Journals and Creativity

Photo by Free Books

I used to want a diary so bad when I was growing up, the kind with a little lock and a key.  My mom finally bought me one, but it proved to be a mistake.  She would sneak in and read it when she felt like it and then would start asking me questions about the stuff I had written.  It really bothered me as well as hurt me.  A journal or diary is a personal thing, a place to put down things that you want to remember.  I stopped keeping a diary and destroyed the one I had.

 Over the years I have on occasion, usually at challenging times in my life, kept journals.  Then about two and a half years ago I began journaling daily.  These journals are not diary’s though occasionally they may seem that way, they are instead a written down thought process.  I write down problems, events, dreams, wishes, drawings of things that pop into my head, and other stuff that I am working on in my personal growth areas. 

 I have come to respect and love journaling as it gives me an outlet, a place to brain dump and work through things before going out and trying to present whatever it is to the world.  There is another notebook I keep for “page writing.”  We writers and artists can get blocked at times.  Creativity just seems to go out the window and when you sit down to write, the blank page just stares back at you almost menacingly.

 In order to combat creativity block the easiest thing to do is get up, first thing in the morning and handwrite 3-5 notebook sized pages.  You just write anything and everything that pops into your head no matter what it is, just dump it out on the page.  Don’t worry about grammar, or complete sentences, and especially if someone should ever read it.  It’s also important that you never go back and read it either.  Those pages are simply to clear the cobwebs out of your head and free you to be creative again and they really work.  Sometimes you have to do this daily, sometimes it only takes one or two days for the creative thoughts to start flowing again, but either way, it’s a great exercise and will unblock the blocked every single time.  The best thing to do with the pages when you’re done is destroy them.  When you write anything and everything in your head often what comes out is griping, complaining, worrying, about other people you love and are close too.  You don’t want to leave something like that where it would ever be found, so best to destroy it.  Plus, you don’t need to reread it at any time, because it’s a method of bleeding the poison that was blocking you out of your system.  So just get rid of it and get busy doing your creative thing again.  You will be so glad you did!

 Cherry Coley ©