Many people find it difficult to journal. Here are some questions I've asked of myself before I started.
- Why do I journal?
- How long should my post be?
- Should I write in, a book, scraps of paper, a laptop or ?
- Should I write every DAY, every OTHER day, once a week?
- Is this a memoir? Or just a place to preserve thoughts and feelings and events?
My journal contains a lot of everything.
- quotes that I want to remember
- words written on angles all over the page
- song lyrics
- prayers
- things that are bothering me as well as things that have made me happy
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Also I don't edit my journal - I found that if I do, I lose the intent and heart.
I usually feel a bit anxious before I start and my mind has a hard time settling. I have to remind myself that this is MY story, MY journal and these are MY rules and no one has to read it. I'm not writing for the masses. Sometimes I don't know where to begin or feel that I have nothing to say. I write that and it gives me a start –I'll write the next thing that comes to my mind and the next and the next after that.
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Here are some prompts I've gathered over the years. There are no rules or regulations to follow. It's your book.
prompts and ideas
a bucket list (use this as a springboard later on to describe each item in your bucket list - the 5W's and H)
choose 5 people and write a sentence or paragraph to describe each
what did I learn today or yesterday?
write about an old argument but from another person's perspective
grab a quote - write it down - you can add a note about what it means to you or highlight the key themes in it
what colors do you like? why? which do you dislike? why?
plans, purposes, pursuits - where do you want to be next year? 5 years from now?
write about your first love, how it felt, describe the person
today, I want to accomplish ....... (not a "to do" list)
who has made an impression on you and what was it?
if you can draw - sketch hands, feet, eyes, etc - what are they seeing, feeling, knowing?
look around you - describe with words, not feelings, what you are seeing, noticing
I believe .........
I remember the time .......
I am grateful for ........
gratitude means .......
a real friend is .......
forgiveness is.......
Here is a quote to get you started if you like.
We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world. ~Helen Keller
One last thing.....KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Your style will develop.
~Deborah