ON A WHIM, and in a desperate attempt to revive my regular writing practice, I joined a 28-day, 20-minute per day writing challenge starting January 2nd and running through the end of the month. The challenge is sponsored and organized by Story Circle Network, an organization for women writers, which […]
THIS IS THE THIRD of a series on achieving your writing and productivity goals. In Part 2, you created an action plan for your Big Rock goal. (If you haven’t been following along, I suggest you start with Part 1 and read forward.) Today, I want to talk about how to […]
WHEN ASKED about their greatest writing challenges, many writers tell me they struggle with making a regular habit of writing. Life gets in the way, they say. And it’s true. That’s because they are attempting to create a new habit, and, as pretty much everyone knows, changing or creating habits can be […]
CONFESSION TIME. This week, I had planned to write about a topic that stymies many memoir writers — how to write about family members. When you write about your life, you will, at some point, wonder how much to include about your family members. In order to tell your story, you may […]
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. ― Ernest Hemingway Most of us have read or heard this Hemingway quote before, in which the famous author eloquently distills the difficulty of writing well. But there’s a key part of this quote that we tend […]
You love writing. And because you love writing, it’s your top priority, something you do every day no matter what (or who) else tries to get in the way. Right? If you’re like me, probably not. Because there’s a lot that gets in the way: a job, a commute, and responsibilities […]
Did you know that journal writing, in addition to helping you make meaning of life’s events, can help improve your communication with others? Whether we’re writing or speaking, our goal is to communicate our thoughts and feelings. When journal writing, you have the freedom to bring up vague ideas and give them definition and form, to surface buried feelings and examine and nurture them into a shape that makes sense.
THIS YEAR I began the habit, at the beginning of each month, of reading my journal entries for the same month of the previous year. It’s so interesting to recall where I was a year ago at this time, to read about my hopes and dreams and fears. I always want to know: Have I made any progress? What was I working on? What was going on for me emotionally? Are there any patterns related to time of year?
WHETHER you are a teenager or living with one, adolescence is no easy road to traverse. It’s is a time of confusion for everyone involved, including siblings. But journal writing can help. How exactly? Here are three valuable ways that journal writing can support you during this phase of life, as well as journaling prompts for teens, siblings, and adults.
SOMETIMES life just doesn’t seem to make sense. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to people who don’t seem to deserve them. Creative acts, such as journal writing and art, can help us uncover the personal value of every experience.
Sometimes, getting started with a new challenge can seem like the hardest thing in the world. Human beings don’t mind hard work or long journeys; we’re just terrified of getting started! We procrastinate, and make excuses, and stick our heads in the sand. We pretend that if we just wait […]
EVERY day, or at least every other day, I make sure to take a few minutes to write in my journal. It is precious time, just for me. I have a tendency to get so involved in all my other commitments — work, family, taking care of the house and […]
