Another form of discovering a story or a poem inside you is
reflective journaling.
With reflective journaling, you
write about your own life, but you’re not locked into daily chronicles that
outline your activities or what you had for dinner. You might write about
something that happened when you were a small child. You might even write about something that happened to someone else — something you witnessed or have
thoughts about that you’d like to explore.
Instead of recounting events, you
might write exclusively about
your inner experiences (thoughts and feelings).
Often, reflective
journal writing reveals tests we have endured and lessons we
have
learned.
Reflective journal writing has other practical applications,
too.
Other forms of creative writing, such as poems and stories, can
evolve from
reflective journaling. And by striving to better
understand ourselves, we may
gain greater insight to others, which
is highly valuable for fiction writers
who need to create complex
and realistic characters. The more deeply you
understand people
and the human condition, the more engaging your characters
will
be.
Reflective journal writing cultivates personal awareness.
A writer’s journal can hold many things: thoughts, ideas,
stories,
poems, and notes. It can hold dreams and doodles, visions and
meditations. Anything that pertains to your creative writing ideas
and
aspirations can find a home inside your journal.
A reflective journal is similar to a diary in that we
document our
experiences. However, reflective journal writing goes deeper than
diary writing; it strives to gain greater understanding of our
experiences
rather than simply document them.
Reflective journaling is a form of creative writing that
allow us to
practice self-reflection, self-exploration, and self-improvement,
and through reflective journal writing, we gain greater awareness
through
observation, contemplation, and writing. By chronicling
various aspects of our
lives, we become more self-aware.
