Art Imitating Life: Using Your Personal Journal to Set the Stage for Your Stories

In my experience as a writer I have found that the best materials for realistic pieces, be they poems, short stories, or that "Great American Novel", are often found within the pages of my own life. From the cat who seems to always be in the bathroom as if he has business there to the seven year old burst of energy who is my third son, there's always some story going on within the Smith household. As the old saying goes, everything is tale waiting to be told, and keeping a clear, concise, and expressive journal is the key to turning the dishwasher breaking down right after Thanksgiving dinner into the next best selling novel by "YOUR NAME HERE".

The first step in your process it to ear mark a journal. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, a wire bound, college ruled notebook will serve this purpose nicely. Once you have chosen your sounding board, take great pains not to use it for anything other than journaling. No grocery lists, or notes to yourself to remember little Tommy's doctor's appointment next Thursday. This notebook will be your lifeblood when the evil that is Writer's Block comes a calling. You don't want to be thrown off track by wandering thought.

Your journaling time can be as short or long as your emotion carries you. You may find that on some days when your mind is running at 50 MPH and climbing, your entries may ramble on while on other days you can barely get out one sentence. There is no major word or time limit, unless you set one for yourself, but it is important that you are as consistent with making entries as you possibly can be. I personally set a limit of four entries per week - this way I never miss writing down an important event or feeling. When I am strapped for content I utilize various journal prompts found on the Internet, from friends, and through various writer's resource material such as Writer's Digest Magazine.

Another "must" in this process, you have to make sure you are descriptive and expressive as possible. Try to list every detail of what happened or how you feel - this will be very helpful when you use your journal entries as a story base, assisting you in providing a vivid scene for your reader. Think of your blank page as your best girlfriend... you know how you two get together and dish the low-down to one another? Use the same premise with your journal.

Lastly, but never least, your journaling time should be at a time in your day when you can spend quiet, private time reflecting. As a mother of four and full time freelance writer I know that time alone can often times be a rarity, but simple time management can help here. Think about your day in full. What time do you wake up? What time do you go to bed? How do you spend the time your children are in school? A very close look at your time schedule can uncover prime journaling time, void of distractions. If something happens in your day that you just need to write down right then and there, pen a reference note and come back to it when you have a moment to yourself and can delve head first into chronicling the experience.

Keeping a journal can be an enriching experience for your writing career, serving as a base for quieting frustrations as well as providing you with fresh material for that next literary baby you give birth to. Happy journaling!