Journal Techniques to Improve your Craft
This is a 2-part blog based on a workshop that Jenna Caputo and I presented on April 11 to the Eastern NY SCBWI region called Journaling & Interviewing Techniques to Improve your Craft.
The second installment focuses on interviewing techniques by Jenna Caputo of Silverpen Productions.
Part I
By Janine De Tillio Cammarata of Highland Mountain Publishing, LLC
Building a journal practice is a perfect way to improve your writing craft while also helping yourself through self-reflection. Here are some ways I suggest to begin your journaling journey.
Journal Basics from Janine’s Journal Workshops.
I use a separate journal for each of my writing projects because I begin my manuscript and discovery stage in a journal. I always have it with me and use the pen to flex my writing muscles. I’m much more creative that way.
If you’d like more information on how I organize my journal for creative writing, check out my BLOG POST.
In a larger sketchbook journal, I journal the rest of my life, which includes but isn’t limited to:
Calendar
Goals/Intentions (what I want to bring into my life)
Daily Journal Entries—see below for more details.
Dreams—which are often inspiration for my books
Things I want to track like movies, books, exercise, etc.
Journaling has been a healing and rewarding journey for me. It allows the space to express my feelings and understand why and how to prioritize my time. It reminds me of what matters.
Journal Entry prompt from Janine’s Journal workshops.
Journal entry prompts from Janine’s Journal workshops.
My daily journal entries are a combination of the prompts above. I may write about every prompt or only have time or inspiration to write a sentence or doodle an emoji about my day. I’ve been keeping a journal for years and have formed my own style. Much like I have formed my own technique for developing characters.
I’ll use these journal prompts and write from my character’s point of view either when I’m stuck or I just want to get to know my character better. All these details may not show up in my manuscript but the information informs how my character will react in a certain situation.
If my character loves to journal and often reflects on their day, mood, and personal improvement, there could be a lot of internal dialogue in their story or the use of a journal to express themselves. That journal could be a tool to tell the reader more about the character that others in the story don’t realize. The more I get to know my characters, the richer and creative my story.
Journaling is also a part of my writing routine. Before I begin a writing session, I’ll journal from the following prompts. It’s a warm-up and reaffirms what I plan to write about:
o What am I excited about with my manuscript?
o Why do I want to tell this story?
o What do I want to discover?
o What do I need to clear?
o What’s going on with my characters?
When I’m finished, I like to circle around and add some notes on the following:
o Where did I leave off?
o What will I work on tomorrow?
o How did my writing go?
o What am I happy with?
o What needs more work?
o Word count if tracking
o Grateful for…
Again, I may not write to all of these prompts but they give daily guidance.
Journaling has become a sacred part of my daily ritual. It has improved my life and writing craft. It’s personal and the beauty of it is that there’s no wrong or right way to do it. It’s what serves you best.
For more information on journaling and upcoming workshops, feel free to join my mailing list and check out my website.
Use your Interviewing Techniques from Part 2 of this series to get a deeper understanding of your characters!