The Center for Journal Therapy

Writing in a Journal: A Short Course on Journal Writing for 2023

Do any of the following statements or questions sound like you?

  • “I don’t have time to write a journal!”
  • “I don’t know what to write about!”
  • “How do I get started?
  • “I’m a lousy writer!”

If so, then this short course on journal writing is for you! Here are five easy steps to get started with writing, eight suggestions for new journal writers, and 14 writing techniques for your journal.

How to Get Started with Journal Writing

It’s Easy to W.R.I.T.E.

Just try these five easy steps. You’ll be writing in no time!

W – What do you want to write about? What’s going on? How do you feel? What are you thinking about? What do you want? Name it.

R – Review or reflect on it. Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths. Focus. You can start with “I feel…” or “I want…” or “I think…” or “Today….” or “Right now…” or “In this moment…”

I –  Investigate your thoughts and feelings. Start writing and keep writing. Follow the pen/keyboard. If you get stuck or run out of juice, close your eyes and re-center yourself. Re-read what you’ve already written and continue writing.

T – Time yourself. Write for 5-15 minutes. Write the start time and the projected end time at the top of the page. If you have an alarm/timer on your PDA or cell phone, set it.

E – Exit smart by re-reading what you’ve written and reflecting on it in a sentence or two: “As I read this, I notice—” or “I’m aware of—” or “I feel—”. Note any action steps to take.

In summary….it’s easy to W.R.I.T.E. ! W hat topic? R eview/reflect I nvestigate T ime yourself E xit smart

Looking for free journaling workshops?  Check out our on-demand courses including “ J is for Journal: A Short Course on Writing for Healing, Growth, and Change ,” with seven lessons containing a total of 68 writing prompts!

Eight Suggestions for New Journal Writers

1. protect your privacy..

Store your journal in its own special place so that the temptation for others to read is diminished. Ask for agreement with your housemates that your journal is private. Reserve the first page of any new journal for your name and phone number or e-mail address, along with a notice: This is my personal journal. Please do not read it without my permission. If none of that would stop whoever might read your journal, get a shredder. Find a creative way to protect your privacy, such as a new gmail or yahoo account, freshly passworded, from which to write yourself at that address. Or keep your journal on a flash drive. Make your privacy an intentional act.

2. Start with an entrance meditation.

Nearly every journal technique benefits from a few minutes of focused quieting. Use visualization, soft music, candles, deep breathing, stretches, whatever works for you.

3. Date every entry.

If you only establish one habit in your journal, let it be this one! Dating every entry allows you to chronologically reconstruct your journal by date. It also lets you hear the silence between your entries.

4. Keep (and re-read) what you write.

Often the writes that feel like throw-aways contain the seeds for future insight. Keep it, re-read it later, and surprise yourself with how much you knew that you didn’t know you knew!

5. Write quickly.

You can outsmart dreaded “journal block” by writing so fast that the Internal Critic and the Internal Censor can’t keep up. Keep your pen moving!

6. Start writing; keep writing.

Start with the present moment (“What’s going on?”) Or start with a feeling (“I’m so mad I could bust!”) Or start with a story (“Today the weirdest thing happened….”) Once you’ve started, don’t go back to edit or rewrite. And don’t think too much. Let it flow.

7. Tell yourself the truth.

Your own truth is not your enemy. Don’t try to talk yourself out of knowing what you know or feeling what you feel. Give yourself permission to tell the truth. Also give yourself permission to pace yourself. If the truth seems too bright or harsh, then slow it down.

8. Write naturally.

If there is one inviolate rule of journal writing, it is that there simply are no rules! Do what works. Don’t worry about what you’re not doing. Give yourself permission. Let yourself enjoy the process!

14 Writing Techniques for Your Journal

1. sentence stem..

A sentence-completion process. Fill in the blank with a word or phrase. May be very universal (Right now I feel———-) or highly customized to an individual’s immediate question, problem or interest.

Start with the beginning of a sentence:

  • Today I will—
  • Right now I feel—
  • The most important thing to do—
  • I want—
  • I need—-
  • What I wish I could say to you—
  • If only I could—
  • I wonder–

—and finish it with a word, a thought, the rest of the sentence.

Boom. You’re done.

2. Five-Minute Sprint .

A timed writing process designed to bring focus and intensity in short bursts. Excellent for those who are resistant or aversive to journal writing, or who are uncertain about how to start, or who state they do not have time to write journals.

It’s a two-step process that couldn’t be more simple:

  • Set the timer on your phone or kitchen stove. Stop writing when signaled!
  • Keep your pen or fingers moving the entire time. It’s only five minutes. It goes fast.

Ready? Set your timers–and WRITE! Start with this prompt: What’s going on?

3. Inventory.

An assessment of life balance in major areas of living (health, family, home, work, spiritual/religious, emotional well-being, etc.) Gives a quick picture of which life areas might need attention.

4. Structured Write.

A series of Sentence Stems grouped and sequenced to reveal consistently deepening layers of information and awareness.

structured write journal writing technique example

5. Clustering.

Visual free-association from a central word or phrase. Lines and circles connect key thoughts and associations to the central core. Work quickly to maximize results. A brief writing to synthesize findings may follow.

clustering example for journal writing technique

6. Lists of 100.

A list of 100 items, many of which will probably be repetitions, on a predetermined theme or topic. Repetition is an important part of the process. Topics can be about any current issue (for example: 100 Things I’m Sad About; 100 Things I Need or Want to Do; 100 Places I Would Like to See). At the end of the list, group the responses into themes and synthesize the information.

In this video, Kathleen Adams, Founder of the Center for Journal Therapy, shares what she likes about using short lists as a journaling technique.

7. Alphapoem.

Write the alphabet, A-Z, or any collection of letters, vertically down the side of a page. Then write a poem in which each successive line begins with the next letter. Excellent for groups as it promotes a high level of participation and sharing. Adolescents and reluctant writers respond well.

Check out this example of an Alphapoem:

An Alphapoem on Alphapoems   

by Kay Adams and Scribe (journal group members)                             

A nticipate a B lossoming of                                                          C reative                                                                          D elight!                                                                          E asy, really, once you                                                    F ind the rhythm and the pace.                                                      G ather up the thoughts you                                          H old secret in your heart.                                                I magine them                                                                            J ust drifting out, a                                                                    K aleidoscope of                                                                        L etters                                                                                              M aking words. N o rules to follow–except the O bvious one. P erhaps you’ll find a poet inside? Q uite likely! R ead your Alphapoems; you’ll find them S tartlingly T rue–an U nusual way to give V oice to the W himpers, wonderings, whys, wins. X hilerating feeling to find Y ou’ve reached the Z enith of the poem!

8. Captured Moments.

Vignettes capturing the sensations of a particularly meaningful or emotional experience. Written from the senses with strong descriptors. Captured Moments of beauty, joy, blessing, calm can add balance, hope and perspective to a challenging time.

9. Unsent Letters .

A metaphoric communication to another that is written with the specific intention that it will not be shared.

10. Character Sketch .

A written portrait of another person or of an aspect of the self. Can also be written about emotions by personifying an emotion and giving it a characterization – an appearance, a style of dress, a personality and temperament.

11. Dialogue.

A metaphoric conversation written in two voices. Anyone or anything is an appropriate dialogue partner. There is no constriction by time, space, physical reality or literal voice.

On the page, it looks like a script:

Me:  So how do I do this?

Dialogue Partner:  Just ask me a question, and I’ll respond.

Me:  Seems a little silly.

D.P.:  Just make it up! Write the next thing in your head.

You can write a dialogue with anyone or anything: Your Wise Self, your spouse/partner/child, your job, your body, your feelings, your dreams and desires – anything goes!

12. Perspectives .

An alteration in point of view that provides a different perspective on an event or situation. Through magical realism, we can jump time, compare alternative realities and walk a mile in another’s moccasins. The writer experiences a new dimension of time, place or voice.

  • A different time:  Using imagery, time-travel to a date in the near or distant past or future. Write that altered date at the top of the page. Imagine who you are, how you feel, what is different, how a problem got solved or an issue resolved. Write in the present tense, as if it were that time.
  • A different place:  When faced with a tough choice or decision, jump time and write Perspectives entries in the present tense as if you’d made each choice. One man, conflicted about applying to medical school or a psychology program, saw himself miserable as a psychiatrist and fully engaged as a psychotherapist working with veterans and their families. See what nudges forward from your subconscious mind!
  • A different voice:  Write in someone else’s “I” voice, in the present tense, as if that person were writing in a journal about you or a disagreement (argument, conflict, painful difference) the two of you are experiencing.
  • Another different voice:  Alter your own voice by writing in past tense, in the third-person voice (s/he, her/his), about your own experience. This pulls back the camera lens, puts you in the role of omniscient  narrator/compassionate witness and allows useful distance and objectivity. This is particularly helpful if you are working with difficult stories that can create intense emotional states.

13. Springboard.

A free-write with a prompt. Starting a free-write with the smallest structure of a question, thought or topic can focus and frame the writing session.

Here are some sample springboards:

  • What’s the next thing to do?
  • A year from today, I will ….
  • Why don’t I … ?
  • I’m sorry I didn’t….
  • What am I avoiding?
  • If I knew I would succeed, I would ….
  • I want to overcome….
  • Where am I going?
  • What do I want?
  • If I weren’t scared….
  • What’s the best thing? What’s the worst thing?

In this video, Kathleen Adams, Founder of the Center for Journal Therapy, talks about using props to get started with writing.

14. Free Writing.

Unboundaried, unstructured, unpaced narrative writing. Useful for creative flow or spontaneous writing sessions. Can be structured by adding a time limit or page limit.

(c) Kathleen Adams. All rights reserved. For reprint permission please email us .

Center for Journal Therapy

3440 youngfield st., #411 wheat ridge, co. 80033 phone: (303) 209-9599 contact us >>.

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  • Example of a great essay | Explanations, tips & tricks

Example of a Great Essay | Explanations, Tips & Tricks

Published on February 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023 by Shona McCombes.

This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction , focused paragraphs , clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion .

Each paragraph addresses a single central point, introduced by a topic sentence , and each point is directly related to the thesis statement .

As you read, hover over the highlighted parts to learn what they do and why they work.

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Other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing an essay, an appeal to the senses: the development of the braille system in nineteenth-century france.

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

In France, debates about how to deal with disability led to the adoption of different strategies over time. While people with temporary difficulties were able to access public welfare, the most common response to people with long-term disabilities, such as hearing or vision loss, was to group them together in institutions (Tombs, 1996). At first, a joint institute for the blind and deaf was created, and although the partnership was motivated more by financial considerations than by the well-being of the residents, the institute aimed to help people develop skills valuable to society (Weygand, 2009). Eventually blind institutions were separated from deaf institutions, and the focus shifted towards education of the blind, as was the case for the Royal Institute for Blind Youth, which Louis Braille attended (Jimenez et al, 2009). The growing acknowledgement of the uniqueness of different disabilities led to more targeted education strategies, fostering an environment in which the benefits of a specifically blind education could be more widely recognized.

Several different systems of tactile reading can be seen as forerunners to the method Louis Braille developed, but these systems were all developed based on the sighted system. The Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris taught the students to read embossed roman letters, a method created by the school’s founder, Valentin Hauy (Jimenez et al., 2009). Reading this way proved to be a rather arduous task, as the letters were difficult to distinguish by touch. The embossed letter method was based on the reading system of sighted people, with minimal adaptation for those with vision loss. As a result, this method did not gain significant success among blind students.

Louis Braille was bound to be influenced by his school’s founder, but the most influential pre-Braille tactile reading system was Charles Barbier’s night writing. A soldier in Napoleon’s army, Barbier developed a system in 1819 that used 12 dots with a five line musical staff (Kersten, 1997). His intention was to develop a system that would allow the military to communicate at night without the need for light (Herron, 2009). The code developed by Barbier was phonetic (Jimenez et al., 2009); in other words, the code was designed for sighted people and was based on the sounds of words, not on an actual alphabet. Barbier discovered that variants of raised dots within a square were the easiest method of reading by touch (Jimenez et al., 2009). This system proved effective for the transmission of short messages between military personnel, but the symbols were too large for the fingertip, greatly reducing the speed at which a message could be read (Herron, 2009). For this reason, it was unsuitable for daily use and was not widely adopted in the blind community.

Nevertheless, Barbier’s military dot system was more efficient than Hauy’s embossed letters, and it provided the framework within which Louis Braille developed his method. Barbier’s system, with its dashes and dots, could form over 4000 combinations (Jimenez et al., 2009). Compared to the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, this was an absurdly high number. Braille kept the raised dot form, but developed a more manageable system that would reflect the sighted alphabet. He replaced Barbier’s dashes and dots with just six dots in a rectangular configuration (Jimenez et al., 2009). The result was that the blind population in France had a tactile reading system using dots (like Barbier’s) that was based on the structure of the sighted alphabet (like Hauy’s); crucially, this system was the first developed specifically for the purposes of the blind.

While the Braille system gained immediate popularity with the blind students at the Institute in Paris, it had to gain acceptance among the sighted before its adoption throughout France. This support was necessary because sighted teachers and leaders had ultimate control over the propagation of Braille resources. Many of the teachers at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth resisted learning Braille’s system because they found the tactile method of reading difficult to learn (Bullock & Galst, 2009). This resistance was symptomatic of the prevalent attitude that the blind population had to adapt to the sighted world rather than develop their own tools and methods. Over time, however, with the increasing impetus to make social contribution possible for all, teachers began to appreciate the usefulness of Braille’s system (Bullock & Galst, 2009), realizing that access to reading could help improve the productivity and integration of people with vision loss. It took approximately 30 years, but the French government eventually approved the Braille system, and it was established throughout the country (Bullock & Galst, 2009).

Although Blind people remained marginalized throughout the nineteenth century, the Braille system granted them growing opportunities for social participation. Most obviously, Braille allowed people with vision loss to read the same alphabet used by sighted people (Bullock & Galst, 2009), allowing them to participate in certain cultural experiences previously unavailable to them. Written works, such as books and poetry, had previously been inaccessible to the blind population without the aid of a reader, limiting their autonomy. As books began to be distributed in Braille, this barrier was reduced, enabling people with vision loss to access information autonomously. The closing of the gap between the abilities of blind and the sighted contributed to a gradual shift in blind people’s status, lessening the cultural perception of the blind as essentially different and facilitating greater social integration.

The Braille system also had important cultural effects beyond the sphere of written culture. Its invention later led to the development of a music notation system for the blind, although Louis Braille did not develop this system himself (Jimenez, et al., 2009). This development helped remove a cultural obstacle that had been introduced by the popularization of written musical notation in the early 1500s. While music had previously been an arena in which the blind could participate on equal footing, the transition from memory-based performance to notation-based performance meant that blind musicians were no longer able to compete with sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997). As a result, a tactile musical notation system became necessary for professional equality between blind and sighted musicians (Kersten, 1997).

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Bullock, J. D., & Galst, J. M. (2009). The Story of Louis Braille. Archives of Ophthalmology , 127(11), 1532. https://​doi.org/10.1001/​archophthalmol.2009.286.

Herron, M. (2009, May 6). Blind visionary. Retrieved from https://​eandt.theiet.org/​content/​articles/2009/05/​blind-visionary/.

Jiménez, J., Olea, J., Torres, J., Alonso, I., Harder, D., & Fischer, K. (2009). Biography of Louis Braille and Invention of the Braille Alphabet. Survey of Ophthalmology , 54(1), 142–149. https://​doi.org/10.1016/​j.survophthal.2008.10.006.

Kersten, F.G. (1997). The history and development of Braille music methodology. The Bulletin of Historical Research in Music Education , 18(2). Retrieved from https://​www.jstor.org/​stable/40214926.

Mellor, C.M. (2006). Louis Braille: A touch of genius . Boston: National Braille Press.

Tombs, R. (1996). France: 1814-1914 . London: Pearson Education Ltd.

Weygand, Z. (2009). The blind in French society from the Middle Ages to the century of Louis Braille . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

  • An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
  • Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
  • A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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21+ Journal Writing Examples – PDF, DOC

Journal Writing Examples

First of all, what is a journal? A journal can have two definitions. They may be written material, but depending on the content, it can mean two different types of journals. The first definition of a journal is a newspaper or magazine that deals with a particular subject or professional activity. You may also see writing examples in PDF .

For students doing their thesis work, they would usually turn to scholarly journals that would normally contain articles and/or studies containing relevant source material that could aid them with their study or dissertation. The second definition of a journal would be a daily record of news and events of a personal nature, aka a diary. You may also like formal writing examples & samples.

During our days as students in school, each one would be given a school diary for him or her to take note as to what interesting event has happened in the student’s day or how they are feeling about this day.

One stereotype about this kind of journal is that it is normally owned by girls. You see big notebooks with huge locks on them since that notebook contains secrets and feelings that they could not reveal to their parents or to their friends. You may also check out application writing examples.

A lot of people underestimate the use of journal. There are plenty of uses one can use a journal for, especially since it is going to be in a notebook or it can be written in a blog, depending on your preference.

It can be used as a planner, it can be used as your to-do list, heck, you can even use it as a practice sketchbook if you feel like it. Sky’s the limit. Take your imagination to the next level. If you ever find the time, you can always make do with a personalized journal to your liking. It does not really take that much to be creative. You might be interested in script writing examples.

All it needs is a little bit of your time and resources and creativity to make it a journal worth keeping and worth owning. You may also see book journals  to better understand the different kinds of journals that can be created.

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How to Make a Personalized Journal

1. Get the journal you are going to decorate. Sometimes, creativity is not something that is bought. You simply have to unlock your artistic sense in order to create something original and beautiful all the while. When you are sure that you are going to individualize and personalize your journal, then you should just buy a very plain notebook. You may also see what do you mean by writing skills ?

A simple composition or lined notebook would actually do. If you see leather-bound or hardbound journals, then you can choose to buy them too as long as it is not too artsy. Another type of journal that is normally written would be a travel journal . Not only does this contain your thoughts and feelings about your travel, but it also highlights and recommends.

2. Open the notebook in the middle, and lay the book down flat so that the cover is facing up and the pages are facing down and are touching the surface you are working on.

3. Get some aluminum/tin foil and cover your notebook with it, leaving a couple extra inches on the sides of the notebook so that you will be able to tape it later.

4. Carefully flip the notebook around and fold the edges of the foil (the extra inches) around the cover and tape them. Now your outside cover should be completely covered by foil. The inside of the cover should have a couple inches over it that are taped down. If you are still confused on how to write a journal entry , then you may click on the hyperlink to find out more.

5. Take your magazines and cut out letters that spell out your name, pictures you like, words you like, quotes you like, flowers, clothes, etc. After following the first four steps, you are now ready to proceed to the next step: decorating. Probably the most fun step in when you customize your very own journal. You may also like summary writing examples.

Let nothing stop you from making that one-of-a-kind journal. As the owner, you are free to add anything as you see fit. Pictures from your camera, elegant postcards from the places you have been to, to little knickknacks that you have managed to get from your travels (e.g., a maple leaf from Canada, some sand from the desert of Egypt, etc.).

If you still need some sort of assistance in making your journal look nice and pretty, you can always check out some YouTube videos especially by Abbey Sy who really knows her stuff in making journals look nice and pretty. You may also check out reflective writing examples if you need more help in any kind of writing.

6. Take a clear packing tape and line the whole book with it. This is so that the pictures you have taped on will not fall off or get ruined. (Make sure you let a couple inches of the tape overlap the cover like you did with the foil so that the tape will wrap around to the inside.) You may also refer to proforma invoice examples if ever you find yourself in need to write one.

7. Enjoy your personalized journal—no one has a journal exactly like yours! Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of your very own customized and personalized journal. Keep in mind that there is none like it. After all the hard work and effort that you have placed in turning a very simple, plain composition notebook into something beautiful and majestic all at the same time. Keep it well and keep it secure at all times. You might be interested in essay writing examples & samples.

Can you imagine what would happen if a stain got on your precious journal? You might actually freak out over that small piece of dirt. If you do not wish for that to happen, make sure that it is distanced from things that could possibly make it dirty (e.g., food, beverages, etc.) or you can always purchase your own journal or notebook cover from your local bookstore. You may also see tips for writing an effective essay .

Once you begin to spend an enormous amount of time with the journal, you begin to feel a personal attachment or bond with that notebook (as strange as that may seem). Bottom line would be for you to religiously take care of it. You may also see some examples of daily agendas .

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Journaling for Yourself

1. find a writing tool..

If your journal happens to be found on the computer in the form of a blog, then there is no problem whatsoever as most blogs are automatically written in WordPress or some other blogging site. But if you prefer to go old-fashioned and write it in a notebook or in a journal, then that works too. When listing down your journal entries, you do not have to be too particular on whether you want to use a ball pen, a pencil, or even a marker. You may also see writing examples in doc .

Because at the end of the day, it does not really matter. It is entirely up to you. There is no right or wrong way in making your journal entries. There is only your way.

2. Set up a routine.

Commitment and dedication are important in a relationship. The same apparently goes for journaling. Whether it is a travel journal or a book journal or a daily journal that you are planning to write, it is important to make sure you have a routine already set up for this. You may also see informative writing examples.

The main problem for people who happen to own a journal is that it sometimes they forget about it after a few weeks or even a few months. Eventually, it no longer serves its purpose and is forgotten and left behind. To prevent this from happening, another thing you should keep in mind is to stop making excuses, just like hitting the gym. You may also like  5-step basic guide on essay writing .

Excuses are considered to be the main obstacle that you have to break down and destroy to achieve total control of your routine. When there is a will, there will always be a way. You just have to man up and follow through with all that you have planned. Here are some examples on reflective essays .

3. Choose a setting that’s conducive to writing.

Now that you have your journal, the next best thing to do would be to choose a frequent spot on where you might like to write it. Now you understand the reason as to why novelists who seem to gather no inspiration from where they are right now would go out of their way to some foreign land or somewhere that is not their home and try to find their inspiration there. You may also check out free writing examples.

There are some people who can settle for any place to write their journal entries of the day. While there are some people who prefer to write their journals in one particular location, there are also others who are simply fine writing their entries anywhere with a table. As long as you are relaxed and comfortable where you are, then there is no excuse. Here are some examples of reference essays for your information.

4. Date your entry.

You may not realize this now, but dating each journal entry would be useful and is practically the only rule you have to follow. Can you imagine what it would be like if your travel journal entries did not have any dates at all?

How would people know when you went to Thailand for your vacation? Or how would you remember when your crush told you that he liked you? The moment you grab out your pen and notebook when you write a journal entry, do not forget to include the date as well. Here are some organizational analysis examples that you can use for further reference.

5. Start writing.

Now then, once you have everything set up already, begin writing.

As you write along, you still have to keep your grammar and sentence structure in check. It may not be a professional work or whatsoever, but think of it like practice that can help you further improve your language and grammar skills. Here are tips and suggestions that you can follow once you start writing your journal. Writing a summary is totally different from writing a journal entry. With that being said, you have to refer to this hyperlink found that serves as a guide.

  • Try to see your journal as “thinking on paper.” Your thoughts don’t need to be perfectly constructed or written with the right grammar and punctuation. Instead, try to think of your journal as a space where you can write out and organize your thoughts and feelings. You may also see article writing examples.
  • Don’t feel self-conscious. Unless you’re planning on showing your journal to someone else, remember that it’s just for your eyes and don’t worry about what other people think. Feeling free to express yourself is a vital part of keeping a meaningful journal. You may also like report writing examples.

6. Be creative.

Remember, this is your journal and yours alone. No one can dictate to you on how your journal should be written. No one can tell you what to add and what not to add. If you are a guy who likes his journal to be as minimal as possible, then by all means, go for it. Remember that the key for each journal entry is no key. Exercise your creativity as much as you can. No entry should really be the same. You may also see minutes writing examples.

Each entry should be as unique and as creative as much as possible. There is no limit to how much you can place in your journal entry. There is no need to really pressure yourself. Sometimes, you just have to go with your gut. If you feel like adding a quote or a picture in your entry, then go for it. Here are some examples of printable reading logs for your reference.

7. Know when to stop.

When you are a writer trying his or her very best to finish a book, obviously, you are trying to reach a deadline or whatsoever. But the thing is, you have to learn how to give yourself a break every now and then.

People who overwork too much will eventually lose focus of their self and the work that they do and will eventually result to haphazardly done work. Do not think of it as a waste of time, but as a time for you to regain your strength and allow the dreams of your sleep to provide you with new insight that you can continue the next day. You may also like steps for writing contest-winning essays .

Sleep is vital and just as important as working, eating, and drinking. Never forget that. If you happen to be working in the morning or in the afternoon, then try taking a stroll or grabbing a bite to eat as a break from your routine. Here are some examples in writing motivational speeches for students .

Scrabble Pen Journaling

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Handwritten Notebook Journaling

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Coffee Candlelight and Notebook

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Be Strong and Courageous Journal

be strong and courageous journal

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Surprising Benefits You’ll Get from Keeping a Journal

1. emotional intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence is defined as the ability to perceive and manage your emotions properly. In the present digital age of social media, Facebook and Twitter have now become the means as to which people express their emotions and rant out their negative feelings out in the open for the whole world to see. What they do not realize is that journaling can also serve as an outlet for processing emotions and increases self-awareness. Here are some examples of self-introduction speeches .

2. Boosting Memory and Comprehension

There’s a unique relationship between the hand and brain, sparked by the composition of thoughts and ideas. Words are representations of ideas; the formation of letters causes the mind to compose or re-compose ideas while journaling. Here are some examples of memo writing to give you the gist on how it is done.

3. Strengthen Your Self-Discipline

Do you know that journaling on a daily basis encourages self-discipline? You may think that it might not have any effect, but give it time and you can see that self-discipline applicable in all the aspects of your life. From your work tasks to how you clean the house to all the little things of your life, it all starts somewhere small. You might be interested in essay writing examples.

If you have seen the movie The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, you will notice that his kung fu journey began with him removing his jacket and putting it on over and over and over again. Dre Parker later understood that it was to entail self-discipline into his system since practicing kung fu is never going to be easy. Here are some examples that you may refer to when you find yourself in debate writing .

Expressive writing is a route to healing—emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Research explains, “When we translate an experience into language we essentially make the experience graspable.” And in doing so, you free yourself from mentally being tangled in traumas. Here are some examples of food logs  to give you a better guide in understanding on how logs are written.

Brown Vintage Compass Journal

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Cool and Vintage Writing Spring Notebook

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Journal Writing Sentence Starters

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Making Your Legacy Journal Notebook

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Writing Journal Craft Elements and Lessons Learned with Inspiration

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10-Day Writing Challenge

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Writing Plans

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Conspiracy and Whisper Journal

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Disadvantages of Maintaining a Personal Journal

1. anyone can get their hands on it.

One of the biggest disadvantages of a personal journal is that one of these days, someone may get their hands on it.

The dirtier and more scandalous the secrets, the more personal your feelings, the bigger the chance that someone out there may snoop on your journal. It is actually okay if you yourself have decided to share your thoughts and feelings to the world. But if you are the kind of person that likes to keep secrets secrets, then make sure that you find a secure place wherein no one will ever find your journal ( Death Note , anybody? Remember where Light hid it?). Here are some examples of marketing reports .

2. Waste of paper

There is no denying the fact that it is a waste of paper. That fact is very true in every respect. In fact, you might as well just post everything on Twitter. The good thing about Twitter is that nothing really stays seen after a series of tweets and rants from other people. If your entries are only very temporary, you might as well not own a journal. After all, notebooks and test papers just destroy the environment.

3. An ode to bad memories

Are you familiar with Pandora’s Box? In modern times, this idiom has grown from it meaning “Any source of great and unexpected troubles,” or alternatively, “A present which seems valuable but which in reality is a curse.”

Because that is actually the case with most personal journals. You suddenly find them in your attic after a long time, and you are curious to revisit your memories only for it to eventually backfire on you as there is nothing but pain, sorrow, and misery and you then recall why you buried it there in the first place. You may also see argumentative writing examples.

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COMMENTS

  1. Sample papers

    The sample papers show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional journal and that students should use to submit a paper to an instructor for a course assignment. You can download the Word files to use as templates and edit them as needed for the purposes of your own papers.

  2. Writing in a Journal: A Short Course on Journal Writing for 2023

    Watch on. In this video, Kathleen Adams, Founder of the Center for Journal Therapy, shares what she likes about using short lists as a journaling technique. 7. Alphapoem. Write the alphabet, A-Z, or any collection of letters, vertically down the side of a page. Then write a poem in which each successive line begins with the next letter.

  3. Example of a Great Essay

    This example guides you through the structure of an essay. It shows how to build an effective introduction , focused paragraphs , clear transitions between ideas, and a strong conclusion . Each paragraph addresses a single central point, introduced by a topic sentence , and each point is directly related to the thesis statement .

  4. Journal Writing

    1. Find a writing tool. If your journal happens to be found on the computer in the form of a blog, then there is no problem whatsoever as most blogs are automatically written in WordPress or some other blogging site. But if you prefer to go old-fashioned and write it in a notebook or in a journal, then that works too.

  5. Journal Writing Examples + 10 Bonus Prompts

    In this guide, you’ll find a variety of journal writing examples and activities you can use to introduce your students to this powerful practice—as well as a list of prompts they can use to kick-start their creativity!

  6. How to Write a Reflective Essay

    For example, a student may be assigned to watch a film or visit a museum exhibition and write a reflective essay about the film or exhibition’s themes. Reflective essays can also be pieces of personal writing, such as blog posts or journal entries.