Getting Started

Getting Started

Now before you can get started on your journal, there are a few decisions you have to make. First, you have to decide where you are going to keep a journal. It can be right here on your computer or it can be a fancy story bought journal, or a composition book, or a three ring binder. We will be exploring types of journals in future blogs, so for now, I suggest you choose something to go with and change when you have had some experience or are looking to spice up your journaling time.

Next, decide where you are going to keep your journal. You should choose a handy spot next to where you will be writing and where you can find it easily. It can be in a basket by your bed, by a favorite chair, or on your desk. And, before you get started, decide if you need to keep the journal under lock and key…and if the answer is yes, invest in a small lockbox so you do not have to worry about your privacy being breached.

The last thing to do is to decide on the setting that will work best for you: with your morning coffee, after a writing, painting, singing, or otherwise artistic session. Do you need a routine; can you do it anytime anywhere…is it best ten minutes in the morning before you start your morning routine? Or is it best after dinner when the family is settling down, or do you prefer to journal right before falling asleep. It is most effective to set up a routine and stick with it for at least 30 days for the routine to become an expected habit, however, what works for you is what works for you, so go for it. Cree en tu mismo.

The First Entry

Now you are ready for your first entry. It can be a free flow of information an answer to a question, a response to a poem, a quote, or a response to a picture. Now is the time to select what your current journal will be…and you can have more than one…and get started. You can copy the following poem, answer the following question, or just do a free flow of information. The important thing is to start…and do not worry about being overly creative, sometimes, just jotting down a quote, a stanza from a song, or pasting a picture is enough to get you over the hurdle. Siempre hay un camino.

My first journal was a journal of Quips and Quotes and anything notes that I started when I was 16. It was filled with wonderful quotes that inspired and motivated me…and it started me on a wonderful life of life-long journaling…

Con un pan y cafecito,

Seguimos, ADELANTE

Zulmara

"El valiente vive hasta que el cobarde quiere."

The brave will live as long as the coward lets him.