writer's journal know how

WRITER'S JOURNAL HOW TO

The writer's journal can be a source book for ideas for future compositions. It also acts as a warm-up exercise for writing as well as writing practice (sort of like practicing a musical instrument or skills for a sport.) It can be a source of memories as well, but it should not be confused with a diary.

The writer's journal is not graded, but is 10% of the composition grade each marking period.

The method of journal writing is easy:

Each day choose a topic - anything you see or hear at the moment, something you've been thinking about, an event of the day, something you studied or read about, whatever - and free write for five minutes without stopping. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, etc. Just do your best and be creative. Write at least 10 lines a day. Date each entry.

If you are well and truly out of ideas - open up an encyclopedia or other book and read. Close the book and write about what you read. This is a good time to combine journaling with studying - read your history or science etc., and then write it in your own words without the book to see what you remember!

After you free up your writing skills, you will find yourself writing short stories, essays, letters, poems, etc. in your journal, providing you with excellent sources for classroom writing assignments.

Use your journal also to make lists of ideas for future writing.
Try writing a plan for a short story and then spend the next few days writing it.
Or write a poem quickly (Don't concentrate necessarily on rhyme, etc.), and then revise and rework it over the next couple of days.
Try cutting a picture or article out of a magazine or newspaper, taping it in your journal and then writing about it.
An occasional drawing to explain a point you are writing about is okay, but this is not a sketch book. Write with words!