Using a Personal Journal While Writing Fiction
Creative Journaling Helps Work Out Story Problems
Aug 7, 2009
Many writers journal and it’s a common piece of writing advice. It’s a way to get thoughts and concerns out of the mind and onto a paper or computer, freeing up creative writing. Some writers take their personal journals a step further and turn them into tools, using them to plan projects, build characters, and work out story plot problems.
How to Use a Creative Writing Journal
The creative writing journal doesn’t need to be fancy or elaborate. A writer doesn’t need special journaling software or an online writing journal. It can be as simple as a spiral notebook and a pencil, or a file on the computer. The advantage to a computer file is the writer can later use the search function to find specific words or phrases and track reoccurrences of events.
Writing down the goals for the day is a start. Writing goals help the writer maintain a focus and not get too distracted. It’s also a good idea to note other things happening that day, such as chores or responsibilities that need to be accomplished. These may have an impact on the writer’s productivity.
The writer should keep the journal open while writing. As work is accomplished, a note can be made in the journal. If a problem gets in the way, the journal is a place to make a note of it. If writer’s block sets in, the journal can be used to work out possible causes and solutions to the problem.
Journal Writing Ideas
Whenever a great idea or snippet of information that might be usable is found, writers often make a note on a piece of paper and put it somewhere. In time, the pieces of paper are lost in a pile, or become too hard to find, so the idea is lost. The journal is a perfect place to keep these ideas.
Notes about characters, ideas for future characters, appealing settings, and story ideas can all be journaled. Whenever a character gets into a plot problem the writer isn’t sure how to solve, the journal can be used to try out several possible solutions. It can also be used to track progress toward writing goals, and ideas for future projects.
Whenever a particularly effective piece of writing advice is found, the writing journal can be its repository. Different writing strategies can be tried out with the results recorded in the journal. Trying out more than one POV for a story can be put in the journal. Different endings can be tested without having to create several story files on the computer.
Keeping a journal through the whole writing process allows the writer to use it as a thinking tool. Writers often think things through and come up with brilliant ideas, only to find out later the ideas have been forgotten as they went about their days. Writing ideas down immediately in the journal helps prevent this from happening. If the idea is written down on a scrap of paper, it should be transcribed into the journal later that day.
Making the Personal Writing Journal a Tool
The journal can work in any way the writer wants. It can be a creative outlet, it can be a place to vent about troubles, it can be a place to work out story problems, and it can be used to record writing productivity. It can also be a tool to detect patterns that affect writing habits.
By keeping track of what, when, and how much writing takes place, along with other things happening that day, a writer can easily see what types of distractions or problems slow down the writing process. If a regular writing schedule is a goal, the writing journal will show which days were writing days, and how much time was spent on a project. This is good information to have at tax time.
It can also be used to track what types of circumstances lead to the writing flowing smoothly and easily. Then the writer can do what is needed to have more of the good days, and less of the not so good days.
The writing journal is more than a personal diary. It can be a tool that pumps up writer creativity, and guides the author through the writing process. With a creative account of the writing process, it can help the writer recreate past successes and avoid previous pitfalls. It can become a thinking tool, reflecting tool, and an application tool.
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