Guest Author - Theresa Wilson

One area of attack you may face when preparing to write your thoughts on paper is addressing and adjusting to the variety of environmental, physical, and emotional distractions you may encounter. It may seem easier to thread a needle with a camel than achieving the goal of completing that perfect draft. Frustration is often magnified if, instead of stepping back from the situation, you push creating additional pressure to perform and complete the task. Sometimes it is best to enter the arena of free flow writing by journaling your thoughts.

Journaling provides an opportunity for you to release feelings and emotions about a particular topic or situation without the burden of perfecting a task. Journaling does not require lengthy preparation or formal training. It does require you to make a commitment and spend quiet Time for Self away from others. The process of journaling includes reflection and clearing the mental clutter that inhibits creativity when writing in a more formal setting. Journaling about what you are feeling and experiencing during those writer's block moments can do one of several things:

Relieve emotional stress
Encourage better sleep patterns
Enable you to see areas that need improving or problems to be addressed
Provide an outlet to freely express concerns, challenges, and fears
Provide a method of developing future writing topics and goals

There are several important considerations to address when you begin the journaling process. Remember, you are investing in yourself. It is important to dedicate time (at least one hour) each day that belongs to you to write about experiences, feelings, issues and challenges that may affect your writing career. Make sure everyone in your household understands and respects your writing time selected.

You may want to begin your journaling time by listening to music or nature sounds or by reading scriptural or meditation verses that encourage mental calm and relaxation. The key is to allow your mind to wander and release thoughts. Since writing is a mental activity, machines that provide sounds like water, rain, sounds of the ocean, or birds can be great encouragement to your mental state and general well being.

Be deliberate in your selection of where you will begin the journaling process. Make sure you are away from noise and chatter, television, radio and the PHONE! Most importantly, do not apologize for using time for yourself. Just as you schedule time to eat, socialize, attend school or go to work, schedule time to journal.

Date your journal. When you put a date on your thoughts, you are able to note changes and track positive outcomes from your decision to adjust a pattern or attitude. Finally, maintain a positive attitude. Suffering the challenge of writer's block is momentary. Joy does come in the morning, and morning is not a time of day, but rather a state of mind. Write until your joy comes.

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There are several books to help you begin this process:


The Rewarding Practice of Journal Writing by James Miller


AND,Journal Keeping: Writing for Spiritual Growth by Luann Budd