So you want to be a writer . . .

Creative Journaling

With Gwynne Hunt

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail--Abraham Maslow

We are always told to write what we know--so as you begin your writing journey you need to write about the things you are familiar with.  That is why starting a journal is the best way to get the creative juices going and to start writing. Here are some memory sparkers to get you started and some thoughts on why we write and where to begin . . .

Changing our perspective can totally shift our experience of pain. We can stand back and be more objective. We can detach from pain and the memory. We can put meaning or love or humour into the situation. We can feel better about who we are.  We always have a choice; we can stay stuck in a memory or we can pull ourselves free and watch our life drift to a new level. We all have releasing to do, whether it is around parents, addictions, health, conflict, money, death, guilt or resentment—whatever.

Exercises:

1.       Select one of the most challenging times you have had in your life. Write about this event in detail from the three different perspectives outlined below.

a)       Getting started:  Revisit the situation in depth. Describe the details of the event. Now identify the challenge. It’s OK to feel emotional.

b)       Go deeper:           Now revisit the above situation from the perspective of a neutral observer who is watching everything unfold.

c)       Reach higher:  Now visit the situation again from the perspective of your higher power (God, Mother Earth, nature, Buddha-it doesn’t matter-what belief system establishes your ethics and morals?)

2.       Five senses-choose one word and define the look, sound, smell, taste, feel

a)       obsession

b)       fate

c)       midnight

d)       crimson

e)       promise

f)         yesterday

g)       truth

      3. Windows in the world-write the following scenes through the eyes of someone who is

a)       in love

b)       bored

c)       in love

d)       being followed

e)       depressed

f)         angry

Scenes—1. a lake in the fall   2. a fairground    3.  summer at the beach  4.  a supermarket aisle

5.       a wedding  6.  a funeral from a distance

4.       Mythic questions:  this is an autobiography flash-write at least a couple of pages on:

Joy & gratitude, how do you celebrate your skills, longing, creativity, loneliness, compassion, fear of failure, horror, wonder & awe, why do we exist? What’s wrong?, What’s right? goals and how to achieve them . . .

Feel free to send your work to me-I will post it on my pages and if you ask, I will gladly do a personal critique for you.