The Benefits of a Writing Journal
You won’t believe the unlikely moments and places where writing ideas come out. So here I will talk of some benefits of having a dream journal or simply a journal.
Writing ideas, when they come, are like fireworks. A great display of splendor and beauty. Your brain excites in the brilliance of it. Just as fireworks, ideas linger a while and then a few moments later, they’re gone!
I posted a link of my previous article on tips of overcoming the writer’s block. Link is here: http://writinghood.com/writing/help-i-want-to-write/, then one of my friends in Facebook had commented that he does not believe in the existence of writer’s block. He said that a writer is either a gusher, a bleeder or a popper.
The Gusher
A gusher is someone whose ideas just come rushing out whenever he sits to write. If you are a gusher it would be to your advantage if you have a ready medium to write out you ideas. If you happen to be facing your computer when you want to write, well and good. But, if you are nowhere near a computer, then a journal would definitely help. We all would want the gushing to become spilling, but we don’t want anything spilled undocumented, right?
The Bleeder
The bleeder is someone who needs much preparation and research before writing. You would have to be a bleeder if you are on to academic writing. Academic write-ups needs to be well researched and properly referenced. There would be instances when our research for information will bring us to unlikely sources, so it would be good if we could scribble down those sources for ease of access when we go back to them. Here again we see that a journal will be helpful. Putting academic writing aside, a journal would help a bleeder a lot to write down his researched information especially if he could not yet organize them.
The Popper
I actually read it first as “pooper” (pun intended), and did a double take when I read the description. A popper is someone whose writing ideas just simply pop “like popcorn,” my friend said. For the popper, ideas pop like that and they linger for a while. We would hope that they will linger longer but unfortunately, they tend to be as fireworks that pops and bursts in the sky, linger a moment and then disappears. Here again we see that having a journal would help a lot. The journal will help us capture those popping ideas. It is like seeing your child take her first baby step, you would want to have a camera ready to capture that scene. And a popper is just like that, you won’t know where or when the idea would pop, so you better be always ready for it.
We all could either be a gusher, a bleeder or a popper and we would all need to get those writing ideas in something that will help us get those ideas formed into a good written piece. Having a journal will greatly help in our pursuit to become prolific writers.
(Many thanks to Aristotle Collado from whom the gusher, bleeder and popper idea came from.)
Liked it
Tags: article writing, Facebook, journal, prolific writing, writer
Click the icon to the left to subscribe to Writinghood with your favorite RSS reader.
- Write, Publish and Earn -a Review
- The Precious
- The Precious
- Beggars Love
- Writing Beyond Ghostwriting: The Benefits of Writing Under Your Own Name
- No Likes No Comments No Talks No Existence
- What Appeals to Your Readers? What Content are They Looking for?
- Love and Money -Riches Untold
- Lack of Inspiration
- I Felt Sad and Didn’t Want My Boyfriend to Leave Me
August 11th, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Whatever kind of writer we are, it certainly helps to keep some type of journal or other. I like your terms and descriptions for the various types of writers.
August 11th, 2012 at 10:20 pm
I honestly used to be a gusher and now I am a popper! LOL. And somewhere lies the Bleeder in me in that I do research but I have so many experiences and ideas….Great article. To be honest, I live off of experience and inspiration and the way that I feel. I also keep pencil and pad to remember certain things I learn along the way. Writing is the best thing that can happen to us. We have a lot to say and when I feel like I can’t come up with somethng, I accept it and not worry. Glad you benefit from writing a journal and wonderful article to boot.
August 11th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Great post, I wrote about journals not that long ago, you may be interested here is the link; http://writinghood.com/online-writing/how-i-used-a-journal-for-therapy/
August 11th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Great post, I wrote about journals not that long ago, you may be interested here is the link; http://writinghood.com/online-writing/how-i-used-a-journal-for-therapy/
August 11th, 2012 at 11:53 pm
I guess I’m a gusher then.. when ideas strike me, I either type it on my laptop or write it in my diary, and publish it the next day.
August 11th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
nice share
August 12th, 2012 at 12:41 am
Excellent
August 12th, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Well written. Thank you.
August 12th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
Well written. Thank you.
August 12th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
When I taught English, I insisted the students take 10 minutes at the beginning of the class to write in a journal. They could share or not and I would check to see that they wrote, not what they wrote. When I am in a good spot in my life I journal. should be the other way around. Thanks for the great and helpful post.
August 13th, 2012 at 4:46 am
nice thanks for shereing
August 13th, 2012 at 8:55 am
A great read.
Eddy.
August 18th, 2012 at 1:25 am
I love it. I think I’m one third gusher and two thirds popper