THE ELUSIVE MUSE: Reflective Journaling

     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.