Guest Author - Melissa Waters

Interview with Nan Fischer of Inspired to Journal.

First of all I would like to express my gratitude to Nan for agreeing to do an interview with us here on BellaOnline Journals. Her website has been a blessing to me for over a year and a half. Whenever I run into a wall and can’t get the creative juices flowing, I find myself returning to her site to get the much needed motivation. I just love the fact that she has articles and questions too!

1. How long have you been journaling?

Nan: I was a writer as a child, but I started journaling when I was 19.

2. What was your first journal like?

Nan: Full of young adult angst about relationships, my personal identity, observations about people, the seasons, work, travel, dreams, the future. Mostly I was just trying to ‘get it together.’ I felt very disconnected.

3. What got you started on this fabulous journey of journaling?

Nan: The potential end of what turned out to be my first major relationship. He said he wanted to end it after a few months, and I grabbed a composition book out of my stashed school supplies and started writing. The first sentence was ‘Why does such an excellent relationship have to end overnight?’ I vented for page after page, and we ended up staying together for five years.

4. What kinds of journals do you keep at the present time? Can you share a little bit about them, how often you write in each one, are they colored coded or do you use special writing tools? Feel free to elaborate as much as you want.

Nan: I have never had more than one journal. I have always written in one book early in the morning. About eight years ago, I started doing dream work, so I did keep a separate journal for that. I now even keep my dreams in my regular journal, which has turned into a catch-all for thoughts, quotes, photos, dreams.

I have just created a new blank journal, The Dive-Write-In Journal. I ordered a sample copy to check the quality before offering it for sale. The quality was fine, but now that I have written in it for a couple of weeks, I found that I love it! It is huge enough (8.5”x11”) for everything! My dreams are in it with their interpretations, quotes, drawings – I grab it every time I have a thought I want to jot down. It’s really a great product! I’ve never had a book so big to journal in, so it’s very exciting. I feel like a kid with a new toy!

5. Do you use the computer to journal?

Nan: No, unless you consider email to be journaling. Sometimes it is, when I am writing to a friend first thing in the morning. That early morning writing, be it email or journaling, is who I really am. Those are my most free, most authentic thoughts. They are me, before the ego and the business of the day overshadow them.

6. I would love to share your website with our readers can you tell us a little bit about the website. Why you started it and what surprises readers may find on it?

Nan: When I first got online in 2000, there was a website called Themestream, where writers posted essays and readers could comment. I posted journaling articles and started a newsletter there. Themestream went under, so I moved it to Webseed, where I had my own individual site named Inspired to Journal. When Webseed wanted to pursue something else, they let us writers keep our domain names and move on. I went on my own after that.

I wrote a weekly essay in a newsletter for a long time. I added articles to the site regularly and frequently had writing contests. The contest entries are all on the site. There were some really creative writings! My own essays are like journal entries, full of wonder and discovery with an ah-ha at the end.

7. Do you have any other computer places that you share your journaling? Like groups or blogs? If so, please feel free to share them with us too.

Nan: Like I said, I write a newsletter weekly. It is a Yahoo group, Inspired to Journal. Every week, I offer seven prompts. Some are single words, some are phrases, and there is always one sentence starter and one quote. If I am in a certain mood and have something to share, I will write an essay, but this format is short prompts.

I also have a Yahoo group, Journal Inspirations, where members post daily prompts a month at a time. The conversations that stem from the prompts are very interesting. There is a diverse population out there! That is one benefit to journaling with others – you get to see how others live, their joys, their struggles. Some of my members and readers have been there since the beginning!

I tried blogging several years ago, but I had a hard time sharing my soul with people I had no connection to. I do have about 1500 subscribers between my two lists, but I feel I know those people. In the early days, I DID know most of them! I get email from readers all the time when something moves them, or when I change the format or have a new product. With that blog, I felt I knew no one, like I was talking to myself, but that the anonymous world was listening. It didn’t suit me.

8. Any freebies that you have about journaling that you can share with us?

Nan: Oh boy. That is a big question! Go to the site and read the articles. There is lots of free information there about how to write, what to write, what to write with and so much more! And it’s all free.

If I had to give out one piece of advice, it would be to Just Write. I actually created a journal with that name that had quotes and prompts all through it. I will resurrect it some day in a different form. I really believe that if people just sat down to write, they could. Some people need stimulation, others, like me, don’t. I can write and write and write just out of my own head. But others need a question or quotation, some little snippet of an idea to get them started. Once you get that snippet, write. Just Write.

9. Do you or did you ever teach any journaling workshops? Are they still available? If so, please share a little bit about them.

Nan: I did have a workshop, Stretch Yourself!, for several years. It was a compilation of classes I had taken and taught over the years. It was so much fun and so expansive to interact with other journalers, but a lack of time made me quit holding the classes.

I still offer the text of the workshops for $20 on the site. I would love to see someone use them as a workshop either online or in face-to-face groups.

10. Why is journaling important to you?

Nan: It’s a way to discover yourself. When I am writing first thing in the morning, my thoughts are not censored. I get into this rhythm where I am writing directly from my soul. Sometimes when I go back and read it, I don’t even recognize it. This is the part of me that the ego overshadows. This is the true me, those early morning writings. I pay close attention to them.

Journaling is also good for sorting out confusion. By writing something down, you work your way through it. You answer all your questions and find more. Once something is on paper, it is out of your head. I frequently write just to get rid of the garbage that is blocking the reality I am seeking. When one thing is removed, something else takes its place, and this process happens over and over again in one writing until you come to a place of understanding.

11. Do you have any other hobbies besides journaling?

Nan: I don’t see journaling as a hobby. It is therapy. It’s an extension of myself.

Other than that I am completely absorbed in sustainable energy right now. Climate change and its solutions is a vast subject that has wholly grabbed me. I find new information every day, some new facet that takes me deeper and deeper into it.

I am an avid reader, too, and colors fascinate me in textiles, gardening and beads.

12. One of the main questions writers ask about is discipline. Do you think discipline is important in journaling and could you provide a few tips on improving one's journaling discipline?

Nan: Create a ritual. I write in the morning while the coffee is brewing. All you need is ten minutes a day to discover something new about yourself. Make ten minutes a day available and write.

We don’t need to constantly write, though. Periods of silence are normal. Sometimes it takes some quiet time to absorb what we’ve been learning. A traumatic event can take us away from writing. That’s not bad, but beginners should definitely get into the swing of it with a daily ritual.

13. We would love for you to share some journaling tips with us today that has impacted your journaling?

Nan: I just write. My own writing impacts my work. It makes me want to discover more, so I keep writing and exploring.

Don’t be afraid to feel fragile. Feeling vulnerable when you are touching something sensitive is ok. Go there. That is where the discovery is. Keep going and exploring. If you get to a place that is overwhelming, seek counseling. Sometimes we can dredge up memories or emotions that we can’t handle, and that is the time to get professional support. Recently, I had been in a quiet time with no writing. I was feeling really strong, so I thought I’d start writing again. After a few days, I realized I was just stirring up stuff that I did not want stirred up! I stopped writing and processed it, but it made me really nervous. I was not prepared to go there!