Writers and Their Notebooks

Write Letters in Your Journal Write to your characters, friends, loved ones—dead or alive.

A gratitude journal, which is a place to record what you are thankful for in life. This type of journal nurtures a positive outlook and is a good thing to have when you’re feeling down.

The journal is a place where you can shed the mask you wear during the course of your day.

Journal writing is like singing in the shower—I can let ’er rip without fear of judgment.

The idea is to record your first impressions of a place as quickly as possible, avoiding the filter of self-consciousness.

travel exercise known as a lapidary—an odd name for a writing exercise, as lapidary is a term for working with gemstones, and the point of the exercise is to avoid being “polished.”

the importance of journal keeping as a powerful tool for creative expression and self-healing, and a way to help solidify thoughts in both one’s personal and literary life.

A writing journal is only a process by which one looks at life and a way with words and symbols, with the possibilities of image and story, or the unfolding of a sequence of rhythms and discoveries of feeling.

Keeping a journal, if you’re capable of being honest with yourself, can facilitate a deeper understanding of the role you’ve played in some of life’s conflicts.