I do hope your journal is somewhere close by. No? Well, go get it then, and I will wait.
Ready?
Sit down with your journal. You can be alone or you can be in a crowd, but not watching TV or listening to music etc. Now, I want you to use your senses. All of them. Start writing. Don't analyse. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel? What can you smell? What can you taste?
To get going, you can start sentences like this...
I see dark wood table. I see black keyboard, with a light layer of dust. I hear passing cars. A bike just roared by. There is music coming from somewhere. Annoying music....
As you write, follow-on sentences will pour out. Let them. Follow your senses, and see where they take you.
Hearing and Sight are easy. What about others? How do your clothes feel against your skin? What about the chair you are sitting on? Is there a taste of coffee lingering in your mouth? What are you feeling? Enjoyment of dwelling deeper? Hungry? Bored?
Do this often, and not only it will improve your journal, but it will improve your participation in the world around you, and give you little surprises that so often go unnoticed.
Thank you. Your blog has been of great help to my students, as well as myself. You have our devoted following :-)
ReplyDeleteAh, I LOVE working with my senses and using them for my writing!
ReplyDeleteJust one little hint: "There is music coming from somewhere. Annoying music...."
The first part is right, you really HEAR the music, but "annoying" is your personal INTERPRETATION! The question is, what makes it annoying for you? The beat? The volume? The lyrics? Because it's 3 a.m. in the morning?
Think about that, too! :-)
it helped me a lot in my journal wrtining............i don't know who u r but thanxxx........
ReplyDeleteKagemusha,
ReplyDeleteThank you :-) I am thrilled to hear that it's helping you.
Nofretiri,
ReplyDeleteLOL, of course it's interpretation but that's the key of journaling. It is personal. And as for music, unless I choose to play something, I always find it annoying. :P I only like music of my choosing and when I chose ;)