A Writer's Journal
Reflections on the writing life
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This past week, I attended an online workshop from London Writers’ Salon all about the positive benefits of keeping a journal.
Journaling has not been something I have undertaken as a regular practice. I have “dabbled” over the years; attempting to keep a diary or journal of what’s been happening in my life has usually bored me by about January 3rd. But I have always got some kind of notebook on the go, where I deposit random thoughts, ideas for essays, to-do lists, and so on.
I guess this could be considered ‘keeping a journal,’ but the word itself always fills me with some kind of dread that it will become another job to do; a blank page in which to capture profound thoughts and ideas that I just can’t conjure up.
In the past month, my love and desire to write on this platform has dropped and I have found myself struggling to get to the page in order to research and write. This is partly a personal writing funk (which come and go for most writers, I believe) but it’s also a general sense of unease I’ve felt on the platform of late.
As somebody who has deliberately avoided ALL social media platforms, I struggle with the Notes feature and the general online back and forth of snarky comments that can develop. However, I also recognise that writing a weekly newsletter has reinvigorated my commitment to a regular writing practice and allows for readers to actually find my work.
One of the first writers I read on Substack when I started almost three years’ ago, recently wrote a much more profound piece on this here; sadly, she left the platform shortly after. I have found myself these past weeks’ battling my natural inclination to retreat from the Internet altogether, with the need to continue to write, as well as the respect I have for the wonderful readers who have found me here and leave such lovely comments on my essays.
I have toyed with the idea of switching off comments- but then this is one of the features I love the most about sharing writing here! The connections I’ve found with other writers and readers has been a huge source of inspiration to me.
I would love to hear from other writers and readers if they have found themselves navigating similar issues, and whether they have found a good balance in both sharing and self-preservation- please comment or DM me- I would genuinely love to know!
Back to the journal workshop, which was run by clinical psychologist Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald, who helpfully pointed out the positive mental health benefits of keeping a journal. Instead of just reiterating that this is a good practice for your wellbeing, however, she dipped into the neuroscience behind this, which includes the fact that it allows for a way to release thoughts, ideas, and emotions out, thus allowing for more brain space for memory.
Fitzgerald is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, a Neuropsychologist, and an award winning writer. Having worked in mental health for over twenty years, she “has seen words not only heal but empower”, leading her to found the company Soyo Ltd with a mission to help everyone achieve their happiest and healthiest potential.
The Internet informs me that “Journaling is the practice of regularly writing down your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and reflections in a journal, notebook, or digital platform. It goes beyond simple note-taking, serving as a tool for self-expression, self-reflection, and gaining a deeper understanding of oneself.”
What I loved about Fitzgerald’s workshop though was her suggestion that journaling was a fantastic tool for writers.
She suggested journaling around your work in progress and reflections on your writing life. She also suggested that sometimes, you might just capture that brilliant sentence, for use later.
I would imagine this would be a particularly useful tool for memoir writers, but it also reminded me of when I started out writing, when I kept a tiny notebook filled with quotations, overheard conversations, one-line dialogues, etc. As a young mother, this was all the writing I could muster, but many of these tiny snatches of writing ended up becoming flash fiction stories and flash nonfiction essays.
A journal, Fitzgerald goes on to say, also helps you to develop a more positive self-image, promoting a softer, kinder approach to yourself. Again, not only is this a great idea for your mental health and wellbeing in general, but writers can be a sensitive bunch (raises hand), and having somewhere ‘safe’ to acknowledge that, cannot be a bad thing.
What I found most useful, given my earlier acknowledgement that I have been reluctant to keep a regular journal as I’m afraid it won’t be the “right way” to keep a journal, was her ideas on letting go of that need for perfection. In fact, I loved her idea that if you are afraid of “ruining” a lovely notebook by writing messily or incoherently, deliberately “ruin” it first. She suggests putting a coffee cup on the cover or first page, or otherwise roughing it up a bit- this is something I am definitely going to try!
Fitzgerald mentions the common options for keeping a journal, which include the popular ‘Morning Pages’ introduced in Julia Cameron’s The Artists’ Way, which she suggests many can struggle with as it can encourage a circular and even depressing focus on the same issues, day after day, (which I have also found).
She also mentioned keeping a ‘Bullet Journal’, which often comes with the added stress around aesthetic perfectionism (I cannot even contemplate this with the state of my handwriting!).
Instead, Fitzgerald suggested alternative, less recognised sparks for your journal writing practice, such as asking yourself specific questions, listing small achievements, or recapping a monthly or weekly review. Importantly, she stressed that there are no “Rules” around keeping a journal; it is and should always be something personal to you.
Whether you journal or not (and I am making a concerted effort- without pressure- to try), finding something that works for YOU could be just the thing you have been looking for to unlock your creativity, or at the very least, to allow you to make space for new ideas to occur.
I am thinking of using mine to return to some of the more creative flash essays I used to enjoy playing around with- just for fun, just for me- as an escape from the always on, shiny screens around us.
I’d love to hear about your experiences with keeping a journal (or not), as well as your ideas on how to reduce the negative sides of the Internet, in the comments 🙂
If you enjoyed reading this, you might also enjoy my earlier essay on The Writer’s Notebook.
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Kate, I have really struggled of late with my relationship with Substack. I have pulled back a lot and am spending much less time online. I mostly only log on to publish my posts and read the few newsletters I still subscribe to. I try to avoid Notes at all costs. It is a challenging dilemma but I feel you.
I have a notebook where I jot down ideas, quotations, thoughts, lists etc - but am avoiding calling it a Journal as for some reason this word suggests an obligation to write daily which would seem a chore, even though I do end up writing in it almost every day! But I can absolutely attest to feeling better for getting those thoughts out of my head and onto the page!