Sunday, December 13, 2009

Looking Back: Writing Journal

I was not paying attention and missed my 300th post! I also missed the 2nd anniversary of Book 'n' a Mug back in March which I did not realize until I went back to find an old post I'd written on keeping a writing journal.

So, in honor of this anniversary I am reviving the aforementioned post because I want to start keeping a writing journal again. Below are Gregory Martin's 5 things to include in a writing journal entry from the April 2007 issue of Writer's Digest.

1. Date and time when you are sitting down to write. This will help you track your most common times for working and help you see the times you are most productive.

2. How long will you work? Set a goal to work towards. This can be a length of time or a certain number of words, if you'd like.

3. What you plan to work on. The more specific you are the easier it will be to stay focused and accomplish what you need to during your session of work.

4. How it went. When you are done be sure and describe how it went. Do you feel good about what you accomplished? Was it difficult or did it flow smoothly?

5. When and for how long you'll work tomorrow. If you set another goal for the next day you will be more likely to write. This will, in turn, help you build up a momentum to keep writing every day.

I tried this method for a while a couple years ago but when I stopped writing regularly I forgot about the journal. Now that I want to start writing every day again, I think that this will be a great tool to help me keep that goal.

Do you keep a writing journal? What do you include in each entry? How does it affect your writing?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I used to keep a writing journal back in college. I put the date and sometimes the time. I carried it with me wherever I went just in case i ever got inspired. I haven't kept one in a long time, might start one again :-) Thanks for the tips!