Reasons to Journal and
A Challenge for All Writers and Wannabe Writers
Do you journal?
- If yes, why?
- If no, why not?
Those are two topics to journal about.
Journaling allows you to
- Recall events and thoughts
- Add details as they come to mind
- Reflect
- Revise outcomes
- Imagine futures
- Write rough drafts
- Explore characters you’re working with
- Explore plots and other “what ifs”
It’s also a place to
- Make lists
- Cross things off lists when you’ve accomplished them. Don’t erase them because they’re a record of what you’ve accomplished.
- Leave yourself notes
- Draft letters
- Draft book reviews
- Draft articles
Why not make a promise to yourself?
- Agree to journal 5 times a week for 15 to 20 minutes a day.
- Set a time of day to do it.
- Give yourself some flexibility in case life intervenes but find somewhere and someday to write on the subject of your choice.
If you write for at least 20 days in August, please let me know at lgood67334 AT comcast DOT net. I’d love to include your story about the powers and joys of journaling in an upcoming article. And if you discover hazards, I’ll weave those into the article too.
You’ll be helping other writers as well as yourself. Why not start today?
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Writing Advice for July 2026
Pick a prompt below. Don’t like what you see? Write about whatever is on your mind.
- Is it about stars or swimming pools or a summer job or a book you read or a date you’ll never forget or a moment you changed forever or something else?
- What happened?
- What details stand out?
- How has the memory affected you?
- We want details, actions, reactions, and affects. Go for it.
Share a summer memory. Any summer memory.
- It can be real, of course.
- Or you can remember a thought that comes up every summer and use it as a starter for a “what if” story.
- Or write about a memory you hope to have someday.
- Or imagine the memories in one of your children’s heads. Or write about the news (real or imaginary) on any summer day.
- Or remember the Dog Days of Summer, what you miss, and what is better.
Share a Fourth of July memory. Or make up a story about this Fourth of July. Or what a celebration of the Fourth might be like in five years.
- Start at the picnic, or the fireworks, or the darkened room with the TV on an old rerun.
- What is life like?
- How does the day change it?
- Who comes into your life, leaves your life, or returns to your life?
- How are things different?
Imagine you’re teaching summer school. If you’re not a teacher, imagine you’ve been asked to be a guest teacher.
- What subject are you teaching?
- What’s a writing assignment you gave your students?
- Who’s your best student?
- How did s/he respond to the writing assignment? Can you share what s/he wrote and what you thought of it? (That’s right. Imagine you are the student for this part. Talk and write like the student.)
Write about a paper you wrote some time in school.
- What grade were you in and what did you write about?
- What was the teacher’s reaction?
- How did your parents react if they knew about it?
- Did you save it?
- Would you share it with your sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews? Why or why not?
What’s on your mind? Write about it.
- What happened?
- What changed?
- What didn’t change?
- What is life like now?
Imagine you’re an alien sent to earth to observe.
- What do you think you see?
- What do you think of the humans you’ve met?
- What do you think of the news you’ve heard?
- What will you report to your planet?
Before you send it to us, which we’d love to have you do, please read it over and polish it, unless you’ve written a perfect draft the first time. We’ll be happy to tell you what you love in the writing.
WHAT? Why are you saying no? If you share your story, it might touch a person who needs to hear it. Who? Why not make up a story about that!
I’d like to compensate contributors but I haven’t been able to decide whether a cash prize or a gift card is better. What do you think would be a reasonable compensation?
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