Thoughts on Journaling in Writing

Before starting advanced nonfiction, I never thought about journaling my writing. Sure, I've heard of the "post-it theory" where if you have a writing idea, you need to jot it down on something even if it's just a post-it note. And in some ways, I have done that through Google Docs, my note app on the iPhone, and some physical copies of paper.

But a journal on writing? One with deadlines like a real-blog writer? Never thought of it. I've even written blog posts for a media company on several occasions--yet I never thought of this idea as something that would benefit my writing.

When this was introduced, I was a little excited but also a little skeptical. I was excited to have a blog--I kind of always wanted to blog as a kid but because of its portrayals in Disney movies and shows, it seemed quirky. Not really a right reason to start a blog, though.

But I was skeptical that writing a blog might take up my writing energy more since I was having do something similar in another class--not as a writing journal but more as documentation that I was learning in class--and I've had and on-again/off-again relationship with writer's block since I was sexually-abused. Before 17, I just didn't have writer's block, I had procrastination, but no blocks. If I wanted to write, I just wrote. And I usually always wanted to write.

Also, nonfiction? My most challenging subject in writing was supposed to take up most of my writing energy and time? I was nervous for this journal.

And I was never more wrong.

Writing in this journal with the idea with deadlines in mind, something that used to motivate me when I was a spring chicken, kept me motivated to keep going. Even though there were some lulls in motivation, creative content on my part, or just struggling with the juggling of time--I've made most of my posts; with the exception of essay days in mind, I made them. Some were short, some were essay-length analysis, rambles, or ideas, and I'm really happy about all of them.

I don't know if I'll continue this particular blog or if I'll move it--but this has motivated me through writer's block, helped me become more confidant in writing nonfiction, and overall made me excited for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because I knew I had to make a blog post.

I think I'm mad that this idea didn't come to my writing career sooner, I feel as though it would have helped me through some difficult times. Even in fiction writing, I believe a notebook would have helped as nonfiction writing is essential to being a writer in general, I believe. Something an author introduced to me in a field trip in middle school, is she told me that you have to research what you're writing about to make it realistic--even if it's fiction and high fantasy. The realistic experiences keep the reader engaged.

I think forcing engagement through a blog like this expands the mind, allows more freedom in casual writing as it's mainly the professor viewing and discussing it, and encourages the sort of research it takes to become a better writer.

I think, for example, if I was writing a story on grief (which is a novel-idea for a far away future date), a writing blog like this would be helpful to study what types of grief there is, how other people react to it, how people react to those going through grief--study what the readers may feel about my fictional character and make it more realistic--more connective.

I have a hard time staying focused. As a writer, I have too many ideas I want to approach and too many ways I want to approach them. As a person, I have ADHD and want to start lots of creative activities at once although I don't have the time nor the energy (I work three jobs on top of full-time school).

However, the journal has kept me more focused, believe it or not, on central topics and ideas and has given me this sense of ownership of this idea of not only abuse/trauma awareness in art but also cascading to the topic of "sex" and what that may mean--and how that affects other people. And I think they talk to each other--they seem majorly connected in my mind and this journal has motivated me to write about how they are connected and why both topics may go interchangeably and how they're important to normalize in conversation.

Regardless, thank you. This journal may have been the best thing that has happened to me as a writer. I hope I can personally self-motivate myself to continue this journey and I'm excited to see where it may take me (if I can actually make myself stick to it).