I have begun a new thing. It is not a new thing to me nor will it be to you, but it is a new thing to the me that is living today. I am journaling. I began doing this as a sort of way to break my block. Yes, I do have it on occasion. I usually just start writing and let the muse unwind and it usually ends up being a short story or novella. But with How to Write a few days away, I knew I needed to free up my mind to create, and starting a journal seemed a good way.

I am already SO addicted to this habit. I am breaking my journaling down into three segments, morning, afternoon, and evening. Because believe it or not, my life is that segmented. I have all manner of things that happen to me during the day at work, in the afternoon when things are winding down, and at night when I am home again with my littl hubby. He and I are STILL enduring, fighting the good fight over the health issues that have risen to sit on his shoulders these days. But that, of course, is another post.

SO.

Here are a few things I have found to be helpful in the act of journaling so far as writing a longer piece is concerned.

1. You can totally take it with you everywhere.
2. You can jot down mental images of people you see – great character building
3. You can (on some pages-depends on the type of paper) use water colors to make your thoughts come alive.
4. You can sort of write about historical events that happen -forever captured for your children and their children to read about over and over years from now.
5. It’s cathartic to the point of poignancy. Just don’t forget to breathe. Our lives can be sort of consuming.

That’s it for now. I haven’t been writing long enough to tell you more about this. The process is simple. Pull out a little notebook and write. Write about society and how you fit into it. Write about the weather and how you long for it to change. Better yet, write about you. Your dreams, your aspirations, your innermost longing. I promise you will start writing one page and end up with three. I know I have.

Oh, and be sure to check back on JULY 1st for the HOW TO WRITE series!!!