Power of Writing Tips
Read these 23 Power of Writing Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Personal Growth tips and hundreds of other topics.
No restrictions
Don't restrict yourself; feel free to break your own rules; don't worry about grammar, spelling, punctuation, or organization; just write what you feel; being a perfectionist will only lead to frustration and possibly even giving up, since it's often difficult to keep impossible writing promises with a busy schedule; write as often as you can but within reason.
Organizing files
Decide if you are going to keep your master journal entries on the computer's hard drive, on floppy diskettes, or on removable storage media like Zip disks.
You have a lot of options for filling up computer files. For example, you can create a separate file for each entry, for each day (in case you write more than once in a day) or for each month. The more files you create, the more organizing you will have to do.
Storing a journal
Keep your journal in a safe place and only show it to others if you feel comfortable
Use your favorite writing utensil(s) and pick a journal that fits your needs and tastes.
Highlighting
Use different colored pens or pencils in your journal to write about different subjects or to highlight important thoughts.
Comments in a journal
Leave blank pages for comments; write your comments soon after your journal is filled up and you've read the whole thing; also save space for reflective comments you might want to make in the distant future from an older, wiser self.
Online Journals
Here are some ideas for how you can create organization around your journal writing.
See if your journal keeping software (or HTML editor) will allow you to create a template of your journal entry page. This is a type of form that is used to create new journal files that you upload to your web site. You can add to the template any page layout instructions, identify the font and size to use, and even add a date to each page. Anything you can do to create a new page fast will help you to get the program up and running when you want to write.
Writing
Writing Technique: I call this technique "Giving the problem to Spirit". Scott Adams used a version of this technique to change his life. It worked well for him, perhaps it will work for you.
Simply sit down at a table and write what you would like in your life 15 times every day. An example is: "I am healthy, happy, wise and free". When you are done know that the universe is taking care of it.
Online viewing
While many of the organizing decisions for keeping your journal online are similar to the ones for keeping your journal on the computer, there are some important differences. People who visit your site are likely to bookmark a journal entry. Any time you change the file organization for your site, you make all bookmarks invalid! As a customer service guideline, think carefully about your file structure before you get started and you will avoid any unpleasant experiences, both for you and for your visitors!
Select a naming pattern for your files. Make sure to include the date in the file name. But since the computer organizes files alphabetically, you might find it more convenient to use the numbers instead of the words, for example 031500 instead of March152000 or 15March 2000. The zero before the 3 is important because the computer will organize the months like this: 1, 11, 12, 2, 3, etc. without it!
Write Fast
Write quickly so that unconscious revelations make themselves known; writing fast allows the hand to record thoughts before you actually think of them or before you can censor yourself; it makes you more honest and digs below the surface
Be more perceptive of your life by recording details; use all of your senses to capture reality as you feet it.
The Importance Stuff
Write only about what matters to you; write about the most memorable events and your thoughts and feelings about those events; don't feel compelled to record every single detail of your life -- will you care 30 years from now that you vacuumed the living room floor at 6:42pm today or that you went to sleep at 1:12am? be selective and don't worry if you leave things out.
Be unique
If you are writing a letter about a specific problem (i.e., a teacher's refusal to follow an IEP), present your situation as unique. You want the person who reads your letter to see your problem as different. You want them to think "Wow! We've never had this problem before!"
By presenting your problem as unique, you're trying to avoid "We ALWAYS handle ABC situations this way. We ALWAYS have handled ABC situations this way. We ALWAYS will handle ABC situations this way. We can't make exceptions for you."
Drafts
You write letters to:
(1) make a request
(2) clarify an event
(3) decline a request
(4) express appreciation
(5) create a paper trail
Some letters have more than one purpose. Because letters you write to schools are so important, you need to do it right.
If you anticipate resistance, you may begin by telling a story to get the reader's interest.
Box of Momentos
Keep a box of momentos and record their significance in your journal; or paste small objects (opera tickets, newspaper clippings, odds and ends) in your journal.
Multiple Journals
Use multiple journals to record specific subjects: dreams, childhood memories, vacations or trips, collections of favorite poems or quotes, your beliefs, etc.; however, you may feel more comfortable keeping everything together in one journal -- to be more integrated and to see how different areas of your life influence each other
Keep a Journal
There is no better way to become a writer than to write. Keeping a daily jounal encourages you to write down your thoughts and overcome the fear of writing. You don't have to have anyone read it, so your ideas, style, and tone are your own. Like everything in life, practice makes you a better writer. Write down your ideas, goals, fears, dreams, concerns, emotions, and experiences. If you hear a good story, joke, or quote, write it in your journal or idea file. Keep a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar handbook, journal or idea file near your desk. Write letters to companies, friends, relatives. This will help increase your writing skills, and it will make people feel that you are interested in them.
Where to write
Write in a special place so that you enjoy writing and feel more relaxed; make journaling a special time.
Indexing journals
As you fill up your journal, make an index on the back pages listing the title or number of each entry (plus a description if there are no title); or list each page number and its general contents; this helps you find past entries after a long time has passed, summarizing the contents of your journal; this also produces a nice overview of your life -- your life's trends and cycles.
Putting it together
Now that you have started to look at the issues involved in getting organized, it is time to write up your own personal action plan!
Take one journal entry and write down your plan for organizing your journaling efforts. Make sure you include every issue appropriate for your type of journal. If you have answers today, put them into the plan. If there are things you are not sure about, write out your questions and identify what you need to learn more about.
If you need more than one journaling session to complete your plan, go for it! The most important thing is to create a plan that is going to work for you, that addresses your privacy and storage concerns, and that is appropriate for the kind of journal you keep.
While you are working on your plan, you may find that normal paragraph writing isn't helpful. If you haven't tried organic writing, this would be a great time to give it a try.
When you are all done researching and planning, try a prototype using your new plan, a test run of your new organization. Try it out, see what works, see what doesn't work, see if there are other issues you need to address.
When you are confident that you have a plan, sit down one more time and write up your plan, including all of the details. You might want to write this on a separate piece of paper, something you have have as a reference page, maybe something that you slip inside the front cover of a written journal, or a separate file if you keep an electronic journal.
Over time, as your tools and needs change, you will need to address you changing needs with your organization plan. Consider your plan as a guideline, and constantly look for ways to improve on it.
I have a written plan for my online journal and I've developed a template file for new entries. I have a list for the procedures to follow when I start a new month and a new year. I can't tell you how much having this plan has helped me because it removes all of the administration questions from my mind and lets me just write, write, write!
Keeping Supplies Handy
Here are some practical ideas for ways you can organize your journal writing efforts. Depending on the way you keep your journal, there are different suggestions.
Organizing ideas for written journals
Organizing ideas for computer journals
Organizing ideas for online journals
No matter what method you use to keep your journal, your organizing efforts must also address the following journaling issues.
Privacy -- How do you keep your journal and your innermost thoughts private unless you choose to share them?
Storage -- Do you keep all of your old journals or have a system for getting rid of them?
Your organizing solutions and the way you address these issues will be unique because they will address your personal preferences and concerns.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Lynne Christen |
