Posting Is Journaling Too!

13 Mulk 162 B.E. February 18-19, 2006 A.D.

Posting Is Journaling Too!

Posting is journaling Too is the subject line of one of the reminder’s I that comes from the yahoo journalwriting group. The note that comes with this subject/prompt is as follows: “Did you remember to print your posts here in the group to prompts and other members questions? Often times some of my most insightful writing comes as a reply to something here in JournalWriting. Posting counts as journaling. Did you write something wonderful? Print it out and put it in your journal.” (JournalWriting Moderators)

I have learned more about the way I think and why I believe the way I do by writing and posting to both my journal and prompts groups and my blogs than I have ever learned before. Responding to group posts helps me to focus my thoughts and write deep. To answer many of the posted prompts I have to look within to find the reason for my beliefs. I have also learned to type faster, to think while I am typing a response rather than thinking about the response before I type it into the word processor. I respond to many of the prompts by free writing for a specific period of time. The time limit I usually give myself is 10, 20, or 30 minutes. This helps me to get to the meat of the subject quickly and prevents me from editing while I type. If editing is necessary it can be edited later.

I still have a long way to go when I am typing responses to the prompts, but as I respond both my thinking process and my writing improves. I responding to post better than simply writing in a pen and paper journal. When I use a word processor it catches the bad spelling and if I spell a word phonically then the word processor can give me the proper word, this means when I go back to rewrite I do not have to speculate about the word I meant. The prompts help me to know myself and there is a weekly prompt that forces me to account for goals I have set for the week. True one is supposed to bring himself to account each day, which I do but with the prompts I am forced to write down (at least once a week) what I accomplished and how I can do better in the coming week.

Answering prompts is a creative expression and something I look forward to doing. In addition the prompts give me something to post to my blogs when I am having an attack of writer’s block or my inner critic is being particularly difficult. I have found that the fast I time the less chance my inner critic has to interrupt, writing in a pen and paper journal is different. When I write in my pen and paper journal my inner critic is always interrupting me. Blogging and responding to group prompts has given me ideas for stories, poems, essays and other bad habits I need to work on and explore.