the world around him
11. A way learn what you truly believe in
12. A way to discover what truthful writing is
13. A way to learn how to focus intently
14. A good place to learn how to write with flow
15. A way to understand patterns in your life
16. A way to understand your purposes in life
17. Help you recognize your passions, notice repetitive themes
18. A way to learn to appreciate time, a journal teaches patience
19. A way to learn to appreciate form, space and design
20. A way to become more compassionate toward yourself and others, teaches acceptance
Journals don’t have to be long or time consuming. Keep it simple and record a single thought a day. The main benefit is cleansing. It’s liberating and refreshing to get worries on the journal page. It keeps them from bugging you while you work.
Living the Writer Wellness plan for many years has enabled me to live a compassionate, productive, and creative life. Journaling is the underpinning of the whole process.
Do you journal?
Please visit my blog every other week for tips on the five practices of Writer Wellness which are journaling, fitness, relaxation, nutrition, and creative play.
www.writerwellness.wordpress.com
Be well, write well!
Joy Held is the author of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity, Who Dares Wins Publishing, www.whodareswinspublishing.com available in digital and print TODAY!
Contact Joy: joybeth1109@yahoo.com
*THIS INFORMATION IS NOT MEANT TO REPLACE THE ADVICE OF A QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER. SEEK COUNCIL BEFORE STARTING AN EXERCISE PROGRAM.
One Writer's Way 
Hi, Everyone,
Thanks to Beth for being a great hostess today. Leave a comment about your journaling ideas.
best,
Joy
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I know Sue Grafton uses journaling to help write her books. She actually journals her protagonist in various scenes. This gives her a unique perspective on her character.
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That is an amazing idea. Thanks Bob.
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I have a good friend who uses her Blog to Journal thoughts each morning to get her creative juices flowing. It’s working well for her. I like to write a few thoughts down before I go to bed. I don’t really journal, but I tend to use these thoughts each night as the basis for my blog posts about writing.
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That does sound useful, Jenni.
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Love it, Joy! I’ve never been a journaling kind of person. But since I’ve started blogging more faithfully, it’s helped enormously to create priorities and get feedback on what’s important to my readers. And it’s also a great stress reliever–I can vent and then (hopefully!) calm down and edit before pushing the “publish” button. In journaling unpublished work, this would be great for emotional well being without getting you fired!
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Hey Joy. My blog has a lot of lurkers…come out, come out, wherever you are.
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Hi, Beth,
Maybe a prize will draw some comments out today! I will send you a pair of stress balls to squeeze when you’re stressed. Leave a comment and be entered in a drawing to win!
Joy
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Hi Joy,
I don’t keep a journal. I’ve tried several times over the years, but I tend to keep it for a couple of days then it just gets filled with research and interviews.
I’m enjoying reading your wellness blog now that I’ve discovered it.
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Thanks Paty and for stopping by.
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Hi, Paty,
I’m glad you appreciate my Writer Wellness blog. Isn’t the blood type diet great? (Paty and I discovered we follow the same food progam. Check out my blog for more.)
j
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No, I don’t write a journal, but it may be a great idea. When I was younger I had a diary I wrote in every day. We have so much going on in our lives that it might be fun to record them. I suppose I could say that my penpal letters might be a journal in essence. I have had up to 41 foreign pen friends for 23 years and write everything that happens and goes on in my mind to them. We send letters back and forth about every six weeks and have learned so much from each other. I am down to 20 now, but it’s the closeness we’ve shared over the years that keeps us as friends. Would this count as journaling in a manner?
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Excellent, Paisley! Have you every heard of a “circle journal”? Pen pals share the same journal. They write in it. Mail it. The other pal writes in the same journal and mails it back and so on. I had one that went with a friend for eleven years!
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That is so kewl, Paisley. What a neat story. Thanks for sharing that.
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I don’t keep a journal either, but my youngest daughter has most of her life. I suppose my blog almost counts as a journal. Maybe also my letters adn emails to friends and relatives.
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I used to keep a journal for years and years. Now, it’s mostly in my blog.
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Hi, Caroline,
So glad you dropped by. I have learned to appreciate and respect blogs as journaling. But nothing replaces my blank art books for a daily place to scribble.
j
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Hi Joy, you have great ideas. Yes, I always keep a journal where I note the events of the day. Just brief notes to keep track of what I do and write.
http://www.monarisk.com
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Hi, Mona,
So happy you keep a journal. Isn’t it a cleansing, coping kinda thing? Well, it is for me.
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Thanks for this great post, Joy. You make some really good points for writers. I’ve journalled only intermittently over the years. This year my daughter gave me a beautiful little notebook, just big enough for a few words and I’ve been using this daily. The small page doesn’t seem to need such a big effort as do larger journal pages and I’m truly enjoying the process of recording a daily incident, thought, even just one word I like the sound of. Thanks, Beth, for the opportunity to read about Joy’s Writer Wellness.
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Thanks for sharing that with us, Leigh. Joy did a great job with her suggestions.
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Hi, Leigh,
Journals are my favorite gifts. And now that I’m into “art journaling” (another post) my family knows when they can’t think of anything else to get me a blank book lights me up big time!
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Very good post.
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I don’t journal, but I admire those who do. Maybe I should get myself more organized, but I’m just happy writing stories.
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Hi, Ilona,
Please give it a try! Thanks and happy writing.
Joy
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Joy,
The list you assembled and provided here is an awesome, thorough representation of the benefits of keeping a journal. Wow. There is bound to be several that will resonate with those who have yet to start, and, of course, many will nod their heads in agreement as they see a few they already experience when keeping a journal.
I think one of my favorites is recognizing and seeing patterns of issues that rise up in your journal over time and are worth examining closer for further understanding and resolution of issues that may be troubling.
I have chosen your post, Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity, as the #JournalChat Pick of the Day for all things journaling on Twitter on 2/2/11.
I will post a link on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and my blog, Refresh with Dawn Herring.
You’re welcome to follow my @JournalChat account for all things journaling on Twitter. 🙂
Thanks again for sharing such a beneficial list for keeping a journal. 🙂
Be refreshed,
Dawn Herring
JournalWriter Freelance
@JournalChat on Twitter
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