Journaling Can Help Writers Remember Their Self-Worth

Three reasons every writer should explore journal writing.

A journal with ear buds next to a coffee cup holding a flower.Deborah Hudson/Pixabay

"Journaling for writers is a waste of time.”

So began an online article I read recently. The author made their opinion perfectly clear in their title, but I read on with the hope I was misunderstanding their intent.

Three paragraphs in, I had to stop. Not only did the writer think that journaling was a waste of time, but they felt an author should sell every word they write.

This feels sleazy to me. Isn’t that exploiting yourself? And what does it say about your self-worth?

In the days since, I’ve pondered the article’s intent, and came up with many reasons a writer should journal. Here are three of them.

1. Clear Your Head

The first reason to journal is to clear your head. It’s like organizing the garage before you repair the lawnmower, or cleaning the kitchen before you start cooking.

Our heads are full. Whether it’s the 20 things on our to-do list, our grocery shortages, or just processing the five hours of Hulu we watched last night. With each passing year, the world tosses more and more information our way, which can be excellent fodder for a writer’s brain but can also be overwhelming.

Journaling gives you a space to pour all of that noise out onto the page.

There are no rules for journaling. You don’t have to write in sentences, use punctuation, or even write entire words.

A close friend of mine journals by only writing the first letter of each word. It’s her way of getting the noise out, without leaving a record for someone else to read. That’s perfectly okay. It’s her journal. She should do what she wants.

Journaling is for you. You can do it however you want.

The essential thing is that you get some of that clutter out of your head so you can focus on what you want to write for the world. Clean the kitchen so you can bake that cake. How you get there is up to you.

2. Know Your Worth

The second reason writers should journal is to remember your worth.

A famous Ernest Hemingway quote says, “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.”

No words could be truer.

In its very essence, part of being a writer is dispensing pieces of your soul. You give to your readers every day.

Again, journaling is for you. Those words in your journal reaffirm the fact that you have value. If you only write words to sell, what do you have left for yourself? Do you hold any value?

Keeping some words to yourself is a reminder that you are more than the words you sell. You’re a multi-dimensional being, and the world doesn’t deserve to see every dimension. It’s okay to keep parts for just you.

3. Free Your Mind

A third reason for journaling is the fact that it’s freeing.

Writing is full of rules. Grammar “experts” arbitrarily decide some rules while others are self-imposed. Writing may be one of the most disciplined careers you could choose.

Our brains weren’t designed to spend every second of every day meticulously following rules. There should be time for fun, creativity, and frivolity.

Your journal is a rule-free zone. You can make up your own rules or have none at all. You can journal entirely with pictures of stick figures or with clip outs from magazines.

I choose to write in a different color each day. I scribble doodles and write random quotes in the margins. Sometimes I write in neat paragraphs and other times my words are random chaos on the page.

Your brain needs time to play, and journaling is the perfect venue.

You Decide

This list is only three of the reasons a writer should journal. I could write ten other posts on the value of working through emotions, coming to terms with the past, planning for the future, and exploring your soul.

The possibilities for journaling are endless.

Ultimately, it’s up to you what you do. If you would prefer to sell every word you write, that is your prerogative.

Personally, I feel you’re missing out on an invaluable experience, but who I am but another random writer in the interverse. (Yep, another gift of journaling is you can make up your own words or use words from Urban Dictionary.)

In any case, I would love to know your thoughts. What do you think of journaling? Is it a gift every writer should cherish or a worthless waste of time? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Until next time, keep fighting.