APRIL MAY , , 2020 2021
KEEPING TRACK AND TAKING STOCK : YOUR WRITER ’ S JOURNAL
By : Alice Orr
I speak frequently about your Writer ’ s Journal . What you record in your writer ’ s journal depends on the type of writing you do . If you are writing fiction , you should include anything and everything that could be used in storytelling , especially for creating scenes .
What do I mean by “ Anything and Everything ”? Snatches of dialogue , overheard or imagined . Setting details , employing all of the senses – sight , hearing , smell , touch , taste . Scenes or scene segments , each with conflict at its center . Character descriptions , real or imagined . Possible conflicted character interactions .
The purpose of the writer ’ s journal is to employ your life as material
for your work . If you have not done so already , you must begin immediately to make maximum use of your day-to-day life as a source of vitality for your fiction . Everything that happens to you , and to everyone around you , is grist for your storytelling mill . Here ’ s how to get that mill grinding .
Seek out a special notebook to be your writer ’ s journal . Make this a serious quest to find the perfect vehicle . The notebook that resonates for you in that visceral , even mystical way writing materials can resonate for a writer . It must look and feel just right for you .
Set aside journaling time each day . Consider when specifically – morning , evening , etc . – will be most productive for you . Begin by thinking about what happened to you that day , or the day before . Recall unpleasant experiences as well as pleasant ones . Record them in your journal .
What people , familiar or previously unknown , have you seen or met ? What did they say ? What did they do ? What were the details of their appearance ? What did you learn from them ? What did you learn about them ? What might you imagine about each of them ?
What new ways of thinking have occurred to you ? What fresh or altered notions about or reactions to people , events , or circumstances have come to you . Once you begin to anticipate this aspect of your journaling , you will find such insights occurring to you regularly .
What happened that could be a learning opportunity for you and for your story ? Even small events can teach something new . Brainstorm how these encounters , observations and opportunities can be written into the lives of the characters in the story you are currently writing .
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