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“You enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary.” ~Frederick Buechner

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Journal with Impact: Six Conversations for Writing Creative Journals


“Journaling from the events of daily life does not mean simply keeping a log or diary of who we saw and what we did each day. It means, rather, writing down the experiences that have affected our soul in a particular way.” Anne Broyles

New Workshop Introduction

Welcome to Journal with Impact. In this new blog workshop we are going to look at key exercises that can create space for personal reflection and creative potential in several categories that most often influence our lives. If a category you are interested in isn’t listed, just substitute your choice and apply the exercise that fits. You can use the material for your own pursuit, or as an author, use them to develop your fictional characters.

When we begin any creative action, there is a basic three-step process: create—prepare—share. For writers it might look more like write—audience—read. Journaling takes that first step and fills the create space with possibilities. Often we do not even see them at the time but discover them later when we reflect back after some emotional or time distance. Yet at the same time the journals can be a lifeline to keep us connected to our souls when life swirls around us in busyness and sometimes chaos.

How we journal, when we journal, and what we journal are all part of the creative decisions, but the heart question is why? Why here—why now? Is it a season we need to mark as a changing point in our lives? Do we need quiet time to develop reading skills, for spiritual reflection, to contemplate relationship issues in private, or to recover ourselves?

The journal is meant to be nurturing and healing, even when we go through grief and pain. We set up a time and place and use methods that enable us to engage, rather than the journal becoming a taskmaster. While we journal, we begin to discover what feeds our personal creative process, how to generate fresh material for our own lives (or characters’ lives), discover direction, learn to see shape and structure, and focus coherence within.

At first glance it may appear overwhelming, but the beauty of the journal is that it seeds through snippets. We track whatever appeals to our senses: quotes, lines from a poem or a book, descriptions, overheard conversations, or a special memory. We begin to draw closer to the exercises and material that work for us and let the rest go. The key is impact.

Even in the busiest day we can find a few minutes to pause.


Journal With Impact Outline

Conversation One                        Reflection

Conversation Two                        Vocation

Conversation Three                     Family

Conversation Four                       Travel

Conversation Five                        Nature

Conversation Six                         Memoir


Action Steps:

1. In what ways are you hesitant to keep a journal? Write the ideas and words down in a list.

2. Next to each way listed write a negative reason word and then write a positive reason word to challenge yourself to journal through your hesitations.

3.Which topic are you most curious to explore? Why?

Share: Is there a subject or topic not on this list that you’d like to explore from a journal perspective? Let me know in the comments so I can incorporate some examples.


Read deep, marcy


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