I am a huge supporter of keeping a journal especially for writers. A journal is the perfect place for you to think clearly and honestly without fear of judgement. Since I started keeping a journal, I’ve been able to manage my mental health and creative struggles much better.
“If you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair.” —Madeline L’Engle
What I put in my journal:
Stream of conscious thoughts. I just write what I feel like—whatever is on my mind—without filter or thinking through the next sentence. There’s a kind of freedom in just word vomiting on the page and not caring about word choice or if it makes any sense.
Reflection and analysis of the writing process and problems that arise. I ask myself a lot of questions. Why did this project fail? Why is this project working/not working? Should I move on and work on something else and why? I also include thoughts on different techniques I’ve tried. Did they work? Why/why not? What did I learn?
Quotes! From other writers, from stories and poems, whatever resonates with me! Could be advice or just a line that striked me.
Record of how the writing day went. What did I struggle with? What am I excited about? Which character is taking over the spotlight? What am I disappointed by? What line did I really like that I wrote? I also like to include a plan of attack for the next day.
A list of books, short stories, plays, poems, authors, films, tv shows, etc. that I want to check out. Filling the creative well is so fucking important! This is how you get ideas. There is so much to be learned from seeing what others did.
Notes! Not story notes usually, but notes about craft, about others’ writing processes, notes about things I’m interested in (see that wikipedia research rabbit hole has a use! This is great fodder for future stories!), notes from interviews I’ve watched/read or lectures or podcasts, all kinds of notes! I seriously love writing lists and notes!!
Stray thoughts. Random shit that pops into my head while doing the dishes or overheard conversations at dinner.
Short book reviews (or long!) reactions and thoughts to books I read (or other media!), rants if necessary. An analysis of what I liked/didn’t like and why. What would I do differently? Why was that minor character that appeared once so much more interesting than the main character? Maybe she deserves a story of her own!
Lists of words and names I like. Sometimes I write definitions or the meanings of their names. Usually I don’t, but sometimes.
Basically whatever the heck I feel like. It’s my journal!
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