How to journal through poetry
Recently, Ive been making many additions to my journal.
From printing photos, collecting quotes, to simply writing entries of events and memories: I’ve been doing alot.
However, after doing plenty of collage pages, I got a bit bored.
I was tired of gluing and cutting and creating interesting compositions. I wanted to do something simple – yet also artistic.
This is where poetry comes in.
Poetry is the compliment of prose. It does the same thing, yet in a different, more personal way. I like to think that poetry says more with less words, just as a photo says a lot with no words.
i like to write poetry when given a prompt.
Sometimes the prompt is something I found on pinterest, sometimes it is something very specific that I think of when I remember something.
However, there are some rules to writing poetry: It needs some kind of structure.
Rule 1: pick One thing to write about
In order to make a good poem, you must first pick something to write about (obviously).
However, in order to make the poem good and meaningful, you need to narrow down your topic to one thing.
That one thing can be an object, a color, a mood, a message (short and sweet) or it can even bee a scene.
You must first pick what this “thing” is going to be before you write anything.
Rule 2: brainstorm what comes to mind when you think about that thing
Begin the writing process by simply thinking of that object, color, mood, message or scene and writing down everything that comes to mind when you think of it.
What sounds, colors, thoughts, ideas, musings, natural scenes come to mind?
Rule 3: Don’t judge yourself too hard
You are always going to be your hardest critic.
You will judge yourself the most.
Don’t doubt your abilities or give up after one try. You will always get better.
Plus, you’re only writing for yourself so only it only has to make sense to you.
In short, never give up easily, trust your instincts and have fun.
I don’t write poetry to show it off but to express myself.
How to journal through letters
Another great way to journal is to write letters.
I like to call them postcards to the future.
Sometimes i write letters to my future self, letters to my future husband, letters to my future daughter, or even letters to God.
It’s a great way to express yourself and record self progress through writing.
What makes writing letters so significant is that it intends an audience. Without an audience, there is no letter.
Whether that audience is your future self, or someone else, that person is still an audience. This means you write a little different.
Here are some aspects of writing letters that make it very impactful and meaningful to your journey through journaling:
Having an audience requires a message
A lot of journaling is just yapping.
Most of the time you’re just writing a lot of information at high speeds making what you’re writing very concise and short.
Sometimes, if you’re feeling inspired, you’ll write about something you’ve learned, and with that will come some sort of message.
However, that is relatively rare.
The cool thing about writing a letter to someone is that you are usually always trying to tell them something: there is a purpose to what you’re writing.
This means there is always going to be some sort of message.
This can be a very significant alternative to a journal entry because it gives you a avenue to really think about something important that you would like to tell someone important to you.
Writing letters can help you prepare for something
One journal that I’ve started writing in is called my “Daily Chirps Journal”. This journal is my journal to my future daughter.
This is the first thing I’ve done like this.
Something really cool about this journal is that it requires a very different type of writing.
It is basically a book-length letter to my future daughter.
Because it is for my future daughter, I usually only write things that I feel would be significant to her one day.
Whether it is a funny story that I learned an important lesson from or a quote that I read that I wanted to share with her, I write down things with the hope that one day, she will read them.
Many people may find this odd–to write an entire journal/book for your future daughter? But I think it has been such a fun and rewarding journey.
I have learned so much about myself and have been able to prepare in a very personal, emotional way, for the coming of my daughter.
In writing in it, in a sort of deep way, I have been able to analyze how I’ve been parented and therefore better develop an idea of how I want to parent my own kids one day.
The importance of writing down prayers
It isn’t Something I do often, but sometimes, when I have extra time, I like to write down my prayers.
The importance of writing down your prayers lies in the significance of writing.
When you are writing, you are focused, you are attentive and your a thoughtful. When writing down prayers, you are not only able to pray more intentionally but you are also able to pray more succinctly.
It is also nice to be able to look back over your prayers: read them and speak them out loud.
Just as I’ve said before, journaling is like creating a map: through journaling you are keeping track of where you’ve been, analyzing where you are and looking forward to (getting a better sense of) where you are going.
That being said, writing down your prayers helps you do that in your spiritual life. It helps you track your spiritual growth and development.
Overall, if you are a believer, I think it is a very helpful practice to take on: journaling or not.
In short, the act of writing letters is a very personal and unique way to express yourself and can be beneficial in so many ways.
Here are a few “letters” you can start writing when you see fit:
- Dear future self
- Dear future daughter
- Dear future son
- Dear future husband
- Dear God
- Things I couldn’t say to you
- Things I wish I said to you
- Things I hope to do
- Things I wish i never did
- Where I hope to be in 10 years
- where I thought I’d be 10 years ago
…just to name a few.
Never stop trying new things.
I hope, if you’ve learned anything from me today, you’ve learned that.
My hope for you is to continue to explore your creativity. Trust me: you might even surprise yourself.
And maybe, if you take my advice, you’ll start to see more beauty in life, start new hobbies and maybe even begin more and more to love life.
