Should Writers Keep a Journal?

Today we're going to talk about keeping a journal.

If you're an aspiring writer, you've probably heard that writers should keep a writing journal. The first time I kept a real writing journal was in my freshman English class in college, but since it’s a new year, and I’m sure many of you have made writing resolutions, it seems like a good time to talk about journaling.

What Is a Writing Journal?

Keeping a journal is a very personal thing, so I'm going to give you guidelines and advice based on my experiences, but know that whatever works for you, is the right thing for you to do.

The idea of keeping a journal is that writers need to write, and you don't always have assignments or projects underway, or you have ideas that aren't fully formed and need to be worked out. Your journal is where you work out those ideas or write when you don't have anything formal to write about.

An Ideas Journal

You may keep a journal on hand to write down those flash ideas that come to you out of nowhere: a great topic for a blog post, a great title for a short story, or the perfect background detail for your main character. That's the kind of journal I keep these days.

A Daily Journal

Or you may set aside 15 minutes every day to write in your journal as a way to stay disciplined or get in the writing spirit before you start working on you “real” projects.

A Freewriting Journal

I know one author who loves to freewrite a bit before he starts working on his novel. Freewriting is when you sit down and force yourself to write whatever comes to mind without stopping for a set time. It often helps people brainstorm or overcome writer's block.

A Dream Journal

Some people have frequent dreams and keep a notepad by their bed to write down notes.

Some people have frequent dreams and keep a notepad by their bed to write down notes as soon as they wake up. Cherise Wolas, a novelist I recently interviewed for a bonus episode, keeps a phone by her bed and uses it as a sort of journal to write down dreams or ideas she gets when she wakes up in the middle of the night, and then she compiles them every morning into something more permanent.

Other people like to write before...

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