A few words on journaling...

First, let me state "the end is nigh". In this case, "the end is nye!" (see what I did there?). 2020 is almost over. I hope that everyone had a good holiday, and are ready to move into 2021, I know I am. 

Today, I am going to write about journaling. Something I hope all the prospective writers out there do on a regular basis. 

For years now I have kept a journal. Each morning I get up, I get some coffee and I write a page in my journal. I let the words come and let my pen write what it wants to. I journal, or more precisely, I journey with my pen. I find that it limbers me up quite a bit. It's like stretching before running a marathon. 

For a long time, I journaled on a laptop. It was easier and I could write more. It wasn't until my laptop broke, that I got out my old journal and started writing by pen. I found it better than using a laptop in many ways. The most important thing about writing with a pen and paper is that there are no distractions, no ads, no popups, no blinking lights, or notifications to pull a person away from the actual writing part. I find that writing with a pen connects me more to myself than writing on a laptop.  

Aside from the "stretching" it provides, journaling untethers my ideas. I go through my journal once a week with a highlighter and highlight the ideas to use later. Some are worth diving into, some are worth a story in the future; I'd hate to miss out on a great idea simply because I didn't capture it. 

Most of my journal ideas eventually make into my stories in some way, some even become their own books. Ego-Strata is a good example of what journaling has given me. Each morning I wrote a paragraph about a random topic. They eventually became Ego-Strata. Because I journal, I have hundreds of pages to work from. Eventually, I will compile them into additional volumes. I would hate to do nothing with them. 

All this brings me back to something I wholeheartedly believe in; we become what we practice. If a person has a desire to make a living as a writer, they need to write every day. Journaling is a good way to cultivate the habit of writing.

Cheers!