Introduction

Like many of you, I lead a busy life.

I have a full time job, two kids, I’m getting my masters, and all while writing and producing content for Writerly Lifestyle.

Because of this, I’m obsessed with finding efficient ways to do get things done.

That’s why it’s so rare that I’ll add something to my to-do list. But this time, I’m making an exception and you should too.

Background

I recently came across this article about how John Steinbeck’s diary that he used while he wrote The Grapes of Wrath helped a novelist publish her debut.

After reading it, I decided to take part in a practice. Here’s (briefly) how it goes…Use a daily journal to write only about my process of writing this book.

It serves as a reminder to reflect on my practice, keep track of what’s working and what doesn’t, and just to alleviate some of the ever-present anxieties that, apparently, even John Steinbeck felt.

That should already make you feel a bit better about your own imposter syndrome!

So now that I’m nearly a month into this, I feel like I can say there are some distinct advantages to doing this.

3 Lessons Learned

🛑 Avoiding Resistance

One way to avoid resistance is to write down your anxieties.

I’ve found this to be true in my own writing practice.When I feel the crush of resistance weighing on me, it helps to just write out why I’m frustrated. This simple act of reflection (or as Swann used it, as a morning pages-style pre-writing) made me feel better about everything going on in my work.When I feel stuck, I write about why I feel stuck.

Just acknowledging that I’m feeling resistance can do the trick to loosen much of the anxieties that used to crush me for a whole writing session.

For me, resistance is like a dark, eerie, and looming shadow. And like a shadow, when I point a flashlight on it, it disappears.

If the words just aren’t flowing and I need a reset, I’ll write out what my issue is and it often dissipates.The journaling has even fixed plot holes (more on that later).

😮‍💨 Venting

There’s nothing like a good vent session. And doing it in the span of 5 minutes on paper lets you blow off some steam!

Even if I’m just overwhelmed with the daunting task of taking on a novel, this is the space for those fears.I find myself turning to this journal whenever I’m feeling imposter syndrome.

And I just write about it.I write about the project, what I’m struggling with, and how I’m feeling about.The only “rule” I have is that I do my best to keep all my journal entries to the project. Certainly there are life events that impact my project. Those occasionally get noted in context.But really, what I want is for this journal to be a focused writing piece about my process of writing the novel I’m working on.

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🗣 The Art of Conversation

When else do you get the opportunity to converse with yourself without feeling a bit delusional?

What about getting the opportunity to ‘talk’ to your favorite writer? In the article, Swann says that she used her own writing to ‘converse’ with John Steinbeck.

Using these pages, I’ve started talking to myself, giving space to the fears I feel and anxieties that ripple through my writing.

I tell myself all about the outside pressure I feel, but also the issues on the interior of my novel, and even the larger, broader issues.

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Am I wasting time? Is this the right project? These questions are the ones that come up over and over in my journal. And, because it’s a conversation, I can tell myself to ‘Shut up and write.’ And that’s all it takes to send me back to my keyboard.

Here’s a real example from my own journal: “I had a shit writing day today. What were you doing wasting so much time? I couldn’t get into it and felt lost. Wait, now that I’m looking at my outline, I see where I skipped a step. I have what I want to happen in the scene, what needs to happen. But there’s no tension. Find a way to make antagonistic forces in this scene.”

I know this might sound a bit…out there. But it got me through to the next day. And that’s all that matters!By the next day, I had sorted it out and cruised through that scene.

This is the beauty of this process. Sometimes just talking it out to myself reveals a plot hole or fixes one.

2 Quotes

“Why did the journal entries speak to me so deeply? There was, of course, the sustaining habit of them.”

“…mostly I loved the entries because of how incredibly neurotic John Steinbeck was. All the writerly self-doubt, the whiny pessimism and overwrought fears that my brain served up to me daily were there, preserved in print, to make me feel less alone.”