The Power of Journaling
Why should you take time from your busy day to journal? Because stories rise up out of journaling, and even if they don’t, your story matters. No one can tell your story but you.
Never Too Late: From Wannabe to Wife at 62 started my journaling about the new relationship I found, on Craigslist of all places, in 2011. I wrote about my fears and needs as well as our daily adventures. Later, those entries triggered my memory and recaptured my feelings. By reading them I remembered how I felt then and how I feel now.
Write as often as you can. Add photos. Remember your audience may be friends and family who live a very different life. What do you want them to know about you and the way you live? Answer that question and you have a reason to tell your story.
Don’t worry about rules. Your journal—your rules.
Not sure how to start? There are two surefire ways:
One is to start with a sensory image.
I’m writing on my laptop and listening to the muted clicks of the black keys that glow from the light underneath.
I’m at Starbuck’s, listening to the snatches of conversation that whirl around me.
Afternoon sunlight makes the leaves on the ivy outside my window look shiny.
The second surefire way to start is with a sentence start:
I want…
I remember…
What if…
Today I feel…
On the best day of my life…
Love is…
A year from now…
A year from now made me stop and think. It helped me make a decision, even when I felt it was too soon.
Where can you find sentence starts?
There are over 200 of them listed in You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers. This isn’t an ad; it’s a resource. Or skip the book and e-mail me through the contact box on Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com. I’ve been writing sentence starts for my free writing group for 15 years. I’ll be happy to attach a few pages of them to an e-mail.
Can you reuse a sentence start? Absolutely! As you do so you’ll discover your change and growth.
As you’re writing, trust your instincts. Trust yourself. Who do you want to be? How do you want the world to perceive you? What do you want the reader to know? Let those questions guide you. What is your message? How can your experience help others? Answers to these questions will guide you.
Read your journals over. Underline what you love. Write down any questions the journal brings up. These questions are guides for going deeper if you wish to pursue a subject.
Just do it, and soon you’ll have your own list of journaling benefits to share with the world. Journaling changed my life; give it a chance to change yours.
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Lynn Goodwin owns Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com. Her memoir, Never Too Late: From Wannabe to Wife at 62 came out in December. She’s written You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers and Talent, which was short-listed for a Literary Lightbox Award, won a bronze medal in the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards and was a finalist for a Sarton Women’s Book Award.
Goodwin’s work has appeared in Voices of Caregivers, Hip Mama, Dramatics Magazine, Inspire Me Today, The Sun, Good Housekeeping.com, Purple Clover.com and many other places. She is a reviewer and teacher at Story Circle Network, and she is an editor, writer and manuscript coach at Writer Advice.
NEVER TOO LATE: FROM WANNABE TO WIFE AT 62, B. Lynn Goodwin
How does a 62-year-old woman who’s never been married find happiness with a two-time widower seeking his third wife on . . . Craigslist!?
Does she throw caution to the wind and relinquish her freedom, or should she take a crash course in compromises? Author B. Lynn Goodwin tells all and more in Never Too Late. How she was attracted to Richard’s clear expectations, his honesty, and his incredible openness. She’d never met anyone like him. Would she recognize love if it knocked on her heart? And could an educated woman be happy moving into a blue-collar world? Whether you’ve been single forever, are trapped in an unhappy marriage, or you’re simply curious, you’ll find secrets to a happy marriage in Never Too Late.
” One by one, she confronts her doubts with openness and honesty in this memoir, relating it all with convincing clarity and a refreshing lack of sentimentality. This isn’t a conventional love story; rather, it’s a mature assessment of the pros and cons of having a relationship.” –Kirkus Reviews
“Very different from any love story you have ever read.” –Richard J. Smith, Ph.D., author of Life After Eighty,
Once Upon A Christmas, and Musings of an Old Man
“Never Too Late is an honest, insightful look at one of life’s greatest mysteries: the ever changing and ever challenging relationship between a man and a woman. This book is one you won’t want to miss!” –Mary Eileen Williams, Host of Feisty Side of Fifty, author of Land the Job You Love!: 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50
“A vivid, engaging, and heart-warming tribute to that rare and wonderful thing: a late-in-life love.” –Susan Wittig Albert, Ph.D, author of Loving Eleanor and The General’s Women
“A book filled with grace and charm.” –Aline Soules, author of Meditation on Woman and Evening Sun
BUY THE BOOK HERE
Category: How To and Tips, On Writing
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Fantastic reminder on the importance of getting your words out. I like the sensory prompt. I used to journal as a teen and young adult. I still have dozens of my old notebooks. This makes me want to pick it up again.
Alison, I’d love to see you start your journaling again. You can do it in cursive or type it and save it in a an anonymous folder like Dental Records 2015. No one will go in. =)