A writer or not, a lot of people have the habit of writing a journal. A journal is a written memo of your daily thoughts, experiences, and feelings. You can write anything you feel like or you think you need to take out of your mind. We all observe various things throughout our day some bad ones that we cannot speak of and some good things you want to remember forever. At this point, a journal is your best friend you can confide in with all your secrets.
A journal is also like your autobiography that you are in the process of writing. You record all the small and huge events of your life, your failures and your achievements that may be read by your future generation. If you become a successful and famous person, your diary will be the auto-biography the whole world will wish to read. You can inspire your next generation from the amount of hard work you do, and they can learn from your failures by not repeating the same mistake you did. It will be a legacy that you pass on to your next generations.
A journal can be used for other purposes except writing about your daily life. If your mind is always occupied by some creative ideas about DIYs, new recipes or stories then you can write them down in the journal. Your journal will become a creative journal. The place where you can write about all the great stories, quotes or general opinion about something you saw on the news. If you have a streak of creativity inside you then writing down a creative journal can prove to be very valuable for you. You can become a better writer if you practice creative writing every day. The errors you make decrease when you practice something every day making you better at it. Creative writing can be practiced even by those who do not want to pursue writing as a career. A student can become better at answer writing if s/he practices creative writing.
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Let us first know the benefits of writing a journal every day.
#1. Learning
When you write a journal about your daily experiences either good or bad, you learn from them. You learn about what decision was right and what was wrong. You will know what made you upset and what made you glad. And next time you find yourself stuck somewhere you can have a look at your journal to remind yourself of something you should not repeat. Or when you feel low and unsatisfied you can read your journal to see how many times you have achieved something with constant hard work. All the good memories have been captured in your journal which you can have a look at any time you feel less inspired in life. You are your own inspiration.
#2. Discipline
When you write every day, you will develop the habit of writing without delay. You will stop procrastinating, and you will complete your work in time. When you will record about all the things that went bad because you were not disciplined, then you will start practicing it. When you take out special time to write something day and night, then you become disciplined. You cannot wait to express your feelings, but you also know the importance of other works. Discipline is very important in life because if you do not set limitations for yourself, you might put yourself in danger or invite a loss for yourself.
There are multiple benefits of creative writing. If you want to know how to practice creative writing through your journal to become a better writer without a college degree then follow these tips.
#1. Stream Of Consciousness
If you want to write creatively, then you should clear your mind of irrelevant thoughts. Start writing at least two to three pages everyday penning down all the thoughts that come to your mind in a stream of consciousness. A stream of consciousness means writing down your thoughts continuously without interruption from outside. This will create a space for your creative thoughts by dumping the extra thoughts that you have. You should practice this every morning or anytime you feel free to do so. But practice it every day so that you are prepared for the main writing ahead.
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#2. Brainstorming
Whenever you find yourself in the absence of creative thoughts, start brainstorming, sit peacefully for 5 minutes and start writing all the ideas that you come to your mind. Do not critique yourself or your ideas because you can never know if a small idea can turn huge. Initial ideas are always small, but they become great gradually with your hard work. When you have various ideas noted in your journal, you can start working on either of them. You will have ideas to work on in the future as well. You have a variety of thoughts, to begin with. Start practicing brainstorming to find a creative idea for writing.
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#3. Observation
The main ground for your ideas and thoughts is observation. You will always seek ideas from your environment. Observe people around you, how they talk, what do people talk about, observe nature, the animals, the kids playing. You can get your inspiration from anyone anytime. Visit the nearby parks, take a stroll and observe the world around you that you miss in your busy life. Talk to people about their lives and their opinions because someday they will become a part of your writing. Jot down the dialogues the other people exchange or anything in specific that took your attention. Writing down every thought is important you cannot depend on your memory for future references.
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#4. Read
If you want to be a better writer, you need to become a better reader. The habit of reading will benefit in many ways. When you read a lot of books, you catch the certain new words in your mind. These words will build a strong vocabulary which you can use while practicing creative writing. The words make any writing impressive and understandable. When you have the right words for every situation your piece of writing will improve and it will lay emphasis on the things you want to underline in your writing. So it is important to read more as it will also give you an insight to other perspectives around you. You will have facts and figures ready at hand whenever you want to write.
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#5. Rewrite
The best way to practice is by rewriting. Rewrite your favorite articles, short stories, blogs or news. It will help you in comparing your writing. You will know how much you have improved by practicing daily when you rewrite an article that is already a good article. This way you will be developing your skills for the next time you write. When you rewrite a story, you will have the freedom of giving that story or plot a new direction. You can give a romantic story a thriller plot, or you can end a story the way you wanted it. This you will be discovering a variety of new creative ideas of writing a story. You will explore the various writing styles each writer uses.
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#6. Editing
Any writing of yours is incomplete unless you edit it yourself. Read what you have written already and then correct the mistakes you have made. Writing isn’t only about ideas, but it is also about how you give structure to it. When you reread your work, you will know about the points that you missed. You will also understand where and when a point should have been added to make its presence felt more. When you edit your own work, you will become a critique of your work and the next time you write you will know the things that you should avoid.
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#7. Timing
Whenever you sit to write down something, make sure you do not take hours and hours to write it. Time is precious. Learn to utilize it properly. Time yourself before you start writing. Begin with an hour and then gradually decrease the time to 45 minutes, 30 minutes and 15 minutes. Timing yourself is important so that you learn to process your thoughts faster and so that you can start working on another writing. You will be challenging yourself when you put a time bar ahead of you. You will have to arrange your thoughts in the right manner to make your writing effective in less time. For a student who wants to write better in his exams timing is the best exercise because examinations are held under time restrictions. So if you have practiced already to write in less time, then you will be able to complete your exam before anybody else does. Your teacher and your mates will be impressed to see your work.
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