In psychology, it is said that trapping emotions can cause an emotional blow-up in the long-run. To what extent can journal writing help someone make important discussions, express him/herself, and can it be incorporated into therapy?
I find introspective writing to be very useful. I keep a public blog where I share my thoughts on my own anxiety, depression, and other issues. I think part of the catharsis of this type of journaling for me is connecting with other people who feel the same things as me but haven't expressed them, and letting people know how I'm doing. Private journals have also held a helpful expressive place for me over the years, but nothing has been nearly as helpful or rewarding for me as the public blog space. I also find myself procrastinating the introspective writing process sometimes, and when that happens I know I need to write about something really badly. Also, the putting things out into the public space helps to make things real and to validate an experience, and pressing the "publish" button is usually accompanied with a feeling of letting go. I find it really really useful. – Amanda8 years ago
In similar vein to what Amanda is saying, i've kept several private journals as a way of coping with stresses and the like but when it was only me reading they were filled with my "shorthand" so to speak. Opening up my writing (to a chosen few) demanded that i change the way I write; trying to be clearer about what i was saying for my audience helped me to be clearer with myself and gain a better understanding of the things i was feeling or thinking. I think in a therapeutic setting journal writing could be really effective, the person would have an outlet as well as an audience with whom to share and unpack their writing. – tlbdb8 years ago
Absolutely I think that writing in journals can be therapeutic. It has the potential for self-discovery as well as revisiting events that might have been traumatic. On a lighter note, gratitude journals are a great way to start or end the day on a positive note! When she was suffering from stage four breast cancer, my Nana kept a gratitude journal and it helped her immensely. – LAMead8 years ago
The use of the word "can" in your heading makes the question, and any subsequent positions a little ambiguous. Realistically, anything "can" be therapeutic, but certainly not for everyone, and different people are calmed by different things. Try to avoid generalizations; they lead to weak arguments. – ProtoCanon8 years ago
If you read the story of Deland Klebold's mother regarding the Columbine shooting, she reveals that she kept a journal, Dylan kept a journal and so did Eric Harris. One point she highlights is that on the same day she wrote her son was "having a great time" Dylan wrote that he "felt so alone, without a friend in the world." Journal writing has its limitations for some who may need more help and in some cases can provide a false sense of viable therapy. It is great for some, not for others who need more. – Munjeera8 years ago
Yes! Thank you! I love this idea. I recently started writing in journals again and I would agree that it can be very therapeutic. I rarely ever leave the house without my "little black book". Automatic writing has a way of clearing the mind. For the article, I would suggest interviewing a number of people that write in journals and record their impressions. This topic has a wide scope so I think it could be narrowed down to focus on a few examples of therapeutic journal writing. – AlexanderLee8 years ago
I totally think journal writing is therapeutic!! When you write out something, it requires you to processes it and organize it. One of my favorite quotes is "I write to know what I'm thinking." Sometimes we get caught up in the drama of our lives, or we feel something and we don't totally understand why we feel that way. Writing out what's going on and textually trying to explain your feelings can help a ton in figuring out how to handle them. I've had a lot of moments where something was confusing me and then once I started to write about it, different details lined up and the problem clicked in my head.
– CalissaJB8 years ago
Yes, it has been scientifically proven. – T. Palomino1 year ago
Writing can be essential to anyone who is passionate about it. There are people who believe that they can write and others who simply can't. The thing with writing is, that you can produce good writing. We all pick up from somewhere and we certainly have the potential to build up upon our skills. But the real question is how can you come a better writer?
My advice I try to explore different existing stories and ask yourself "Is there something I can add to it?". It usually helps to start with something that already exists and expand on it, until it becomes something new. – RadosianStar8 years ago
For everyone, writing is different, whether someone is writing because it's therapeutic, or because it's the best medium to express their thoughts on. Expanding on existing ideas is one way to improve your writing, but also reading work from people you admire. You can then experiment, infuse your own style, and create your own improved writing style. – simplyangiec8 years ago
I think ultimately the trick to becoming a better writer is to be passionate about what you're writing about. The ideas in the writing are most important, not the grammar. As long as the ideas are there, grammar can always be fixed. Also, I think it's important to read different styles of writing, try to see what you like about the different styles and adopt it into your own writing. – sandrasung8 years ago
Writing everyday, even if it is something you deem insignificant, can be a great help. Keeping a journal in which you write anything from short stories, to controversial arguments, to just a sensory description, or even poetry- it can all help improve your writing. Keeping a variety of topics and experiments with writing can also open you up to what you like and what you are good at, and can also reveal what you may want to work on. – aishtea8 years ago
I think this topic is extremely important. I've always been intimidated by the writing process. It wasn't until I started taking classes and starting with the basics of writing that I began to feel confident about putting myself out there in the world of writing. This could be a very interesting article for those who are scared of the writing process. – Sydnee Larson8 years ago
You can become a better writer by reading Prose Style! It is a great tool to help you read and understand what everything about writing is. It also has exercises in it that allows you to practice on the important points they made in the reading before it. – Nads438 years ago
I would say you just follow your passion because that I feel is what makes a great writer. – BMartin438 years ago
As cliche as it sounds, the most foundational basics to becoming a better writer are writing a lot, reading a lot, and sharing your work with others. This isn't to say that those are the only three things that must be done in order to hone your craft, merely places to start. You may start out reading as many genre books as you can, really growing your skills in that area, and eventually branching out into reading more literary works or articles, which will improve your range of understanding. You may start out writing journals or poems, getting a sense for your own style, which may lead you to trying journalism, extended prose, or screenwriting. You may share your ideas with your best friend and start gaining enough confidence to read something at an open mic or share it online.
I'd also say, know what "good" means to you. Are you going for general popularity, commercial success, personal fulfillment, etc? In his book "Write Tight", William Brohaugh stipulates that the only thing that defines the quality of your work is whether or not your target audience enjoys it. Therefore, if you write something that you want to use to please your parents, your siblings, your friends, or even yourself, and it achieves that end, then you are a good writer. And while it can be said that any work can be good despite its critics, I full heartedly agree with the spirit of what Brohaugh says. At the end of the day, the one who decides if your writing is good is you. – nikkimacahon8 years ago
Write about things you know. Whether that be your own life or topics you have knowledge in. It makes it easier for the words to flow and it sounds more authentic. If you are interested in writing about things foreign to you, then take time to learn more about them before jumping into a project. It helps to motivate ideas. Also, practice makes perfect. – Jessica Guillory8 years ago
My advice would be to do a little research to realize that this question has been answered in hundreds of ways since professional writers started walking around the Earth. – T. Palomino2 years ago
Look at the backgrounds and career history of some YA Fiction writers and find similarities in what they've done that worked, or even didn't work. Don't forget to find the things that make these individual authors stand out among the others.
I think it would be interesting to look at this from a more economical perspective instead of looking at their careers. Since all successful YA authors are not unanimously loved it would be interesting to see what particular tropes/plots/characters/ect. seem to draw the most readership. This removes the notion of what is "good" or "bad" and instead looks at what writing style seems to draw more readers in this genre. – LondonFog8 years ago
Also, people will anxiously await the author's upcoming book and purchase it, regardless of negative reviews. When an author has a true following it is difficult for readers to be dissuaded. Even when they are disappointed, they still tend to return, and try to read the next book. This is especially true with teen readers. It would be interesting to compare the actual statistical readership numbers between adult readers and teen readers pertaining to famous authors, with numerous books, and see how the numbers fluctuate during successful books, and less successful books. – danielle5778 years ago
What are the lines that define the different genres? Like how do you define where the things you are writing fall into? I am personally writing a story and one part of me thinks that it might fall into YA and another part of me believes that it could just be considered adult fiction. – lundquisth00048 years ago
South Park is undeniably a trend setter in its crude political, up to date humour. From its conception in 1997 until its 18th season, South Park did not really attempt a full season story arc. There have been a few three episode long specials but none like the 19th or 20th seasons. It is interesting to see these characters who have pushed the boundaries for years, finally have ramifications for their actions that carry over from episode to episode. Personally, I have enjoyed this change of pace and I am excited to see how the 20th season unfolds. It would be interesting to see what this could mean for South Park's style of comedy, for their future story telling and much more!
You might want to add a question for the writer to answer, such as, what did they do successfully in the last iteration of multiple episodic storytelling and what would you like to see them continue doing? Or... what would be some good topics for South Park to explore in the coming seasons? – Kevin8 years ago
I find that in a lot of shows like family guy and american dad are almost trying the same. – granharv8 years ago
Yes, would be interesting to compare this type of storytelling in animation to Family Guy and American Dad. – Sonia Charlotta Reini8 years ago
Stream of consciousness writing is an interesting way to gain insights into the nature of mind and consciousness. It would be extremely interesting to see what kind of article could be written concerning writing as a means of discovering insights into the nature of human mind. Perhaps researching areas such as philosophy of mind, consciousness, the relationship between mind and body, psychology, and flow states could reveal valuable ideas into this topic.
I can't really see where you are going with this.. Do you mean examining practices like automatic writing where you just write for several minutes witout thinking or you mean the essence of what is written? – Kaya8 years ago
I'm not completely sure about where you are going with this but maybe you could consider the psychoanalytic cathartic method, namely the idea of converting traumas into language and therefore curing them. In relation to this, mentioning Greek tragedy and its tackling of the human nature and mind would be useful. If you want to focus on stream of consciousness as a form of writing then you could, for instance, compare authors such as Joyce and Woolf and explore how language and writing function for them and which kind of insights they offer in relation to the way in which our mind works. In any case, I think that the topic could be interesting but it is a bit too broad and needs to be restricted to something more specific. – CostanzaCasati8 years ago
I think you will need to be more specific with this one. Perhaps a certain kind of writing or a certain kind of consciousness. The topic is just too broad and unspecific, to the point where it might actually be hard to understand more than anything else. – agramugl8 years ago
I think the second half of this topic would be more interesting, and you would benefit from leaving out how consciousness is related to writing. Maybe focus on a specific topic in philosophy of mind (functionalism, dualism), rather than connecting it to the art of writing. – ecooper158 years ago
I like where you're going with this! I have always been interested in learning more about consciousness, however, I feel that in order to write a strong article from this topic, research needs to be done through credible sources and asking people their opinions on consciousness. Also, asking people who are either knowledgable or beginners in starting their joinery into "the all knowing." – saritachris8 years ago
Discuss ways in which writers can tell stories that go against conventions and selling-points, and would likely struggle to find an audience. It is wonderful to think outside the box and try something new. It can be rewarding and even push the artform forward with innovation. Sometimes as writers we want to break the rules and disregard important aspects to character, plot, genre, dialogue, etc. that not only work, but are usually the foundation to good writing. We may be used to writing for an audience, but this time want to try something crazy and write a screenplay for a film when we have no idea who would watch it. How can we stay true to our artistic vision knowing we are doing everything all wrong? What are the benefits?
It can be argued that any and every text to receive any sort of canonical status has done so by strategically breaking previously established conventions. This almost feels too big to tackle. – ProtoCanon8 years ago
In my opinion the simplest way I can think of to write unconventionally is to take a common story and add your own little adjustments. You could do a backwards version of the tale or take one or a few particular elements of the story and try to get your imagination to work on that. For instance, generally, one would expect the protagonist of a fairy tale to find true love or something of the sort, but what if that character had absolutely no interest in romance. What if that character enjoys solitude? With the imagination sky's the limit. – RadosianStar8 years ago
I feel like if you were to write a story where there is no change, where the character's status is stagnant that could be a way to tackle this idea that breaks the rules. A wonderful reference to this style is Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep. It tells a harrowing deeply meaningful story in a style that is neither linear nor follows the conventions of stereotypical story telling. Hope that helps in your search to find how to 'break the rules'! – Gntmeda8 years ago
Another way I've seen writers break the rules is to write an unlikable lead, or at least one who the majority of people struggle to sympathize with. Scarlett O'Hara comes to mind because she's so incredibly spoiled. Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart is another favorite of mine; he's considered a hero in his society, but he often acts like someone you wouldn't want to look up to. Fairytales written in POVs like that of Cinderella's stepsisters or the Big Bad Wolf come to mind as well. I would devote an entire section as to why this works, and perhaps why unlikable leads may have become accepted conventions. – Stephanie M.8 years ago
How the view of women inside books changed. For example, in earliest writing of fiction and plays women would be portrayed as being delicate. In some of mythology they were seen as items and prizes for the heroes. In some stories they are seen as enchantresses that lure men into danger. How did they transition from that to books with characters like Anne Shirley ?
This would be a good topic, and there's certainly a lot to be explored. You could analyze only American literature, British literature, or whatever and analyze how the views have changed across history along with decisions that have happened pertaining to culture and society. – Nayr12308 years ago
This topic is incredibly interesting, but it is also extremely broad. Perhaps it might be easier to take a couple character traits and shown how authors have ran with ideas that exemplified those traits? How has society made room for redefining what the roles of a women should be? Lastly, it could be worth looking into how the roles of women has changed in just two consecutive decades? – lgonsiorek8 years ago
I don't immediately see this topic as a good one. Women have to be generally objected, categorized and potentially dehumanized to reflect on the view of women in all of books. The generalizations that would have to be made would be terrible patronizing. If you carve out "perceptions of women in Norse mythology" or "portrayal of the woman's role in classic British literature" would help to focus the topic. – Piper CJ8 years ago
The main problem your generalized draft question hints at is how women characters were written BY men for most of history. I think narrowing your focus to considering the range of female characters women authors write could also open up some interesting discussions. The problem is that it's assumed that in ancient/early modern writing women were mere sexualised items however that view is problematic by how some Greek authors (see Lysistrata by Aristophanes) were already playing with those roles and creating strong female characters. And sadly today things aren't drastically better in how tv and many books still don't have strong female characters or lead roles. Perhaps it's worth investigating the instances they are given faithful representation and the type of stories that demote them to objects (masculine, pursuits of greed etc.) – JamieMadden8 years ago
This is a huge topic to cover- could you maybe narrow it down a little bit? It would really be interesting, but there is just so much to it that it couldn't be done justice in a single article. Maybe choose a few books, or an era of books to cover. – LilyaRider8 years ago
way too vague, not a good topic. – Richard Marcil8 years ago
This topic is extremely vague and difficult to cover as you are basically asking someone to explore all genres of literature form inception to contemporary times, i.e. Beowulf, or Gawain and the Green Knight, to let's say The Girl on the Train. It's too difficult and the way in which women are portrayed is intertwined with the social mores in which the stories are written. That, in fact would be an interesting topic. To look at it more from a sociological aspects--the expectations of the female heroine, and those that were thought to contradict the prototypical idealized female. – danielle5778 years ago
I think there are may writers who can write, but what makes a good writer? Its not just correct grammar and use of good words / sentences. Its more about connecting the reader to write-up isn't it? To really convey his or her message to the reader that can touch one's heart! That psychological aspect in the writing! That feel in the writing that can connect the reader with everything it can!
What makes a writer/author "good" is also subjective. Some people might find an author amazing and others will be less thrilled with their work. It might also be worthwhile to discuss the books people consider "classics" like Charles Dickens' or Jane Eyre novels. What makes them classic and who decides? – S.A. Takacs8 years ago
A "good" writer is like any other artist. Art usually provokes a reaction. Just as beauty evokes a feeling of joy and humility, art will generate a response. Not always positive and not always appreciated in its era. I think this could be an effective article if the writer focuses on touching readers' hearts. What do readers care about? It's like writing a musical piece. You compose and hope people enjoy it and get it. – Munjeera8 years ago
Some necessaries for a good writer: lateral thinking, a clear conscience, the realization that no one is objective. "Remember when you're out there trying to heal the sick that you must always first forgive them." – Tigey8 years ago
Ironically, I attempted to broach a sort of similar topic, but was asked--and for good reason--to define the term "good." I did not want to use the word "good," but I also did not want readers to become fixated on just the technical aspects of writing, which can be taught. Writing is a subjective experience. How many times have you stated, "I love that book!," to someone else responding, "I just didn't get what all the hype was about." Many times, books that "speak to us," are due to our personal journeys in life. Lastly, let's not forget the greatest writers who were told that they weren't any good, or were rejected countless times!!! – danielle5778 years ago
I think this topic will spark many subjective answers, but my perspective on this topic is that a "good" writer must be able to communicate their ideas to an audience. There are examples in literature where authors ignore existing grammar rules or traditional conventions, but because their ideas reflect themselves and their community, the work becomes useful and valid for representing a set of ideas. For example, much of Beat literature is pretty much unreadable from a grammatical perspective, but its influence on American youth and counterculture is undeniable. So if I was to further clarify your topic question, I would ask: how can an author ensure their work communicates to an audience and what steps can they take to better reflect their perspective of the world around them? Some potential answers to that question in relation to your original query might include suggestions for how the writer can immerse themselves in a community ("No man is an island"), write in the language of the community, and use that community as the writer's target audience. I think answering the "how-to" part of that question will help get to the psychological aspect you are referring to in your topic question. – Kevin8 years ago
If you were looking for a purely psychological view point I would source Rebecca Sax and her ted talk "How we read each others minds" in which she talks about how authors use psychology to relate to other people. The RTPJ portion of the brain is responsible for making moral judgements and thusly is used to determine what someone is thinking and if it is justified. As writers the question "What are they thinking?" Is essential to the craft and so we must use this part of our brains incredibly often. It would be interesting to see if that particular section of the brain is larger in artists, such as writers, than average people. – ReidaBookman8 years ago
