WRITE STUFF - RIGHT LIFE
Life is a rough draft. Deadline's not due for years. Keep writing.
Journals....diaries....
Ever kept one? Ever wanted to? Even just a little bit intrigued by the idea?
My name is Donna and I want you to know that if you write in a journal now, or you'd like to start keeping a journal, you've come to the absolute WRITE place. Here is where you can get started journaling, re-started, or be inspired to continue writing in your journal. And have a really good time doing it.
I know. There are lots of people out there who think of journaling or diary-keeping, or even just writing in general, as deadly dull or boring or hard or tedious. If that's you, you are probably thinking, "Oh dear God, it has to MEAN something; it must SAY something. It has to be RIGHT." And all this agonizing is probably the result of your tenth grade English teacher, Miss Lydia Literature, making your read some 19th century spinster's "recordkeeping" of her life..... and then, wanting you to do the same and turn it in for homework. Yuck!
WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
C'mon.......try it right now. You can do it! Grab the kitchen timer or your watch and the back of an old envelope or your kid's old homework paper or scratch pad or something and pick one of the following: Write for 3-5 minutes, whatever comes to mind. Just keep that
pencil moving!
1. My favorite TV character is _____ and this is why: _____.
2. My fairy godmother has given me not 3, but 5 wishes. They are: ____________________.
3. My favorite memory of my grandmother is: _____.
See? You've done it already. You've just made a journal entry. If you'd like to, and feel comfortable with it, please share with me how that little dip in the journal pool went for you. Send me an email (Donna@writestuffrightlife.com) or pop over to my blog and leave a comment there. I'd love to get your comments, but sharing is always optional -- definitely up to you.
I promise you, writing in your journal about what's important to YOU and interests YOU can both mean and say something without feeling like you've had to go out and slay dragons in the process. And it will mean it and say it TO YOU and nobody else.
There are a great many perks to journaling. But that doesn't mean it has to be all serious and deep and heavy to get them. Far from it. I won't lie. Some of your writing might be shadowy, even murky, sometimes. But that will be only because you have chosen to dig a little deeper perhaps and get down to the real nitty-gritty of a topic close to you. On the contrary, the more fun you make it, the more you learn about yourself and the more "therapeutic" and enlightening it becomes for you.
Got a problem? Solve it on the page.
Got a dream? Make it real and act on it as your write it out in word pictures.
Got a trouble? Relieve that emotion and stress as you spill it across the paper.
Need a plan? Map it out in your journal all at once or just day by day.
And you know the most wonderful part of all? There is no right or wrong way to keep a journal. Hurray! It doesn't matter how well you write it. It doesn't matter if you can't spell "cat", or that you never learned to diagram a sentence or get your subjects and verbs all swinging together in the right tense or that your handwriting's so crappy even a doctor couldn't read it. HELL, NO! You just.........write.
NO RULES ~~ NO RULES ~~ NO RULES
** well, just one tiny one: date those journal entries!
NO, you don't need a certain pen or pencil or marker.
NO, you don't need a special journal (although it IS fun to collect different, funky ones).
NO, you don't have to have one precise location or time to write.
You just..........write.......
when you want to; where you want to, about what you want to. Hey.... this is your "stuff" and your life.
I'm here to help in a couple of different ways. At least twice a week through my blog, The Devilishly Delicious Diary, I'll be putting out information about journaling, prompts to help you spark your writing and other (often quirky) ideas to help jumpstart your pen. I'll also be answering questions or discussing anything "writer-ly" (or otherwise) y'all bring up and want to share. So be sure to visit regularly. On second thought, just go ahead and subscribe to the feed.....it'll save you some time and trouble, 'cause I know you're going to want to know what's going on over there.
Secondly, if you (and maybe your friends, too) would like to expand your repertoire of journaling techniques so that you can just FLING yourself into journaling joy, I offer a relaxed and friendly 6-week journaling class. This would be for the Birmingham, Alabama area right now, but some plans are afoot......so stay tuned. Besides for laughing a lot, you learn dozens of different techniques and skills that will just have you chomping at the bit to sit down with pen in hand. Please run on over to the Classes & Events page for more information. Of course, if crowds aren't your thing and you'd rather learn one-on-one, that's cool. We can make it happen. Just contact me to discuss scheduling and fees.
FREEBIE ALERT!!!
Finally, the principles of learning psychology tell us that it takes 21 days to form a habit. So, to get your journaling habit kickstarted and fully formed -- and because I know we're going to become great journaling buds -- I am offering a little prompt primer for you. It has 30 prompts and writing ideas in it; a whole month's worth in case your habit should take just a wee bit longer to develop. And oh gosh, oh gee: IT'S FREE. All you have to do is send me your name and email address and I'll send you a PDF copy in a jiffy. Oh go ahead........you know you want to.....curiosity is just killing you, isn't it?
YES, Donna!! Send me my copy of 30 Days of Positively Perfect Prompts ASAP! I can't wait. I'm emailing you right now: Donna@writestuffrightlife.com
