Creative Writing Journal – The Creative Writer’s Secret Weapon – Are You Using One?
By Dan Goodwin
www.inkthinkerblog.com — What’s the difference between a prolific creative writer and a writer who struggles to write consistently, and never feels they have enough good ideas?
Actually, there’s very little difference.
There are essentially two parts to being a prolific creative writer, and writing close to your true potential. Both of them can be hugely enhanced by using the creative writer’s secret weapon – a creative writing journal. Here’s how:
Part 1. Having ideas.
All of us who write are capable of having a steady stream of great creative writing ideas. Yes that includes you.
The main difference between those who have plenty of ideas, and those who feel they hardly have any is not ACTUALLY the amount of ideas they have.
It’s the number of ideas they NOTICE they have, and how many of these they capture. Here’s where the creative writing journal comes in.
By having a creative writing journal close to hand wherever you go, as soon as a fragment of an idea comes to you, you can jot it down in your journal. Just the act of writing the idea down instantly gives it “permission” to develop into something more.
If you have the idea in your head and think you’ll remember it, you’re very likely to be disappointed. It’s not a weakness or a failing on your part, we all do the same.
Accept that you can’t remember every glimmer of an idea in your head and begin writing the ideas down. That way you’re guaranteed to have them to develop in the future into larger pieces of writing.
Which brings us on to:
Part 2. Developing these ideas into pieces of writing.
Now, because you’ve been jotting down your writing ideas in your creative writing journal, when you sit down to write, you’ll have plenty of material to work from.
How many times have you sat at your desk or work space and stared anxiously at a blank page or blank screen, wondering not just where the next writing ideas will come from, but if you’ll EVER have a creative idea again?!
By using your journal you virtually eliminate this kind of writers block.
The easiest way to use your creative writing journal to develop your ideas, is to simply scan through the ideas you’ve recently captured and see what catches your eye and gives you a tingle of excitement.
Don’t feel you have to work through every idea you write down in sequence, it simply won’t work.
ALWAYS go with where the creative energy and inspiration is. Pick an idea or a couple of connected ideas from your creative writing journal that leap out at you, whether you wrote them in there an hour ago or a year ago.
Follow that creative energy and start developing the idea in whichever direction it takes you.
A creative writing journal is the creative writer’s secret weapon. As we’ve seen, a journal helps you greatly in both of the two key elements of creative writing.
Can you afford NOT to be using a creative writing journal any longer?
Take the next step in getting your creative writing kick started right now with the FREE 5 part creative writing ecourse at www.YouAreACreativeWriter.Com
Creativity Coach and keen creative writer Dan Goodwin helps people who are struggling to be as creative as they know they can be. See more at his website: http://www.CoachCreative.com
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