Wordsmith Wednesday–Writing Journals

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Many how-to books on writing and professors of poetry or creative writing advise their readers and students to maintain a writing journal. It’s a practice I’ve found invaluable in the past and, with good intentions, I slipped a small note-book into my suitcase to bring along on vacation with the hopes of cramming its pages full of inspiration. I must confess, however, that the book is as blank as the day I left home as dozens of splendid images slip away into obscurity. And thus my creative muse remains dormant. And so, here on this public forum, I resolve to pick up my pencil and write.

My guess is that many, if not most of you, adhere to this practice on an almost-daily basis. Let’s revisit the value of writing journals and consider some key points that will lift it beyond a mindless routine to a helpful tool for inspiration.

What type of things can be included in a writing journal? Here are a few:

• Outlines, ideas for articles, short stories or poems, brainstorming;
• Dialogue and dialect that you’ve overheard in public places;
• Notes and observations on books you’re reading, TV or movie story lines–what worked and what didn’t;
• New words that you read or hear;
• Sensory descriptions of places you visit or people you observe, gritty details;
• Personality characteristics of people you know or meet, character development ideas;
• Possible setting locations in which to stage your scenes;
• First sentence, opening lines that might lead you to a story;
• Overused clichés and common grammatical errors that you encounter;
• Things you see or experience that may serve as a metaphor or simile;
• Photos and images from publications that tickle your imagination;
• Notes about writing how-to’s and poetic forms.

I like to use a sketch book with almost-legal size pages to rough-draft my poetry. This allows for sketching, pasting and all kinds of creative experimentation.

Please join in the conversation in the comments section of this post. Do you use a writing journal? What do you journal about? How often? Any suggestions that will help your fellow writers?

We look forward to anything you are able to share.