It might seem silly to just write what you’re thinking of. Like, right now I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat for dinner and whether I should clean my bedroom—how will I turn that into a poem or short story?

In reality, freewriting helps get the mind thinking in language, and while you might be thinking about dinner now, you’d be surprised what leaps and connections the brain makes into interesting writing material. Let’s take a close look at the process of freewriting and how it will benefit your work. We also provide freewriting prompts to help get the juices flowing.

First, what is freewriting?

What is Freewriting?

Freewriting (sometimes written as one word: freewriting) is a writing technique in which the writer journals their thoughts onto the page without letting their pen rest.

Freewriting is a writing technique in which the writer journals their thoughts onto the page without letting their pen rest.

The idea is simply to keep the pen moving, and that every word and idea that arises in the mind is important to jot down, regardless of matters like grammar, meaning, and usability. In other words, you aren’t trying to write capital-A Art, you are simply putting words onto paper.

In freewriting, the writer:

• Focuses on simply generating raw material.
• Keeps the pen moving with whatever thoughts arise, including (and especially) thoughts that seem irrelevant or unrelated to the previous thought.
• Does not worry about the “value,” “merit,” or “publishability” of anything written down.
• Does not worry about spelling, grammar, syntax, or readability.
• Writes for typically no longer than 15 minutes.
• Creates a daily freewriting practice, as the process gets easier and more rewarding when done regularly.

You aren’t trying to write capital-A Art, you are simply putting words onto paper.

A freewrite can be done with a prompt or simply with the writer’s mind in its most neutral state. Later in this article we provide some freewriting prompts, but first, let’s examine the benefits of this writing technique.

Benefits of Freewriting

If you’re not writing anything worth reading, what’s the point of freewriting in the first place?

It might seem counterintuitive, but freewriting can seriously improve your craft and help you write better poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. The benefits of this technique include:

• Getting the words flowing: it’s much easier to write towards a project if you’ve loosened up the “writing muscles.”
• Freeing the mind from self-consciousness: freewriting helps train the mind not to care about “is this good?”—a question that can be debilitating for any first draft.
• Experimentation and ideation: Because the goal is to write what arises in the mind, you might inadvertently write new ideas or come up with interesting uses of language that can then be employed in future writing. To put it a different way: language first; ideas follow.
• Stumbling into greatness: Similar to the above bullet, you might accidentally write something really good or useful, or have an epiphany that you might otherwise never have had.
• Setting down your thoughts, quieting your mind: By putting your freeform thoughts onto the page, you can quiet your mind into focusing on writing projects after you’ve finished your freewrite.

Language first; ideas follow.

Some critics argue that this technique emphasizes writing over revising, or that it encourages writers not to engage with the broader literary canon. However, both critiques miss the point of freewriting. Writers should still revise and edit their work, as well as read other writers: to do a freewrite is simply to get the words flowing, making it easier to tackle the projects a writer is working on.

How to Freewrite

The freewriting process has been honed over time. Early advocates of the process include writers Dorothea Brande and Peter Elbow, but the process was really popularized by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

Here’s our recommendation for how to freewrite:

• Set aside 10-15 minutes.
• Write with pen and paper. If you have a strong preference towards typing, you can do so, but we find that handwriting is better for waking the writing mind up.
• Keep your pen moving. Don’t let it rest.
  • If you’re stuck on what to write, have some transitional phrases on hand. “How I feel about that is…” “What I’m trying to say is…” “And then…” or even just “I don’t know what to say.”
• Allow yourself to write nonsense. Write without the expectation of being “good.”
• Do not reread what you have written until after the writing session is over.
• Do not worry about spelling, grammar, writing style, “literary merit,” or legibility. You are not performing on the page, and the intent is not to be James Joyce or Virginia Woolf—there is no “good freewriting” or “bad freewriting,” it is simply writing.
• Do this once a day, preferably every morning, but certainly before you start work on a writing project.

Once you have finished your freewrite, you can reread your pages, or simply let them rest. Upon a reread, you might find sentences, phrases, or accidents of language that could be useful for future poems, stories, or essays.

Upon a reread, you might find sentences, phrases, or accidents of language that could be useful for future poems, stories, or essays.

Freewriting is also a valuable way to get your thoughts down about a particular topic. Let’s say you want to write a braided essay about an event in your childhood. If you do a freewrite about that event, you will generate a lot of raw material that you can sculpt into that essay, and you might even stumble into feelings and recollections you wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Finally, if you want to practice freewriting in a class setting, you may be interested in the Writing Circle Workshops offered by our instructor Susan Vespoli.

32 Freewriting Prompts

If you want to do a freewrite, but need some motivation, these freewriting prompts will help get your pen moving.

General Daily Freewriting Prompts

• What have you been thinking about lately?
• What questions are you trying to answer in your life?
• Write down every sensation you notice, both inside your body and in the world around you.
• Do a freewrite in which you talk to God, the Universe, or a higher power.
• What feelings are you trying to avoid feeling?
• What do you want to manifest for the near future?
• Write down the first word that comes to mind. Then, follow whatever associations arise in your brain.
• What are you grateful for?
• What do you desire most right now?
• Write about a memory that is visually or emotionally intense.
• Confess something.
• In your head, place yourself somewhere you know very well, such as your childhood home or a street you visit often. Write down as many details about that place as possible.
• What has saved you?
• What is an important realization you have had recently?
• Where do you wish you were?
• Write about and interpret a dream you’ve had.

Creative Freewriting Prompts

• Get ekphrastic and write about a film, song, or work of art that inspires you.
• What is your heart a museum of?
• Where does your mythology begin?
• Write in the voice and persona of someone or something other than yourself.
• What is the song your body sings, and who can hear it?
• Whose name does your heart whisper in its sleep?
• What is the shape of your grief?
• Write a self-portrait.
• What gets brighter the darker it gets?
• Whose voices do you hear echoing underneath your own?
• Write what you see on the horizon of your life.
• What is the root of your evil?
• What does your healing look like?
• Fill in the blanks of a memory you only partially remember.
• Write from the summit of life itself.
• Your heart is a garden. What’s in bloom?

Here are some more writing prompts we’ve written. They’re for poets, but prose writers can certainly use most of them as well. These poetry prompts might also enhance your creativity. 

What to Do With Your Freewrite

You don’t necessarily need to “do” anything with a freewrite. The point is to get your mind in a writing space so that you can better tackle whatever projects you’re working on.

However, some writers find freewriting to be helpful for generating new work. If you wanted to, you could take what you’ve written and turn it into a poem, prose poem, essay, short story, etc.

If you’d like to put your stream-of-consciousness to use, here are a few tips on revising and editing your work.

1. Highlight Epiphanies

A byproduct of freewriting is that the writer often taps into their unconscious and finds unexpected epiphanies. By epiphany, we mean a sudden realization, whether material or spiritual, that shifts the writer’s own perspective. Epiphanies can make the unfamiliar, familiar; the familiar, strange; the nonsensical or chaotic, suddenly ordered.

A byproduct of freewriting is that the writer often taps into their unconscious and finds unexpected epiphanies.

An epiphany is often central to a good work of writing. Any sorts of realizations that occur within your freewrite, highlight them—and, in editing and revising, try not to divorce the epiphany from the context it’s written in.

2. Underline Interesting Word Choice and Syntax

Another interesting byproduct of freewriting is the happy accidents that happen within language. By eschewing the rules of grammar, syntax, and linear writing, freewriters might end up juxtaposing words, phrases, and ideas that you wouldn’t normally put together, you might come across good word choice that you can use or store for later writing.

Another interesting byproduct of freewriting is the happy accidents that happen within language.

Many writers keep a journal of words, phrases, and ideas that they might use for later writing. So, don’t expect to use everything from one freewrite towards the same piece, but notice what’s interesting and unexpected in your writing, and save it for when you need inspiration or have a different epiphany about what to do with those words.

3. Identify Unnecessary Repetitions or Irrelevant Passages

As you begin to sculpt your freewrite towards a piece of writing, it will help to remove language that you don’t see as central to the freewrite itself. Here are some tips on omitting needless words:

• First, before you cut anything, save the full freewrite somewhere. You never know what you might lose if you permanently delete your writing from the face of the Earth. Make a copy or transcribe your writing, then work off of that copy or transcript.
• Identify the main topics and themes of the writing, including images or symbols that seem related to the central ideas within the writing. Many freewrites have multiple themes, so you can even make a list of those themes and consider how one writing session might yield multiple pieces of creative work.
• Look for writing that doesn’t seem related to any of the themes you identified. The goal isn’t to identify “bad” writing, just writing that doesn’t seem relevant to those themes.
• Remove writing that isn’t artfully repetitive. Repetition can be a powerful literary device, but it’s best used when it enhances and underscores the most important ideas within the text.
• Start to remove words that are clearly redundant or unnecessary. Our article on omitting needless words has more tips to help with this.

4. Decide on Form

Will your freewrite turn into a poem, prose poem, short story, essay, article, or the seeds of a novel or memoir? The possibilities are clearly endless, but once your writing has been cleaned up a little, the forms it could take should start to emerge.

What those forms could be depend on what you like to write, so rather than go in-depth about the possibilities within poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, here are a few guides we’ve put together on different forms of creative writing:

• How to Write a Poem
• What is Form in Poetry?
• The Elements of Fiction
• The Art of Storytelling
• Literary and Genre Fiction
• How to Write a Personal Essay
• 10 Types of Creative Nonfiction

5. Revise and Edit Towards Your Vision

Once you have a sense of your themes, form, and vision for the work, let your creative instincts take the reins, and use your freewrite as a base for sculpting your next great piece of writing.

Hone Your Freewriting at Writers.com!

Freewriting opens the writer up to happy accidents and exciting possibilities in language. Whether you want to freewrite with other writers or get feedback on the work you produce, take a look at the upcoming online writing courses at Writers.com, where you’ll receive the expert attention and workshopping you’re looking for.

The post What is Freewriting? + Prompts to Elevate Your Writing Process appeared first on Writers.com.

This article helps you find the best online writing community for your own writing needs. We’ll walk you through what good communities include, how to show up in the communities you join, and what we’ve learned from running the Writers.com online writing community. 

But first: what are the best online writing communities? Here’s an overview of what we’ve found on the internet. 

The Best Online Writing Communities in 2025

Here are the best online writing communities we’ve discovered around the internet. We define these communities as being spaces where writers can congregate, share their work, learn from one another, and forge the kinds of friendships and connections that sustain a writing life. 

Writers.com 

We started the Writers.com community with one mission: to share and celebrate our writing with one another. Our members meet several times a week to learn from one another and improve their writing together. In addition to Zoom writing sessions, we also have weekly and monthly instructor-led workshops and an online community space to explore our writing journeys together. 

• Includes:
  • Regular writing prompts
  • Biweekly Zoom writing sessions
  • Instructor-led workshops 
  • Free on-demand craft lectures 
  • An online meeting space to share and celebrate your work 
• Best For: Writers of all genres, in any stage of your writing journey.
• Learn More: Membership is only $47/month. Sign up for a one-week free trial here.

The Community has been everything I hoped it would be. I thoroughly enjoy the Write-Ins and craft explorations. I have enjoyed getting to know the staff and other community members and their writing—it brings a personal touch to my writing journey that wasn’t there before. Thank you so much!

—Lola Willis, Writers.com Community member

Sustenance 

Sustenance is the brainchild of poet Joy Sullivan. Members get access to a full library of previous Zoom workshops, plus attendance in regularly scheduled workshops with working, professional writers. Members also get opportunities to workshop their writing with each other in an encouraging community space. 

• Includes: 
  • Access to a library of recorded workshops
  • Attendance to regularly scheduled workshops with professional writers
  • An online community space to share and workshop writing
• Best For: Poets and lyric essayists looking to write and publish new work. 
• Learn More: Annual subscriptions currently run for $1600. Sustenance is currently on a waiting list. You can join the waiting list here. 

Paragraph

Based in NYC but with writers all around the world, Paragraph is an online writing community for serious working writers. It was founded by MFA graduates who were lacking for community spaces outside of the university, and it has since grown into a robust online platform with regular workshops and critique groups. 

• Includes: 
  • Free access to craft talks, roundtables, and query pitch workshops, including recordings of past events. . 
  • Discounts on creative writing classes
  • Access to online discussion boards. 
  • Monthly critique groups in all genres (except poetry). 
• Best For: Writers serious about improving their craft and working towards publication. 
• Learn More: Membership is currently only $25/month. You can join here. 

Scribophile

Scribophile is an online writing community primarily for fiction writers. The site hosts many different opportunities for writers to connect, get feedback, and learn from each other, and their community is both free to join and offers paid subscriber perks. 

• Includes: 
  • A forum to share work and receive feedback on novels-in-progress. 
  • Access to community writing contests.
  • Access to a directory of beta readers (paid). 
  • Detailed reader statistics for all work uploaded to the community (paid).  
• Best For: Novelists of all genres and backgrounds. 
• Learn More: Learn more about membership options here: the paid option costs $15/month. 

Shut Up & Write!

Shut Up & Write! is an international, decentralized writing community that hosts events both online and in cities around the world. Writers congregate in timed writing sessions to focus on their work, and sometimes hang out afterwards to connect and build community with one another. 

If you don’t have a Shut Up & Write! community where you live, they have resources for helping you start one yourself!

• Includes: 
  • Regularly scheduled sessions to focus on your writing. 
  • An online archive of tips and resources for writing craft.
  • Help in starting your own community if it doesn’t already exist. 
• Best For: Writers of all genres looking to build local community, including local online writing community.
• Learn More: Membership is free! Learn more here. 

Pen Parentis

Pen Parentis is an online writing community designed specifically for writers who are raising families. The community offers tailored benefits to help writers juggle their writing projects with the daily tasks that childcare requires. 

• Includes: 
  • Regular newsletters, lifestyle tips, and resources for writers balancing many obligations. 
  • An online writing community to connect with other writer-parents. 
  • Accountability groups and other opportunities to focus on your work. 
• Best For: Writers of all genres who are trying to balance childcare with the demands of their writing projects. 
• Learn More: Membership is free, with paid options. NYC-based writers also occasionally have access to in-person events. Learn more here!

London Writers’ Salon

Don’t be fooled by the name—London Writers’ Salon is an international online writing community that regularly congregates to get words on the page. In addition to daily Zoom calls, LWS offers classes, options for editorial feedback, and ongoing writing opportunities. 

• Includes: 
  • Daily Zoom-based writing sessions to focus exclusively on your writing projects. 
  • Ongoing learning opportunities, including classes and paid editorial feedback. 
  • Options to connect with agents, experts, and professional writers. 
  • Paid access to accountability groups, expert Zoom recordings, and e-books on writing craft. 
• Best For: Writers of all genres looking to focus on their work, especially fiction and nonfiction writers. 
• Learn More: Get details on free and paid membership opportunities here. 

Your Local Library

We’ll make an honorable mention of your local library. Many libraries have online and in-person writing groups; they’re often the best community spaces to host communities like this. If you find that your library doesn’t offer this, consider starting a writing group yourself!

Social Media

Social media is also a place where writers sometimes congregate. It doesn’t offer the same level of accountability as Zoom-based writing workshops, and since social media is often unmoderated, you run the risk of encountering writers who aren’t kind or supportive. 

That said, different sites offer different text-based platforms that are useful for meeting writers, especially if you live in a part of the world that doesn’t have much in the way of community. Reddit offers different forums, like r/writers, where folks can post about their writing anxieties or learn more about the craft. Tumblr (yes, it’s still around!) is also a place where writers congregate, post their work, and celebrate the craft. 

There are also websites like Archive of Our Own (great for fanfiction writers) and Wattpad that are designed for sharing work, getting feedback, and building community. 

Find More Online Writing Communities at the Poets & Writers Database

Lastly, Poets & Writers has a great directory of in-person and online writing communities that you can explore. The directory is occasionally out-of-date, but it includes groups for writers of all genres, abilities, and identities. 

Learn more here!

Features of the Best Online Writing Communities

The best online writing communities have these features in common:

• Supportive: Writing comes with its own anxieties and difficulties. The best online writing communities meet you at your needs, inspire confidence, and help you rise to the occasion of your own work. 
• Generative: Some online writing communities include prompted writing sessions; others simply carve out time for you to work on your own projects. Regardless, finding time and space to focus on your own writing is hard, and communities help create that time and space for you. 
• Educational: Every writer has something to offer. Yes, even complete newbies. In constructive writing spaces, writers learn from one another, offer feedback, and educate each other to become better authors. 
• Inspiring: You should come away from any writing space you join feeling inspired—whether that means inspiration for new goals, or inspiration to continue writing your own long-term projects. 
• Accessible and Inclusive: The creative writing world sometimes has a reputation for being closed off or elitist—and it’s true that some communities are exclusionary. We’ve found that the best online writing communities do not arbitrarily exclude any writers from their ranks, so long as all writers are willing to show up, be kind, and support one another in their work. 
• Connected: Writers also have a reputation for being introverted. But, even in the most introspective spaces, good online writing communities foster connection and friendship. Even if those are only friends you connect with over Zoom and email, you should still feel excited to write alongside other community members, and feel as though you know other writers whom you can mutually support.  

We recommend the above online writing communities for meeting all of these qualities. Whatever your writing needs are, you are sure to come away connected, engaged, and inspired to complete your own writing projects. 

How You Should Show Up in Online Writing Communities

While the best online writing communities exist to support your writing, learning, and community needs, it’s important that you also show up to any space with the right mindset and attitude. The more you invest into a community, the more you will get out of it—and we have a few tips on this based on our own experiences both building and participating in communities around the internet. 

1. Be Open Minded

One beautiful opportunity in any thriving community is the chance to learn about new and different lived experiences. Writers transcend all backgrounds, ideologies, and walks of life, and our task is to both understand ourselves and the world around us. Online writing communities are the perfect places for this—but only if you enter into one with an open mind. 

Online writing communities are the perfect places to understand ourselves and the world around us. 

Be willing to engage with people whose perspectives and experiences you don’t understand or initially disagree with. Disagreement and discomfort is not inherently a sign of danger. If anything, a community that operates as an echo chamber is far more dangerous, as it quells dissent and closes opportunities for growth and engagement. 

The vast majority of communities contain little to no friction, but the human experience is wide and diverse; if this happens, see this as an opportunity for connection and understanding, and you might find yourself forging deeper connections you would have otherwise foregone. 

2. Listen More Than You Speak

All writers want to be heard, and many writers join communities so others can hear them. You may very well join for the same reason. So this advice may be counterintuitive, but hear us out: you should try to listen more than you speak. 

Great communities are fostered when its members closely engage with one another’s thoughts, feelings, and writings.

Great communities are fostered when its members closely engage with one another’s thoughts, feelings, and writings. Community building is a two-way street: it requires both hearing and being heard. If you are 1 person in a room of 10 people, you shouldn’t speak much more than 1/10 of the time; otherwise, you might start losing opportunities to learn from other members, and for them to hear you, too. 

Don’t think about this advice too deeply—certainly, do not time yourself every time you open your mouth. But, great communities are fostered when everyone takes turns sharing their work, and it can often be more rewarding to hear someone name their own experiences: it creates new doorways for connection, and allows you to share yourself more freely as well. 

3. Know That Every Writer Has a Different Journey

Some of us write poetry; others, fiction, nonfiction, drama, etc. 

Some of us have been writing for 40+ years and have Ph.Ds. Others are relatively new to writing. 

Some of us write in the Modernist vein; others are Postmodern. 

Some writers want to publish their sixth novel; others want to self-publish their first poetry collection; still others don’t plan on publishing at all.

The best online writing communities accommodate for the beautiful diversity of the writer’s path.

Every writer is on a different journey. The best online writing communities accommodate for the beautiful diversity of the writer’s path. Do not assume anything about anyone else’s journey, and don’t expect others to automatically get yours, either. The more you learn about other peoples’ writing lives, the more you might learn about your own, and what you want to achieve in your work. 

4. Celebrate All Successes

Writing is a lonely business. We come to community to lessen that loneliness. And one of the easiest ways to do this is to share and celebrate all successes. Keep this mindset in mind with both your own successes and others’. 

When other people share successes, engage with them and congratulate them on what they’ve accomplished. This is true whether the success is a publication, a breakthrough in their work, or even just making the time to sit down and write for 5 minutes. If someone shares a win they’re celebrating, celebrate it with them. And, if you ever find yourself feeling jealous or insecure about your own accomplishments, remember that writing is not a zero sum game: we are not competing against each other, and a high tide rises all boats.

When other people share successes, engage with them and congratulate them on what they’ve accomplished. Be in the habit of sharing your own successes as well, however small they may seem.

Be in the habit of sharing your own successes as well, however small they may seem. Don’t pooh-pooh what you accomplish. The more you share about your own journey and success, the more others will encourage you to keep going, and the better it feels to write and be writing with a supportive community. 

5. See Yourself as a Member, Not a Participant

You do not need permission to be a part of an online writing community.

Read that again.

You do not need permission. Don’t wait for someone to tell you that it’s okay to join, to participate, to be with other writers. 

It can be so easy to exclude yourself from a writing space. The excuses never end. Everyone is already friends with everyone, why do they need me? You might ask. Or, I don’t have anything of value to contribute, why should I join?

Everyone has something of value to contribute, including you.

You should join because those moments of hesitation are simply untrue. Everyone has something of value to contribute, including you. Even if you are new to writing, or haven’t read as many books, or don’t feel like you belong. You are a writer, you do contribute (just by being present!), and you deserve to have a community that supports and encourages you.

Any writing space that doesn’t make you feel seen or accepted is not worth your time. If someone tells you to ask for permission, run—successful writing communities do not demand any proof of worthiness, as you are already worthy. 

You do not need permission to be a part of an online writing community.

What We’ve Learned from Being Part of Online Writing Communities

Here are some thoughts from the Writers.com administrative team about how online writing communities have transformed our writing. 

Frederick Meyer: Online Writing Communities Transform Your Learning

Running the Writers.com community has exposed me to things that I wouldn’t have run into otherwise. 

For example, I got really into doing erasure poems because of a community member’s suggestion, and I wrote a couple of the poems that I’m happiest with that way. I wouldn’t even be writing poetry at all if I wasn’t part of this space. 

I wouldn’t even be writing poetry at all if I wasn’t part of this space.

When I look at a piece of published writing in the community, I really get a much deeper sense of it. I see a lot of perspectives. We looked at this poem set in a mid-20th century house that had a mother and a few children and then the father was always traveling and he was kind of like this distant presence, and they were talking about what it was like doing chores all day and waiting for any news from the outside world. And you know, the poem hit me however it hit me. And then people were talking about what their experience was like, you know, growing up in parts of the world that were similar, parts that were different. And by the end of it, I just felt like I understood the poem so much better and it really resonated with me in a different way. 

It’s very much this mind meld when reading poems. And you get like this entire kaleidoscope of perspectives on it.

I feel like people’s comments on my writing have always been constructive and also have pointed to the parts of the writing that aren’t satisfying with a lot of accuracy. I’ve really appreciated that, and it causes you to engage with the writing that other people like or, in my case, since I’m helping organize it, it’s something on my calendar where I’m going to be really prioritizing writing and literature with a group of people that I really trust and that I really like. 

it’s something on my calendar where I’m going to be really prioritizing writing and literature with a group of people that I really trust and that I really like.

So it’s been really rewarding and a lot of the time it’s oddly therapeutic. It’s been quite therapeutic on a number of occasions and some people have been very, very kind to me in various ways. That is one of those things that I don’t really know that I need in a way. So it’s been a really rich experience. I’m really glad to be doing it and I recommend it to anybody. 

It’s one of those things that I don’t really know that I need in a way.

—Frederick Meyer, Writers.com Director

Elle LaMarca: Online Writing Communities Transform Your Writing Life

I met my critique partner of 15 years in my first online creative writing course. So although that’s not specifically about a community, I think the idea of taking an online writing course as a way to start building your community is so beneficial. If you find people that you really connect with, how you read each other’s work, that can be the foundation of your own community. I still work with this person on a weekly basis, and it’s now been 15 years.

I always feel more motivated and more inspired to write my own work when I’m inside a community.

In my experience, as someone who’s been a part of several different writing communities, writing can often feel so lonely because you have to do the work and that doesn’t change. Like, you have to write the words yourself, but I always feel more motivated and more inspired to write my own work when I’m inside a community and I’m reading other people’s work, and I’m hearing about their experiences and their journeys as writers. That’s true whether I’m leading the community or just an active participant. Being around other writers physically or even online is motivating and I always write more. 

—Elle LaMarca, Writers.com Curriculum Specialist

Join the Writers.com Online Writing Community!

Your voice is a gift. Share it in the online writing community at Writers.com. All voices, perspectives, and ideas are respected and valued in our community of writers around the globe, and your presence will only make us stronger. 

Learn more here!

The post Best Online Writing Communities: How to Find Your Writers Group appeared first on Writers.com.

This article guides you through the current state of literary journals and poetry websites. In addition to our recommendations for the best places to submit poetry online, we break down and categorize different types of poetry journals based on what and how they publish.

Want to get your poetry published? Check out these great poetry magazines and journals.

40 of the Best Places to Submit Poetry Online

There are a lot of poets writing a lot of poetry right now. As such, different literary journals cater towards different movements and lineages happening in the realm of contemporary poetry. The following categories are not authoritative, as they’re largely subjective and based on our own views of the modern poetry world. But, we break down the best places to submit poetry online into these groupings:

• Journals for new and emerging poets
• Off-beat and anti-literary poetry journals
• Journals focused on poets of marginalized experiences
• Prestigious journals founded in the 2000s
• Elite journals—academic and otherwise

There’s no set advice about where to submit your work—really, it has to do with your goals for publishing, the kind of work you’re interested in publishing, and how you see yourself in lineage with contemporary poetry. But, we recommend that you always read a journal before submitting to it, and that you do not take rejection personally. It happens to all poets, all the time.

Now, here are some of the best places to submit poetry online.

8 Great Poetry Journals for New and Emerging Poets

If you consider yourself a “new” or “emerging” poet—meaning that you have not been writing and publishing for a long time, but want to build a portfolio—the following poetry journals are great homes to consider for your work.

Egg+Frog

Egg+Frog is a literary journal based out of the United Kingdom, posting eclectic fiction and poetry with a wide range of genres and influences. The journal happily publishes new and emerging writers, and occasionally runs writing contests as well. Most submitters receive responses on their submissions in 2-3 weeks, and the journal often makes editorial suggestions before publication.

Ghost City Review

Ghost City Review, an offshoot of Ghost City Press, is regularly accepting poetry submissions from new and established writers. Their tastes are eclectic and embrace both the contemporary and the experimental. Ghost City also sponsors the literary community and remains active in uplifting other publications and keeping money inside the publishing world, so be sure to check out their online poetry submissions process as well as their free e-book series!

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New Millennium Writings

New Millennium Writings is a literary journal headquartered in Tennessee. It has published many famous poets and writers, yet prides itself on being the first home for many new and emerging writers, too. New Millennium Writings emphasizes a blind submission process, so only the work itself is appraised.

Chestnut Review

Chestnut Review publishes poetry and prose online quarterly, as well as a yearly anthology of their past year’s work. All submissions are responded to within 30 days, and submitters also have the option to pay for feedback on the work itself. Chestnut Review pays $120 for all accepted works of poetry and prose.

Eunoia Review

Eunoia Review is one of the fastest poetry journals on the internet, as it responds to all submissions within 24 hours. Their poetry tastes range from the eclectic to the storytelling, and they are always open for online poetry submissions.

Sky Island Journal

Headquartered in New Mexico, Sky Island Journal takes its name from isolated mountains that jut unexpectedly out from desert land. The journal does not boast specific tastes but is simply interested in publishing well-crafted poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Submissions are open year-round, and the journal publishes quarterly.

Stirring: A Literary Collection

Stirring: A Literary Collection is one of the oldest continuously publishing literary journals on the internet. What they publish is in the name: Works of poetry and prose that stir the reader’s emotions. The journal publishes quarterly and is a great home for emerging and established poets.

3Elements Literary Review

3Elements Literary Review posts a call for submissions each quarter. All poems have to involve the three elements that the journal chooses. For example, the Winter 2025 elements are “Compass, Rocking Horse, Underpass.” 3Elements publishes poems that combine these elements in effective and unusual ways, and this publication provides a great and challenging prompt.

6 Off-Beat and “Anti-Literary” Poetry Journals

If what you write doesn’t conform to contemporary literary standards, the following journals are some of the best places to submit poetry online. We make no judgment about what those standards are—but these journals appreciate poetry that is alternative, resists conformity, and eschews convention.

HAD

Most literary journals publish on a regular cadence. HAD does its own thing: the site randomly puts out calls for submissions that are capped at a low number. For example, it recently had a call for list poems: submissions opened at 11am Eastern on August 3rd, with a cap of 150 submissions.

As such, HAD is always publishing poetry and prose to different themes, with decisions made by different guest editors. Get on their mailing list or follow their social media to hear when their next call for submissions will open. Be sure to put the date and time in your calendar, and have your submission ready before the window opens: it typically closes within the first 3 minutes.

Rejection Letters

Rejection Letters began as a site to publish fictional rejection letters from other literary journals. With this ethos in mind, the journal has expanded into publishing poetry and prose that is “absurd, heartbreaking, hysterical”—and might be likely to receive rejection elsewhere. The journal is periodically open for submissions and typically responds in 2-8 weeks.

JAKE

JAKE literally bills itself as “The Anti-Literary Magazine”. The journal often describes itself in the third-person masculine: “He plans to read every piece that comes in within 1 month.” JAKE publishes poetry and prose with broken rules, bad taste, and nonconformity as his guiding principles.

Taco Bell Quarterly

Taco Bell Quarterly is an infrequent literary journal about Taco Bell. Every published poem and story on the site has at least some reference to the fast food chain. The journal’s online presence can be strange and offputting—they really don’t like The Paris Review, and their Venmo handle is @ParisReview—but TBQ pays all published poets $100, and it offers feedback to all submissions regardless of acceptance.

hex literary

hex literary (stylized undercase) publishes speculative prose poetry and flash fiction with an emphasis on the weird, uncanny, and uncategorizable. The journal is based out of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and puts out semi-regular calls for submissions. If you write poetry with speculative, magical, sci-fi, or horror elements, or else love to bend genres, check them out!

Does It Have Pockets?

Does It Have Pockets? emphasizes uncategorizable poetry and literature: pieces of writing that synthesize unexpected things or carry unexpected baggage. Submissions are always open, with fee-free submission periods available in February and August.

6 Poetry Journals for Poets of Marginalized or Unique Experiences

The following poetry journals are the best places to submit poetry online for poets that have traditionally been excluded from the poetic canon. These include journals for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and disabled poets.

Foglifter

Based out of San Francisco, Foglifter publishes poetry and literature by and for LGBTQ+ writers. In addition to both print and digital publications, Foglifters also puts out anthologies and chapbooks, themed calls for submissions, and it frequently uplifts new exceptional writing in the queer and trans communities.

Bellevue Literary Review

Few literary journals can say they’re run out of hospitals. But Bellevue Literary Review publishes work about our experiences of illness and health—including the perspectives of both patients and caregivers alike. Bellevue itself is one of the oldest public hospitals in the United States, based in New York City, and offers care and treatment to both physical and mental illness. As such, they’re a fantastic journal for exploring all types of illness, both within and outside of the medical system.

Black Warrior Review

Published out of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Black Warrior Review (BWR) centers the work of marginalized poets and writers. Much of the poetry they publish is experimental and genre non-conforming—a reflection of the necessity of work that comes from the margins of society. BWR also publishes an online-only journal, Boyfriend Village, which supplements their bi-annual print issues.

Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature

Wordgathering is a literary journal interested in poetry and prose from writers with disabilities. The journal undertakes a broad definition of disability; it actively encourages submissions from “D/deaf, D/disabled, Crip, Mad, Chronically Ill, Spoonie, Sick, and Neurodivergent (including Autistic) writers.” The journal is bi-annual and open access, seeking to expand the canon of disabled voices and bring new awareness to disability perspectives.

Yellow Medicine Review: A Journal of Indigenous Literature, Art and Thought

Headquartered in Southwest Minnesota, Yellow Medicine Review published poetry and literature by Native American writers. The journal is solely interested in indigenous perspectives, and defines indigenous “universally as representative of all pre-colonial peoples.” The journal publishes interesting and valuable poetry every Spring and Fall, often around a certain theme or guiding principle.

Anti-Heroin Chic

Anti-Heroin Chic publishes poets of all identities and experiences, but has a certain preference for poetry about addiction and recovery. As such, they are interested in poetry about the pain that drives people to addiction, and about the path out from there. They also want poetry from anyone who feels rejected by the mainstream, and they publish new poetry daily.

8 Prestigious Digital Poetry Journals

The following literary journals were established in the Internet Age, but make no mistake—they publish groundbreaking and innovative work. These are some of the best places to submit poetry online to. As such, these journals are more prestigious and harder to get published in, but are also great sources of inspiration.

The Adroit Journal

The Adroit Journal’s mission is to sponsor the next generation of poets, so their resources are often dedicated to youth poets and college-age writers. They seek works that are bold, eclectic, obscure, and daring. In addition to their poetry publications, The Adroit Journal also offers scholarships and awards for young and emerging writers.

Frontier Poetry

As the name suggests, Frontier Poetry publishes poetry on the frontiers of craft and language. The journal admires poetry that’s both contemporary and classical, as long as the poem advances the craft of poetry itself. Frontier is especially friendly toward new and emerging poets, and it hosts several contests every year with awards ranging from $100-$300, making them a great poetry magazine that pays.

Only Poems

To use their own words, Only Poems features poets, not poems. The site regularly features both emerging and established poets and frequently offers new contests, themes, and opportunities for poetry publication. Be sure to also check out their fellowships and learning programs!

Palette Poetry

Palette Poetry publishes great poetry from emerging and established poets alike. They are well known for their high-paying contests and well-read features, so the journal itself is rather selective. Be sure to also check out their craft resources, which offers great advice for writing and publishing poetry.

ONE ART: a journal of poetry

ONE ART: a journal of poetry borrows its name from Elizabeth Bishop’s poem by the same name. They publish excellent work with a preference for free verse poetry, and they do a great job of publishing both emerging and established poets. Several of Writers.com’s instructors and administrators have published poetry with them, and all of us have great things to say about their kind and generous editors.

Poetry Online

Poetry Online publishes poetry online. This journal is a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting smart and experimental poetry, including visual poetry and cine-poetry. Every month, the journal opens up fee-free submissions for one day only, capped at the first 40 submissions.

The Rumpus

The Rumpus publishes poetry, fiction, cultural critique, interviews, book reviews, comics, and any other form of buzzy writing happening in contemporary literature. As a result, they are a great home for contemporary poets looking for a wide audience. They frequently open and close for submissions depending on their backlog, as they receive many submissions from poets year-round. (Our own instructor, Elissa Bassist, edits their Funny Women column!)

Strange Horizons

Although it is known for its fiction, Strange Horizons also publishes what’s called speculative poetry—a broadly defined type of poetry that introduces speculative or unreal elements. They are regularly open for submissions and love poetry that pushes form and language to invite the surreal, fantastic, and speculative into it.

The 12 Best Places to Submit Poetry Online

This final section of poetry journals names publications that are elite and highly sought after. These reputable spaces have been publishing poetry for decades and can list some of the most famous poets in their archives.

As you might expect, these journals are also very exclusive and hard to gain publication from. Many of them are affiliated with elite universities and periodicals. These publications consistently set the tone for contemporary poetry: its aesthetics, interests, and ideals of poetic craft.

These are the best places to submit poetry online. We hope to see your name here someday!

The New Yorker

The New Yorker is not a poetry journal, it is a weekly magazine published through Condé Nast. Nonetheless, it publishes highly reputable poetry, making it a poetry space with large circulation. The New Yorker has been publishing since 1925, and it receives a huge number of online poetry submissions annually, which is why poets often wait 23 months before hearing back. Publication here is a high achievement.

POETRY

Published through the Poetry Foundation, Poetry Magazine is the oldest monthly poetry journal in the English-speaking world. Poetry Magazine receives over 150,000 submissions each year, making them a prized jewel of publication credits. The journal has a leaning toward traditional craft and academic styles, though more recent publications have sponsored more eclectic and experimental styles, too.

The Threepenny Review

The Threepenny Review opens for submissions January through April. They are notorious for being both highly selective and extremely quick on responding to submissions: most poets hear back within a few days. They publish astounding and top-notch work, so be sure to send them your best poems.

American Poetry Review

Take a look at the American Poetry Review, and you’ll see it’s filled with well-known contemporary poets. The journal publishes exceptional poetry every other month, and has been doing so since 1972. APR also publishes essays on poetry, as well as poetry collections from new and established poets alike.

The Kenyon Review

The Kenyon Review, a print and online poetry journal out of Kenyon College, publishes craft-focused, language-advancing poetry. On top of its well-respected journal, The Kenyon Review is an active participant in the literary community, regularly hosting workshops, fellowships, internships, and other programs designed to educate the next generation of literary citizens.

Ploughshares

Ploughshares, produced out of Emerson College, puts out quarterly publications of highly literary poetry. Submissions to Ploughshares should engage in the contemporary literary conversation and be submitted between June 1st and January 15th.

The Paris Review

The Paris Review has been publishing exceptional poetry and prose since 1953. They’re known for being prestigious, literary, and occasionally experimental, often oscillating between conventional and experimental forms. Like many of the journals in this list, The Paris Review can celebrate that many of today’s famous English-language writers have published in their ranks.

Boulevard

Although it’s only been around since 1985, Boulevard also has a storied history among the literary elite: many well-known poets and writers tout it as one of the best journals publishing in the U.S. today. The journal often publishes well-known poets over emerging ones, but seeks to champion any poetry that is formally inventive. Boulevard opens for submissions November through May.

The Yale Review

The Yale Review (TYR) isn’t prestigious just because of its Ivy League name, though that certainly helps. Actually, TYR is the oldest literary journal in the United States, having been in circulation since 1819, though its current name dates back to 1892. The journal publishes a wide range of poetry, and is typically only open for submissions at the end of summer—it reads and selects poems throughout the academic year.

Virginia Quarterly Review

Established in 1925, Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR) has been publishing excellent poetry for over a century. The magazine has published some of the most celebrated poets in the 20th and 21st centuries, but also expresses interest in poetry from emerging voices. The journal receives a high number of submissions each year when it is open between August 1st and 15th.

AGNI

AGNI, the official literary journal of Boston University, loves poetry that doesn’t care about “what poems should do.” They publish works that are innovative and evolving, yet still cogent in both craft and language. AGNI’s reading period opens up on September 1st and runs until May 31st.

Ninth Letter

Based out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ninth Letter publishes poetry and prose both online and in print. The journal is frequently ranked at the top of sites reviewing contemporary literary journals and is known for work that is fresh, engaging, and breaks convention. Check out their submissions page for both print and online publishing opportunities, some of which are themed!

Other Resources for Finding the Best Places to Submit Poetry Online

The world of poetry publishing is rather vast. Luckily, there a number of online resources that help you sort through the noise and find great homes for your work. We recommend you check out the following:

• Chill Subs—An incredible database of contemporary publishing. Chill Subs allows you to sort through poetry journals based on details like their following, the nature of their submissions (Themed? Open? Limited?), and what their overall vibe is.
• Duotrope—A site built on user-reported data that offers insights into a literary journal’s publishing opportunities, selectiveness, and guidelines. Some literary journals also accept submissions via Duotrope.
• Submittable—Many literary journals accept submissions via this comprehensive submission manager, which also lets you search for upcoming deadlines and publishing opportunities.
• Bookfox—which has a ranking of poetry journals based on how many poems have been published in The Best American Poetry.
• Clifford Garstand—which also ranks poetry journals, but through a more comprehensive mix of anthologized and award-winning published poems.

Resources for Poetry Submissions

If you want to learn more about preparing and submitting poetry for publication, check out these guides:

• How to Get Poetry Published
• How to Submit to Literary Journals
• How to Publish a Poetry Book

Resources For Writing Successful Poetry

Lastly, here are some resources for writing and revising publication-ready poetry:

• What is Poetry?
• How to Write a Poem
• What is Form in Poetry?
• How to Write a Free Verse Poem
• The Art of Revising Poetry

Write Submission-Ready Poetry at Writers.com

Looking to put your work into the world? The classes at Writers.com are designed to help you write, revise, and submit poetry for publication. Check out our online poetry writing courses and write your best poetry yet!

The post 40 of the Best Places to Submit Poetry Online appeared first on Writers.com.

There is no signifier, no before and after, no threshold or concrete line you have to cross that determines whether you are a writer. If you write, you are a writer—even without publication credits or a significant body of work. At the same time, the writer’s life is intimidating, fraught with insecurity, and everyone—published authors included—wants a magic formula that ensures a successful writing journey. 

That formula doesn’t exist. But this article will help guide you through the essentials of becoming a writer. Rather than prescribe an arbitrary list of dos and don’ts, we offer you different ways of thinking about your journey as a lover of words and stories. No matter your genre, your intent, or your motivation to write, this article will help you understand more clearly how to become a writer. 

What does it mean to become a writer?

The idea of “becoming a writer” comes with a few assumptions. You might think the following:

• You aren’t a writer until you get published. 
• You need to have a degree in English or Literature to call yourself a writer. 
• Writers have to know a bunch of hifalutin words and employ arcane literary devices. 
• To be a writer in the 21st century, you need to be active on social media, have a Substack or mailing list, and live in a major urban area. 

None of these assumptions are true about becoming a writer.

None of these assumptions are true about becoming a writer. If there’s one answer to the question “how to become a writer,” it’s this: an admiration for—and a longing to create with—language.

Does that describe you? Congratulations! You are already a writer. 

The above assumptions are based on the mythology of what writing entails. Yes, there are plenty of writers who fit the above mold. There are also plenty who don’t. The problem is not one of identity, but one of optics: the writers we know and admire are the ones who are constantly promoted or promoting themselves, and they’ve been able to do so because of the above privileges. 

If there’s one answer to the question “how to become a writer,” it’s this: an admiration for—and a longing to create with—language.

How many writers are there who never published? Who lived in small towns, eschewed the internet, and never used the phrase “it contain multitudes”? We don’t know, precisely because they toiled in anonymity, but that didn’t make them any less of writers—they just didn’t subscribe to the same professional aspirations. 

Later in this article, we talk a bit about those professional aspirations, whether they’re worthwhile, and how to start building a career for yourself as a writer. But for now, start calling yourself a writer. The sooner you do this, the sooner you will accept that your own journey is valid, and that, regardless of any arbitrary markers of success or value, your status is a writer is worthy and true. 

Start calling yourself a writer now. 

You can become a writer without having a privileged background.

Even today, there’s a persistent myth that writers are elite, born-with-it Ivory Tower folks who possess some ineffable gift of the Muses. Yes, some great writers were born with a knack of language, and plenty were born with wealth and privilege, but anyone who calls themselves a writer does so because they labor with the written word.

Becoming a writer simply requires an ardent exploration of language.

In others words, you don’t need an MFA from the University of Iowa to call yourself a writer. Becoming a writer simply requires a love language, and what it can do to tell a good story, to understand the world, or to explore and expand upon the human experience. 

Does this sound like you? Many writers who have this love stop themselves from writing. Maybe because they’re wondering how to become a writer without a degree, or maybe they don’t believe in themselves without the privilege and connections writers seem to have.

Now, writers certainly benefit from a university education or a family legacy in literature, but countless writers have acquired respect and success without a degree or name recognition.

Ernest Hemingway never went to college, but he still won a Pulitzer and Nobel Prize; neither did Maya Angelou attend university, yet she’s celebrated as the “black woman’s poet laureate”, and she later accepted a professorship with Wake Forest University.

Becoming a writer merely requires a love of writing. Degrees are just paper; it’s words that matter.

Degrees are just paper; it’s words that matter.

It is never too late to become a writer.

Becoming a writer has no age restriction; the act of writing is rated G for the General Public, and the love of writing is found in writers from ages 2 to 99+.

Many writers discover their writing talents in their later years. Why, exactly?

A few reasons. At a societal level, many people don’t pursue their own passions until later in life. This is because we are often forced to secure our own stability before we can indulge in our own creative desires. Many writers spent their 20s, 30s, and even 40s and 50s focused on other objectives: their careers, their families, their health. We are told, unconsciously, that pursuits like creative writing will not help raise our kids or give us health insurance. So the idea of even becoming a writer doesn’t occur to us until later in life, or, if we think about it, we only think about it as a passing whim, not a serious inquiry. 

Moreover, it’s no secret that most writers do not bring in 6-figure salaries. Why would you indulge in a passing fancy that doesn’t offer long-term stability? (An answer to that later.)

Additionally, some people don’t feel they have anything to write about until they are older. After all, how many TV shows are there about lost 20-somethings trying to survive in New York? But really, people aren’t drawn to writing until they start reviewing the facts of their lives and realizing, wait a minute, I have something to say.

The good news is, writers who discover their interest in writing later in life are well-equipped for success. Neurology reveals there are two types of intelligence: fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. “Fluid” refers to creative and adaptive thinking, including activities like writing and problem solving. “Crystallized” refers to the solidified body of knowledge people draw from—all the words, definitions, and experiences that build a foundation for the world.

Generally, younger adults have more fluid intelligence, whereas life experience builds one’s crystallized intelligence over time. The two intelligences tend to converge in a person’s 40s, since this is an age where the faculties for fluid intelligence haven’t declined, and crystallized intelligence abounds. Not-so-coincidentally, many writers see their careers flourish in their 40s and 50s. 

Many celebrated writers didn’t put pen to paper until middle age or later.

Many celebrated writers didn’t put pen to paper until middle age or later. Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t start writing until her 40s, and her Little House series didn’t start printing until she was 65. Likewise, Most of Wallace Stevens’ work was published after he turned 50; despite being a poet, he worked at an insurance company, and most of his coworkers were shocked when he won a Pulitzer at 75. Nobody knew that he wrote!

Finally, while university degrees are not the only way to become a writer, many university students return for a writing degree after establishing a career elsewhere. BFA and MFA programs around the world educate students in their 30s and beyond; in 2017, the average age of a low-residency MFA student in the U.S. was 35.4, according to LitHub and AWP.

Whether you’re 19 or 90, you’re never too old to write. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t write yesterday—the best time to write is today. 

How to Become a Writer: Becoming and Because

Rather than an If-Then structure, the writing profession follows a Became-Because structure.

How do you become a writer? Where do you begin? The writing profession is unlike most professions, which follow an If-Then structure. If you get a bachelor’s degree, Then you can work as a nurse, computer scientist, or accountant; If you join a worker’s guild or apprenticeship program, Then you can find work in a number of trade jobs.

The writing profession follows a Became-Because structure. Zora Neale Hurston became a writer because she obtained degrees from Howard University and Barnard College, encouraging her to dissect the African American experience through a literary and anthropological lens.

Conversely, Haruki Murakami became a writer because of a baseball game.

The qualifications for becoming a writer are unique to the individual, and every writer is formed by personal interests and experiences. As a result, no one can tell you where to begin your writing journey; however, if you’re wondering how to become a writer—or how to advance your career as one—the following advice is for you. 

Ask yourself, what is it that draws you to becoming a writer?

Ask yourself, what is it that draws you to becoming a writer? What are the stories you are trying to tell? What themes do you see emerging in your work? What first drew you to the page, and what keeps you there? These questions are the basis of your origin story, and your answers are valid, true, and necessary, no matter how unimportant you might think they are. 

How to Become a Writer: Developing a Writing Habit

Regardless of your personal or professional aspirations, it is much easier to take yourself seriously as a writer if you write consistently.

Now, the key word is consistently, not daily. I do encourage you to write every day, if possible, and to not make excuses for not writing. But you might find that writing every other day or bi-weekly is more realistic or useful for you, and if that’s the case, find a schedule that works for you and simply stick to it.

But it is important that you write regularly, regardless of your goals as a writer. If you want to hone your craft, you can only do this by regularly exercising the writing muscle. The more you put words on the page, the better you get at it—even and especially if you write on the days that are difficult, or if you dislike every word you write. 

Actually, let me emphasize this facet of how to become a writer. It doesn’t matter the quality of the words, only that you wrote them. 

It doesn’t matter the quality of the words, only that you wrote them. 

It would be fantastic to write divinely inspired, lyrical sentences all the time. But writing is work, and often hard work. You become a better writer by working through those hard days, because you are telling yourself that you will show up for your passion even when your passion feels hard to pursue, and because a bad page is better than a blank page. 

Also, you don’t need to be writing towards a particular project to write every day. If you aren’t sure what to write about, or even if you do have a long-term project in the works, I encourage you to keep a journal. Journaling helps you keep your writing mind engaged, and many writers return to their own journals to discover or retrieve ideas for later projects. 

Here are some useful guides on the writer’s journal:

• How to Start Journaling
• How to Keep a Spiritual Journal

Now, professional writers typically write every day, or almost every day. Part of this is simply the financial demand of being a writer: if you don’t write, you don’t publish new work, and the royalty checks dry up. 

But, again, a consistent writing practice hones better writing. 

How to Become a Writer: Experiment

Experimentation is key to your evolution as a writer. 

Let’s first stick to the topic of establishing a writing habit. Wouldn’t it be nice to just sit at your desk and get your pen moving? Some writers do this successfully, and I admire their discipline. 

But some writers have also found strange tricks that somehow work for them. 

For example, Haruki Murakami runs a 10K every morning to support his writing, and Charles Dickens wrote (and slept) facing north to improve his creativity.

I was also floored by this article, in which the podcaster Kelsey McKinney explains how she pushes through writer’s block: 

Now, I’m not advising you to go to any extremes. But what works for one person rarely works for another, so experiment with writing habits—and when you find one that works, stick with it.

For more ideas on approaching your writing habit, I like this article from The Marginalian that dissects famous authors and how they approached their craft. 

There is something new to be learned and gained on every step off of the beaten path. 

And, I encourage you to take this ethos of experimentation into other aspects of your writing life. Even if your primary goal is to write and publish poetry, you should study the art and craft of fiction or playwriting, if only because you can learn something from anything and it will make you a stronger writer. Take risks in your writing, do the unexpected, and allow yourself to deviate from your own standard ways of being. There is something new to be learned and gained on every step off of the beaten path. 

Reward yourself, and be gentle.

Before we look at how to become a writer professionally, I want to emphasize one last piece of advice: reward yourself, and be gentle. 

Writing is a lonely business. We often have only ourselves—and thus, only ourselves to blame. Because I am the person who decides if I write, I am also the person who chastises myself if I don’t. Because I am the person who submits to journals, makes money as a writer, and attempts to discover new things in my writing, I can also be the critic who admonishes myself for not achieving my goals. 

But I’ve learned not to do this—and you shouldn’t, either. 

We become writers because we love writing. When we castigate ourselves for not doing what we want with writing, then our attention turns from love to anger. 

If you didn’t write on the day you said you would, it’s okay—there will be another writing day. If you didn’t get an acceptance from that journal or magazine, remember that publishing is a punishing business, but it doesn’t reflect the merit of your work. 

When you do write, reward yourself.

Anything that tries to drive a wedge between yourself and your love of the craft is not worth indulging. When you do write, reward yourself. If you don’t write, or don’t write what you want, remember that tomorrow is another day to do so. 

And, join a writing community if you can—it makes the work a lot less lonely, and makes remembering this advice a lot easier. 

How to Become a Writer: “Amateur” vs. “Professional”

I don’t like to make the distinction between an amateur and professional writer. If I had it my way, the distinction wouldn’t exist: we are all writers, after all, and the primarily distinction between these two categories is one of money. 

Nonetheless, there are, generally, two classes of writers: amateurs and professionals. Before describing the professional writer, let’s be clear: “amateur” is not derogatory, and professional writers are not “better” than amateurs. Amateur comes from the Latin amator, “lover.” An amateur writer loves the written word just as much, sometimes even more, than the professional; amateurs simply have less pressure, deadlines, and financial dependence on writing. It’s a pastime, a way of building self-knowledge, or a healing practice—but not a career.

If you want writing to be a significant portion of your income, then you aspire to being a professional writer.

If you want writing to be a significant portion of your income, then you aspire to being a professional writer. Professional writers have to approach their writing as a business, building a literary audience and keeping a regular writing schedule. Professional writers need to understand the ins and outs of the publishing industry—which they often learn through obtaining a university degree—and it also helps to have formal training in the publishing world and experience operating literary magazines.

How do you work toward becoming a professional writer? Below are resources to get you started.

How to Become a Writer: What the Professionals Do 

Every writer, amateur or professional, is on their own journey, and the scope of those journeys is too broad for this article. After all, here’s a non-exhaustive list of professional writing career paths:

• University professor
• Magazine writer
• Journalist
• Digital copywriter
• Published novelist / memoirist / poet
• Screenwriter / playwright 
• Literary agent
• Publisher 
• Editor 

The path you want to take requires its own work and expertise, and your journey will not look like anyone else’s. 

However, I have one piece of advice for anyone who wants to write professionally: compartmentalize. 

Compartmentalize.

Because a professional writer has to do much more than write. You can parse the writing business into 3 separate components:

1. The writing life—putting pen to paper at regular intervals.
2. Scheduled time for “the business of writing”—submissions to literary journals, applying for grants, attending literary readings, networking, etc.
3. An active media/marketing presence—blogging, tweeting, emailing, etc.

A professional writer is also a self-promoter, an entrepreneur, and a networker. If you want to become a writer in a professional sense, you will want to schedule time for each of these elements in your daily writing habit.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Budding writers often overestimate their ability to work: they think they can spend 3 hours writing, 2 hours replying to emails, and 2 hours submitting work to journals. Then they spend the afternoon watching reruns of BBC quiz shows. (Yes! I did do this recently.)

That’s why forging a consistent writing habit is essential—for amateur writers as well as professionals. You need to create the space to focus on your craft, and then you need to create additional space for the other work that goes into becoming a professional. 

Make time for reading. 

Also, make time for reading. I don’t include this in the above list only because it isn’t directly related to the business of being a writer, but all successful, publishing writers read regularly and widely. You should do this whether you an amateur or a professional: you will continue to foster your love of writing and desire to write if you make a practice of reading all the time. 

How to Become a Writer: Resources for Becoming a Professional Writer

At some point, the professional writer needs to know the ins and outs of writing as a business. This list covers the essentials of how to become a writer professionally. 

How to make money as a writer

• Explore freelance writing opportunities (updated weekdays at F.W.G.)
• 6 writers explain how they make money (NY Mag)
• Self-publishing versus traditional publishing (Self-Publishing School)
• Writing to market (Funds For Writers)

Taxes as a self-employed creative

• Taxes on freelance writing and royalties (TurboTax)
• Tax tips and unique situations (The Balance Careers)

Resources on publishing

• Poetry journals
• Fiction journals
• Creative nonfiction journals
• How to get published in a literary journal (Reader’s Digest)
• Book: What Editors Do by Peter Ginna ($25 at UChicago Press)

Becoming a writer online

• Basic guide to each social media platform (Kindlepreneur)
• Building an author’s website (The Write Practice)
• Free website template for authors (Copyfolio)
• Running a mailing list (Your Writer Platform)

Things to know before taking writing classes

• Poetry courses
• Fiction courses
• Creative nonfiction courses
• Why take a writing course?
• Best online creative writing classes

Additional resources for learning how to become a writer

• Setting SMART goals
• Reading like a writer
• The golden rule: show, don’t tell
• Overcoming writer’s block
• Becoming a poet
• 8 tips on learning how to write
• Creative writing programs (Answering the question: should you get an MFA?)

Lessons from my own journey in becoming a writer.

Remember how I said that every writer’s journey is unique? Here’s what I’ve learned in my own pursuit of becoming a writer.

I actually never expected to become a writer. I hated English class. Why were we reading all of these stuffy books that had nothing to do with my own life and challenges? Who cares about the oxford comma? I excelled much more in math and science, and, since that’s the path I was told to follow, I assumed that I would follow it. 

But then, somehow, writing saved me. 

It was not in the form of an epiphany. No crack of the baseball bat. No dreamworld conversations with Edgar Allan Poe. Really, I discovered a love for writing outside of the classroom: that there were poets and writers out there who had experienced what I was experiencing; that my feelings were intense, but not abnormal; and, more than anything else, that there was a reason to keep on living. 

By the time I had gotten to college, writing was the only thing I could see myself doing. So I got my degree in creative writing. 

And, if I’m being honest? I often regret it. 

I don’t know what I would have done differently. Maybe English Literature instead of Creative Writing. Maybe what I wanted to do when I was 4: Astronomy. 

Through no fault of anyone, except maybe the broader American writing curriculum, I had lost my love of writing by studying it in undergrad. I was told about the tenor and the vehicle of a metaphor, about theories of language, about the arbitrary standards of what makes writing “good” (hint: there are no universal rules)—but I was not told how to foster my love of language, or how to turn that love into a life. I was too young and impressionable, and as a result, I let the university tell me what to think and how to write. 

But I had my degree, and I was already working for Writers.com, and I did what any clueless writer does when they don’t know what they want to do next. I moved to New York City. 

And I got even more lost for a while. I found myself performing my idea of what it means to be a writer, but not actually pursuing my love of writing. When I wrote (if I wrote), I was still writing towards what I expected other people to like. I was not writing what I needed to write. I also expected NYC, with its mythos as the center of the writing world, to answer the question I wasn’t yet asking: how to become a writer—a question I thought I had already answered. In actuality, I was a bit swallowed up in the city, bouncing from one community to the other without finding my place, my people, or my passion. I was waiting for the agony to make sense. 

I am not an exceptionally wise man. Nor do I pretend to hold all the answers like I used to. But I have followed the common path of the modern American writer, and I can confirm the following:

1. Every writer’s journey is individual. I will not recreate the life lived by the writers I admire. You won’t, either. Even if this were possible, there is no point in trying, because our writing and our voices are informed by our individual journeys, and it is better to be faithful to that journey than to follow the path someone else has walked. 
2. Writing is lonely, but writers not alone. We become the writers we want to be when we share our journeys with others. Finding community, making friends, and building a support system for your own creativity is essential. 
3. You have to chart your own path forward. No one else will tell you how to become a writer. The advice in this article is only exploratory, not definite. What you have to do is take agency over your life: decide what you want, know why you want it, and figure out how to get it. 

For example, I thought that I had wanted the traditional markers of writing success: a literary agent, a desk over a view of the Manhattan skyline, a pretentious salon of insufferable artists who wax poetic about ideas they don’t understand. And, okay, maybe that life still seems glamorous. But that’s not why I came to writing—it was because I needed to understand the world and my place in it. And I can pursue this even if, God forbid, I move to Siberia and become a data scientist. (No offense to any Siberian data scientists.) 

When I realized the writing life I wanted didn’t exist for me, I had to make it. For example, I never found a writing community that I liked and wanted to join. As a result, I had to start and run my own—and it is the best decision I ever made for my own creativity. When I realized the book-length projects I was working on were just attempts to write a “publishable book”, I scrapped the projects entirely. I am still trying to find my own voice outside of the voice that was handed to me, but recognizing this has made me excited again about writing, even if the work never goes to print. 

And, I’ve found that my desire to write is also my desire to transform the world, at least a little. No one told me how to do this, either, and I might spend my entire life failing at it. But between now and the failing, I’m making a poetry card game, I’m building richer writing communities where I live, and I’m trying to help other writers fall in love with the craft, too. 

I say all this so that you understand: my journey is not yours, and no advice is universal—other than to put faith in your own journey, and to always love the craft. 

How to Become a Writer: Take Your Next Step with Writers.com

Our instructors and courses are designed to help writers at every stage of their writing journeys. Checkout our upcoming online writing courses and take the next step in your journey of becoming a writer. 

The post How to Become a Writer appeared first on Writers.com.

As we prepare to welcome 2025, I wanted to share some of my favorite finds from this past year. These novels, tools, and resources aren’t just a reflection of what I loved—they’re curated with the hope that they’ll inspire you too. Whether you’re looking for motivation, craft insights, or just a little something to brighten your writing space, I hope this list helps you start the new year with creativity and excitement.

Novels That Inspired

This year, I read many wonderful books—so many that narrowing it down to a list of favorites would be impossible. I’m not someone who finds it easy to pick “the best” because every story has its own unique merits. That said, these five stood out to me for being not only a joy to read, but also for helping me think about storytelling in fresh ways. Each contributed to my growth as both a reader and a writer:

• All Fours by Miranda July
  True to July’s signature style, this novel is quirky, profound, and emotionally arresting. It’s full of truths and absurdities about midlife and perimenopause. It defies categorization, blending humor and vulnerability in ways that caught me off guard and made me reconsider the boundaries of narrative voice.
• Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
  Reid’s sharp, observant storytelling shines here. While I enjoyed her debut, Such a Fun Age, I found Come and Get It even more compelling. With biting humor and poignant social commentary, this novel had me laughing one minute, deeply reflective the next, and uncomfortable a page later. It is a masterclass in balancing accessibility with depth.
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
  While I’m not an author loyalist, I’ll read anything by Curtis Sittenfeld. Her writing is somehow both familiar and surprising, and this novel is no exception. While vastly different from her most famous novel, Prep, Sittenfeld’s wit and insight were in full force in this charming, hilarious, and layered novel. What could have been a light read instead offered surprising depth, delving into gender dynamics, creative passion, and self-reflection.
• Paradise by Toni Morrison
  This was a reread for me, my first time revisiting it in over twenty years. If reading To Kill a Mockingbird in my early teens laid the foundation of novels that would push me to question the complicated race relations in America, then Paradise built the house in my twenties. Coming back to it now, with more life experience and a broader world perspective, left me impacted in new ways. Morrison’s exploration of complex themes, like power, identity, race and community remains as compelling and challenging as ever.
• Songteller by Dolly Parton
  While not a novel, this book profoundly impacted how I think about storytelling. Through her lyrics and the stories behind them, Dolly Parton shares perspectives on crafting narratives that are deeply personal and universally resonant. It reminded me that every story—even those we invent—must start with a spark of authenticity.

Craft Books That Improved My Writing

Craft books are my go-to when I’m searching for fresh insights into storytelling or motivation to dive deeper into the writing process. I’m committed to learning as much as I can about the art of telling stories. This year, I revisited a few classics and discovered new favorites that influenced how I think about structure, character, and narrative. Here are four craft books that stood out:

• Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Alison
  Not to be hyperbolic, but Alison’s exploration of alternative narrative structures was nothing short of revelatory. She challenges the traditional arc and offers beautiful, thought-provoking examples of how stories can move in unexpected directions. It’s an eye-opener for any writer looking to break away from convention. I cannot recommend this book enough!
• The Secrets of Story by Matt Bird
  Packed with actionable advice and illuminating breakdowns of storytelling principles, this book is like having a personal coach for your writing. Bird’s clarity and humor make it an engaging and accessible guide for writers at any stage, and you’ll never be bored while reading.
• Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
  Cron delves into the neuroscience of storytelling, showing how to craft narratives that hook readers on a deep, emotional level. My biggest complaint with most craft books is they often regurgitate the same information. Cron breaks the mold, and offers something completely new. Her insights helped me rethink the connection between character motivation and reader engagement.
• Stein on Writing by Sol Stein
  A timeless classic, this book feels like sitting down with and picking the brain of an experienced mentor. Stein’s wisdom on everything from crafting compelling dialogue to creating tension is invaluable to all fiction writers. It’s one of those books I keep returning to year after year.

Other Favorite Reads This Year

Not everything I read this year was a novel or a book about writing, but some still shaped my writing in unexpected ways. Some dazzled me with their language and ideas, others offered practical advice, and all inspired new ways of thinking about storytelling and creativity. These books became guides—not just for how to write, but for how to live a more creative, intentional life.

• Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan
  This poetry collection brims with lyrical language and evocative imagery. Sullivan’s reflections on movement, place, and identity reminded me how small, precise moments can convey profound meaning in any form of writing.
• I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg
  Part memoir, part manifesto, Attenberg’s account of her journey as a writer is equal parts honest and inspiring. It’s a must-read for anyone navigating the ups and downs of a creative life—especially if you’re considering giving up. Her thoughts on persistence and self-discovery felt deeply personal to me, yet universally relatable to all creatives.
• The Mountain is You by Brianna Wiest
  This book delves into the emotional barriers we face and how to overcome them to live more fully. As a writer, I found its lessons invaluable—not just for personal growth, but for understanding my characters on a deeper level. As a writer, I’m prone to getting in my own way, and so are my characters. It’s time to move those mountains.
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
  Practical, concise, and full of actionable advice, this book helped me rethink my routines, and make small but impactful changes in my writing practice. If you struggle to dedicate time to your writing or to stay consistent, I highly recommend it.

Writerly Gems That Bring Joy

Books might form the foundation of my creative life, but sometimes it’s the smaller, unexpected finds that keep my writing days inspired and grounded. Here are a few random recommendations of little, writerly luxuries that brought insight and joy to my writing life:

• Favorite Podcast: The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
  This podcast doesn’t shy away from the realities of being a writer. With a mix of humor and candid advice, it offers a behind-the-scenes look at the industry while delving deep into craft.
• Favorite Substack: Counter Craft by Lincoln Michel
  Michel’s essays are sharp, thought-provoking, and sometimes delightfully irreverent. He dissects storytelling and craft with a critical eye, pushing me to think beyond the surface of what makes a story tick. Every post feels like a conversation with someone who’s as obsessed with the art of writing as I am.
• Fun Writer Swag: Outofprint.com
  Out of Print is where shop when I want to indulge in my love for all things literary. Their bookish socks, canvas totes, and wordy coffee mugs manage to be playful and stylish at the same time. I’m a proud word nerd, and writer swag brings me joy!
• Favorite Writing Tool: Rifle Paper Co. Journals
  For me, a good journal is more than a place to jot ideas—it’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and create. I’m obsessed with the stunning journals sold by Rifle Paper Co. Their beautiful designs that make me want to fill the pages up with all of my creative messiness.

Inspiration surrounds us—whether in the books we read, the tools we use to write, or the small joys that keep us motivated. I hope this list brings a little spark to your writing life as we head into 2025. Here’s to another year of creativity, stories, and surprising ourselves with what we can create!

The post Writing Recommendations from 2024 appeared first on Writers.com.

In this article, we’ll cover what spiritual journaling is and how to keep a spiritual journal, and then offer you 46 prompts for spiritual journaling if you’d like inspiration.

What Spiritual Journaling Is

No hidden corners here. By “journaling,” I mean keeping a regular, ongoing personal record, and by “spiritual journaling,” I mean journaling about our spiritual lives.

By spiritual journaling, I simply mean journaling about our spiritual lives.

What is spirituality itself? That’s up to you to define, of course—but I would say it involves life at its most fundamental, most meaningful, most mystical, and most sacred.

Spirituality isn’t really separate from life, in my view, so I’d say every journal (even a journal of new soup recipes) is also a spiritual journal in a sense; but this is getting a bit in the weeds.

Summing up, if you’re journaling about spirituality on purpose, then congratulations! You have a spiritual journal.

How to Keep a Spiritual Journal: 5 Tips for Spiritual Journaling

Below is my advice from several years of regular spiritual journaling. This is what has worked for me on my own spiritual path (heavily informed by Tibetan Buddhism) and with my own preferences around technology and so on, so please take any part of this advice that’s useful and leave the rest.

1. Spiritual Journaling Advice: Adopt Different Technologies

There are lots of reasons to keep a multimedia journal, not just handwritten or typed text. If you see a beautiful sunset or or an unexpectedly meaningful car license plate, it’s helpful to be able to record these things in photo or video, as companions to your words. If you’re having a spiritual experience, you may want to dictate some elements of it verbally, rather than interrupting it to start writing or typing. Transcription applications like Whisper Memos are wonderful for dictating vivid dreams, when writing them would take too long and start to cloud the memory. And so on.

For these reasons, my own journal is a multimedia record of my spiritual path, more than it is a text document. This is more complex, and it does force me to rely on the security and discretion of big tech companies; but I still recommend trying it for your spiritual journaling.

My own journal is a multimedia record of my spiritual path, more than it is a text document.

For an in-depth discussion on technology options and tradeoffs for journaling, please see our overall introduction on how to start journaling:

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

2. Spiritual Journaling Advice: Embrace Fluidity and Change

My own spiritual practice is constantly changing and evolving, and I believe this is how it should be. As such, I don’t journal to create a record of the absolutely correct things I will agree with forever.

I don’t journal to create a record of the absolutely correct things I will agree with forever.

Rather, I journal partly to record my spiritual practices at any given time, so that I can refer back to it later, and also partly to process my own spiritual path. I find that writing about whatever I’m going through clarifies those experiences; and it also helps them move properly through my system, so they can integrate with everything already in place, and with whatever comes next.

So that this isn’t abstract, you can imagine processing your feelings about a difficult interaction with a family member. You’re not writing it down because you’ll feel this exact way forever. Instead, writing it down both organizes your thoughts and feelings about the experience. It is also cathartic, helping open your system to the broader dynamic, and to whatever comes next in the relationship. It’s the same in our spiritual life (again, not that our spiritual and family lives are different).

So much of spirituality seems to be beyond what we can neatly encapsulate in words and then walk around agreeing with.

This point seems especially important because, for me, so much of spirituality is beyond what we can neatly encapsulate in words and then walk around agreeing with. As such, getting the words out might sometimes open us to deeper truths that our initial concepts were partially obscuring. A lot of spiritual discovery seems to take place in those moments of freshness and surprise.

3. Spiritual Journaling Advice: Be Uninhibited

As I experience it, true spirituality isn’t prim or tidy, and it doesn’t deny our pain and confusion. In fact, I often journal exactly to express and process these darker energies. As a result, my journal is as contrasting, shocking, and ultimately unprintable as life itself. 

Allow your spiritual journal to be honest and unfiltered—not prim or tidy.

The promise of any kind of journaling is this authenticity—being able to be honest and unfiltered with ourselves—and it becomes even more important in spiritual journaling, where opening fully is often the recipe for growth and discovery. Be willing to write uninhibitedly about the painful and bewildering energies you encounter on your spiritual journal.

4. Spiritual Journaling Advice: Consider Parts Work

Speaking of energies, one of the most effective ways I’ve learned to process life occurrences for spiritual growth is known as Internal Family Systems (IFS), informally called “parts work.” I urge you to read No Bad Parts, the primary reference to the IFS approach. It will be time well spent.

“Parts work” sees a human being not as a unitary entity, but as having many “parts”—personality structures, each with its own goals and perspectives.

The core message of IFS is that a human being is not “single”—a unitary, totally coherent entity doing its singular thing, like a billiard ball rolling into a pocket. Instead, we each have many “parts”: different personality structures, each with its own goals and perspectives.

If you think about it, this explains a lot. Why am I so nice most of the time, but my spouse says I have a mean streak? Am I a single unit that is “nice-most-of-the-time-but-also-with-a-mean-streak”? Actually, the mean streak is its own structure, its own thing. It recedes into the background much of the time, and under certain conditions it asserts itself.

Parts work has given my spiritual journaling a lot of specificity and healing power.

I bring all this up because parts work has given my spiritual journaling a great deal of specificity and healing power it didn’t previously have. (I personally don’t call them “parts,” I call them “energies,” and I’m also not bought into IFS’s assertion that all parts are in relation to a central capital-S Self.)

When I feel an energy arising—for example, if I’ve just acted out the mean streak I mentioned—I ask the following questions in sequence:

1. “May I speak with the energy that [feels however it is I’m feeling]?” (From there on, I address the energy as “you” and let it respond as “me”)
2. Sensation: Where can I feel you in the body?
3. Emotion: What feelings and emotions do you carry?
4. Impulse: How do you want to move the body?
5. Thought: What thoughts (words, memories, images…) do you carry?
6. Is there a name I should address you by? (To find this name, I let the energy say “I’m…” and then keep everything but the “I’m”)
7. What do you feel could be good or fruitful to discuss?
8. What do you feel you need, or what do you feel is needed?
9. Is there someone or something you protect? (This would be another energy)
10. If you weren’t in your current role, what do you feel would likely happen?
11. If you weren’t in your current role, what do you feel you’d enjoy?

In my experience, the psychological growth this process brings is also (or is identical with) spiritual growth: knowing my own energies better unlocks my power as a spiritual practitioner. More generally, whatever’s going on with me, psychologically and spiritually, is much clearer when I can give voice to and begin to connect with and integrate my individual energies.

If you’re interested in implementing parts work in your spiritual journaling, I strongly recommend you read No Bad Parts first, and I also recommend you get an IFS-trained therapist.

Doing parts work has opened energies in me that were very painful coming out of hiding.

Doing parts work has opened energies in me that were very painful coming out of hiding. I’ve had entire days where I couldn’t really get out of bed or talk to anyone. But then, after those days, my life is permanently better, like a shard of glass has been picked out of my foot.

So if you’re interested, please use caution, and please equip yourself with knowledge and with access to experts; and I hope you’ll find parts work as transformative as I have for your spiritual journaling, your spirituality, and your life.

5. Spiritual Journaling Advice: Don’t Forget to Practice Spirituality Itself

Like family, spirituality isn’t something we just learn about, think about, ponder, or discuss—it’s something we enact.

Spirituality is not just something we ponder or discuss, but something we enact.

Spirituality comes alive when we practice it through meditation, prayer, group worship, body work such as yoga or qi gong, sacred sex, visiting sacred places, absorbing spiritual teachings and so on.

So let’s give our spiritual journaling the nourishment it needs, by participating heavily in appropriate spiritual practice. Conversely, our journal can be a major asset as we find what spiritual paths and practices resonate with us.

Spiritual Journaling Prompts: 46 Prompts to Inspire Your Writing

I personally don’t usually journal from prompts. Instead, I write about whatever I’m going through, day-to-day. However, prompts can be a wonderful way to guide our focus and reflection in our spiritual journaling. Here are 46 spiritual journaling prompts as ways into your own spiritual life:

1. Sources of Support

1. What gives you hope?
2. What gives you strength?
3. What gives you courage?
4. What gives you joy?
5. What brings you happiness?
6. For what are you most grateful?
7. Whose spiritual practice do you most admire?
8. From what sources of wisdom do you draw guidance?

2. Meanings

9. What, to you, is kindness?
10. What, to you, is compassion?
11. What, to you, is goodness?
12. What, to you, is community?
13. What, to you, is connection?
14. What, to you, is life?
15. What, to you, is death?
16. What, to you, is love?
17. What, to you, is grace?
18. What, to you, is generosity?
19. What, to you, is faith?
20. What, to you, is magic?
21. What, to you, is sacredness?
22. What, to you, is power?
23. What, to you, is glory?
24. What, to you, is devotion?
25. What, to you, are blessings?
26. What, to you, is salvation or liberation?
27. What, to you, is transcendence?
28. What, to you, is divinity?

3. The Spiritual Journey

29. What spiritual path or journey are you presently on?
30. What is the biggest obstacle on your spiritual path at present?
31. What help do you most wish for in your spiritual life?
32. Where do you most hope your spiritual path will lead?
33. What is your highest spiritual aspiration or goal?

4. Working with Challenges

34. How do you work with pain?
35. How do you work with suffering?
36. How do you work with confusion?
37. How do you work with fear?
38. How do you work with anger?
39. How do you work with guilt?
40. How do you work with loneliness?
41. How do you work with self-aggression, such as self-criticism and self-blame?

5. General questions

42. What is a part of yourself that nothing can ever change?
43. What is the most spiritually powerful experience you’ve ever had?
44. Can you name some of the primary gifts you’ve been given?
45. What gift do you most wish to offer the world?
46. What is someone or something that you will always love, no matter what?

Spiritual Journaling: Enjoy!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this introduction to spiritual journaling. How do you approach journaling on your spiritual life? Do you have any questions about keeping a spiritual journal I can help answer? I’d love to hear your comments below, and good luck!

The post Spiritual Journaling: How to Keep a Spiritual Journal, and 46 Spiritual Journal Prompts appeared first on Writers.com.

Negative capability cannot be divorced from its context: Keats was a poet of the Romantic Era, a movement emphasizing beauty, truth, and powerful emotionality. Nonetheless, poets and writers today can benefit from knowing this term d’arte and the potential it carries for our work.

What is negative capability, and how do we access it? Let’s uncover the surprising wisdom of this confusingly-named phrase.

Negative Capability Definition

Negative capability describes a state of mind in which the writer or artist, in their pursuit of beauty, truth, or “the sublime,” embraces uncertainty, complexity, contradiction, or mystery in that pursuit. The writer does this without jumping to conclusions or trying to explain the mystery. In doing so, the writer achieves a greater representation of the truth by embracing a more full reality—which is, itself, complex and often mysterious.

Put a simpler way: negative capability is the writer’s embrace of what doesn’t make sense to, paradoxically, make sense of the world.

Negative capability is the writer’s embrace of what doesn’t make sense to, paradoxically, make sense of the world.

If you’ve been writing or creating art for any amount of time, then you might know what Keats is referring to. You’re working on something and its themes get tangled, its symbols and images hard to define, the “message” of the work feels lost in the details. In this instance, your instinct might be to go back and revise what isn’t yet finished, to find the “point” of the work before you finish pursuing it.

Negative capability, then, is your license not to do that. The idea that any piece of art has to have a stated “purpose” or “message” on the part of the artist is vastly untrue (and something the Romantics would have roundly rejected). What’s more, embracing that uncertainty and complexity might lead you towards better work—work that is more full-throated, complicated, true-to-life, and manages to make sense of the nonsensical all on its own accord.

Negative capability is both a state of mind and a practice. We’ll look at tips for accessing it later in this article, but first, let’s understand this concept better by contextualizing its source. For example, who was John Keats?

Negative capability is both a state of mind and a practice.

John Keats and Negative Capability

Keats was a poet of the early 19th century who was surprisingly prolific despite his rather short life. (Keats died from tuberculosis at age 25.) Like other Romantic Poets, Keats was preoccupied with questions of emotionality, the human spirit, truth, and beauty. The latter two concepts are famously referenced in Keats’ poem Ode on a Grecian Urn: “beauty is truth, truth beauty.”

Keats espoused his idea of negative capability in a letter to his brothers when he was 21. He writes:

I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.

Hopefully this offers a little bit of clarity into the odd name for this concept. It’s a capability for the negative—which, here, means those uncertainties, mysteries, the absence (or negation) of any seeming logic.

Who Were The Romantic Poets?

The Romantic Poets were members of what we now call the Romantic Era, an artistic, cultural, and aesthetic movement that began at the end of the 18th century and dominated common thought in the first half of the 1800s. Romanticism rejected many of the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, an era associated with an emphasis on science, rationality, secularism, and that which is measurably true.

Thus, the Romantics were concerned with ideals such as (but not limited to):

• Beauty, particularly the idea that beauty provides purpose and meaning to life itself.
• Truth, including truths which are paradoxical, hard to access, or only accessible through beauty and the supernatural.
• The supernatural, including both religious and occult ideas.
• The sublime, which is the experience of feelings and thoughts that are so large, they transport us beyond ourselves and our lived experiences.
• Nature, which is often a source of beauty and truth (as well as a manifestation of God).
• Large emotionality, with an emphasis on the truth in subjective experience.
• A rejection of logic and rationality as the sole vehicles towards what is true and real.

These emphases, particularly on emotionality and personal experience, still influence the art and literature of the 21st century. It is no surprise, then, that negative capability remains a powerful ideal for writers to aspire towards.

How to Reach Negative Capability

Negative capability helps writers embrace the full mystery, complexity, and vision of our work. But how do you actually enter that headspace?

The diligent writer can reach negative capability with practice and an open mindset. Here are five tips for achieving Keats’ vision.

1. Mindfulness

Above all, negative capability is a skill of focus and mindfulness. The tools of meditation can be quite useful here. When we stills our minds and accepts what arises inside it, we can pay closer attention to the words that need to be written.

For Keats, the opposite of negative capability was “irritable reaching after fact and reason.” Meditation and mindfulness reduce our minds’ irritabilities and graspingness in general. 

I’m no expert on meditation and mindfulness, but luckily, our instructor Marc Olmsted has some thoughts on mindful writing here:

https://writers.com/mindful-writing

2. Identify Unhelpful Thoughts

One helpful technique in meditation that’s worth highlighting is “labeling,” which is simply when you notice your thoughts drifting and label those thoughts as such. That practice can be adapted to the process of writing with negative capability. When you find yourself thinking unhelpful thoughts, labeling them as such will help you shift the mindset you write with.

What are those unhelpful thoughts? Anything that distracts you from that goal of embracing mystery. For example:

• What does this mean?
• What am I trying to say?
• Does that make sense?
• Have I said this before?
• Has someone else already said this?
• Am I making things too complicated?

To be clear, some of these thoughts and questions may be useful when you start revising and editing. But, when you’re drafting, don’t let those thoughts pull you away from what’s possible in the work.

3. Avoid Self-Judgment

Negative capability is easier to achieve with a certain lack of self-judgment. The less you pay attention to yourself (and, therefore, your “merits” as a writer), the more you can fully invest yourself into what you’re writing.

As such, it’s important not to judge your work as you’re writing it, and to not get in your own way as a writer. This is possible even when you’re writing about yourself. I’ve found that, in a mindset of negative capability, I can channel my thoughts and emotions into my work while doing so from an abstracted, objective space.

You might also take a cue from the writer Anne Lamott, who writes in Bird by Bird that writers should strive to write a shitty first draft.

4. Follow Your Whims and Intuitions

Writers sometimes can’t explain why we made certain decisions in our work. When in a space of negative capability, we might follow the whims and intuitions that arise from our unconscious mind.

If you find yourself suddenly going in a different direction in your work, let yourself explore that direction. Make decisions that you can’t necessarily explain, whether it’s in your choice of a single word or in the sudden introduction of major plot elements. In revision, you might disagree with those decisions, but you might also open yourself up to insight you wouldn’t have otherwise gained.

Richard Hugo has useful advice here as well. While his writing is for poets, writers of all backgrounds can benefit from his idea of the “initiating” and “generated” subjects. A writer will sit down to write on one thing (the initiating subject), but end up writing about something completely different (the generated subject). Knowing this should empower you to follow your mind where it goes, because there are no “wrong” decisions, especially not in first drafts.

You can learn more about the “initiating” and “generated” subjects here:

https://writers.com/feature/on-starting-a-poem

5. Be Humble, Be Curious, and Embrace What You Don’t Know

Above all, the writer that achieves negative capability knows that they know nothing. This goes hand-in-hand with taking down your ego: to embrace mystery and complexity, you have to accept that you don’t know everything about the subject you are writing on.

Writing is an act of discovery. If you already know what you’re going to say, you won’t end up saying anything new or surprising for your reader. Keep an open mind and treat writing as a learning process. Embrace your curiosity and openness to new ideas. You will find that your initiating subject is just the tip of a deep, complex iceberg.

Hone Your Negative Capability at Writers.com

Whether you’re looking for a mindful writing experience or prompts to get you going, the classes at Writers.com will help support your journey through negative capability. Check out our upcoming online writing classes here.

The post Negative Capability: What It Is and How to Access It appeared first on Writers.com.

This article answers those questions and plenty more. Whether you’re writing poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or something in-between, this article guides you through the world of creative writing education. Here’s everything you need to know about creative writing classes for adults.

The Best Places for In-Person and Online Creative Writing Classes for Adults

To start, where can you take online writing classes for adults?

We can’t recommend ourselves enough as a great place for writers of all stripes to hone their craft. Writers.com has been in the business of online creative writing classes for adults since 1995, and in that time, we’ve helped thousands of writers find, sharpen, and share their voices with the world. Whether you want to write for your own wellbeing, get into an MFA program, or publish with the Big 5, our online writing classes for adults are sure to help.

That said, there are plenty of creative writing programs, both online and in-person in plenty of U.S. cities. Here are some schools that offer online creative writing classes for adults:

• Writers.com
• GrubStreet
• Gotham Writers
• Hugo House
• Writing Co-Lab
• The Writing Salon
• Blue Stoop
• Writing Pad
• Loft Literary
• Writing Workshops
• Story Studio
• The Writers’ Center

If you’re looking to weigh your options, take a look at our ever-growing list of MFA, in-person, and online writing programs:

https://writers.com/creative-writing-programs#best-writing-programs

What Do Creative Writing Classes for Adults Include?

While it depends on the writing program and the syllabus for the class, you can expect most creative writing classes for adults to include the following:

• Weekly lectures and readings.
• Generative writing prompts and assignments.
• Opportunities to read and critique other students’ work.
• Opportunities to get your work read and critiqued by both the instructor and the other students.

If the class has an in-person or Zoom component, then you can expect some or all of these elements to take place live.

What Are Creative Writing Classes for Adults Like?

Your class experience will obviously depend on a number of factors, including the genre of writing, the course instructor, and even the other students who enroll.

That said, most creative writing classes for adults are:

• Supportive: Your work will receive the care and attention it deserves no matter what stage it’s in.
• Constructive: Other writers will point out opportunities to help your piece get more closely aligned with your vision for it.
• Creatively nurturing: Creative writing classes for adults provide loads of inspiration, ideas, and doorways into writing and editing your work.
• Community-oriented: You’re more likely than not to leave your course with new friends, connections, and writing partners.

Some classes are more challenging than others, and a good writing program will mention what experience, if any, a student should have before enrolling in a class. That said, the best creative writing classes for adults aren’t necessarily the most challenging ones—it’s the classes that help you write what you need to write.

How Writing Classes For Adults Are Different From School

Some students worry that taking a creative writing course will have the same feeling as taking a class in high school or college. That fear is valid—but, luckily, creative writing classes for adults are nothing like English Class.

For one thing, you’re choosing to be in the class, as is every other student. For another, nobody is trying to punish you, correct your behavior, or tell you how wrong you are about something.

However, the most important distinction to be made is that you’re in the class learning what you want to learn, not what anyone else thinks you need to learn. In the best classes, you can respond to the lectures and assignments in whatever ways make sense for your own writing projects and interests. And, you’re in the class with other people who share your passion and excitement for writing.

As a result, the energy of a creative writing classroom is probably nothing like any class you’ve taken in the past.

Other Reasons to Look Forward to Adult Learning

The differences between high school and writing classes for adults cannot be overstated. Here are some other reasons to get excited for whichever courses you end up taking:

• Everyone wants to be there: Being in a room of people who share your passion is hard to find. Creative writing classes for adults make it easier.
• Everyone is more interesting: As you grow older, you become more specific as a person. You have more unique life experiences and a stronger sense of self, which isn’t the case in high school or even college. As a result, everyone can learn from each other in a writing course.
• There’s no grade at the end: So you don’t have to worry about whether you’re good enough, slacking behind, or getting into college.
• You don’t have to deal with any real hierarchies: In high school, the teachers and administrators have more power than you; so do the upperclassmen. That’s not the case in writing courses—often, the teacher speaks to you like you’re on the same level as them, which they often are.
• You’re there for yourself: Whether it’s to work on your writing skills or work towards a project, your class is for your development, not for you to keep busy on useless information.
• The class isn’t meant to overwhelm you: Most adult learners have other obligations—children, family expectations, full-time jobs, etc. While you certainly need to make time and be diligent in your class, you don’t need to rearrange your entire life like you would for an MFA program.
• The learning is more targeted: You are learning only what you intend to learn for your own writing goals and projects.

Why You Are Already Ready for Your Class

You are also more primed for success in creative writing classes for adults than you might think, because:

• You have more depth and life experience: In other words, you already have a ton of material to work with in your class. A good instructor simply gives you the tools and prompts to bring that experience onto the page.
• You have excitement around your writing: Learning is a whole lot easier when you actually care about the topic.
• You are more up to the challenge than you may realize: Writers have a tendency to not believe in themselves, even when they’re good at what they do and are pursuing an artistic vision. Yes, even NYT bestsellers. Yes, even tenured professors.

You’re Never Too Old for a Writing Class

Some writers might talk themselves out of taking a class simply because of their age. Perhaps they feel like they were last in school so long ago, how can they expect to learn anything now? Or, why try to catch up on learning creative writing, when there are so many people who are younger and more ahead of the game?

It might also feel disheartening, in a way, to take up a skill you wanted to learn so many years ago, but never had the chance to. Is it worth trying to learn creative writing at this stage in life?

Absolutely, yes. Writers.com has students taking our classes well into their 70s and 80s; a few are even older.

More importantly, worrying about whether you’re good enough, smart enough, talented enough, young enough, or anything else are simply manifestations of the feeling that your words don’t matter. They do. Everyone has a story that deserves to be told, and everyone deserves to learn how to tell their stories.

If anything, it’s brave and inspiring to learn new skills later in life. We can always grow and develop as people. Besides, there are plenty of people who know how to write well, but have nothing to write about. Now that you’ve been alive for a while, you probably have much more to say than someone in their 20s or 30s—which is not to say that their stories are unimportant, only that they don’t have as much depth and life experience.

Again, if you’re considering enrolling in creative writing classes for adults, take the plunge. You will find yourself getting excited and comfortable much sooner than you think, and once you start writing, you probably won’t be able to stop.

Things to Think About Before Taking Creative Writing Classes for Adults

Of course, creative writing classes still involve work—even if it’s work you want to do. So there are a few things to think about before you enroll to make classes you take truly beneficial towards your writing journey.

First, ask yourself: what is it that I want to get out of a class? Some options include:

• Writing a large portion of a writing project, such as a novel, memoir, or poetry collection.
• Strengthening my abilities as a writer and learning new skills.
• Getting feedback on work that I want to eventually publish.
• Finding inspiration and new ideas to write towards.
• Developing online writing community with writers who share my passion and interests.

There are other reasons to join creative writing classes for adults, but these ones stand out as the most common. Not every class will meet every need, so you want to consider what it is you’re hoping to gain from a class so that you enroll in the right one for you.

How to Get the Most Out Of Online Writing Classes For Adults

Once you enroll, you can ensure you get the most out of the class by having a consistent writing practice and dedicating enough time for the class.

While online writing classes for adults are a lot of fun, they can also be a lot of work. Setting aside a consistent amount of time to read the lectures, write towards the assignments, and respond to other students’ work is essential to learning what you enrolled to learn. Be prepared to focus—and, if you need to, be prepared to create the space you need to focus, whether that’s in your house, at a coffee shop or library, or even out in nature.

And, once your class ends, treat that time you carved out as sacred. When you have a consistent writing practice, you’ll be amazed at how much work you can get done.

More Resources for Learning Creative Writing

Here are some additional guides we’ve put together on getting the most out of online creative writing classes for adults:

• 8 Things to Know About Taking Fiction Classes Online
• 8 Things to Know About Taking Creative Nonfiction Fiction Classes Online
• 8 Things to Know About Taking Poetry Classes Online
• 12 Things to Look For in the Best Online Writing Classes
• Creative Writing Programs

Take Your Next Course at Writers.com!

Whether you’re new to writing poetry or finishing the Next Great American Novel, Writers.com has a class for you. Take a look at our upcoming online courses, where you’ll receive expert instruction and feedback on everything you write.

The post Creative Writing Classes for Adults: Everything to Know Before You Enroll appeared first on Writers.com.

Among twenty options—everything from “I struggle to complete large projects” to “I don’t feel confident navigating publishing”—here were their top 7 answers, in order:

1. I’m worried my work isn’t good enough.
2. I don’t know how to market myself and my writing.
3. I don’t have good access to constructive feedback on my writing.
4. I struggle to stay motivated.
5. I don’t feel confident in my writing skills.
6. I don’t know which skill(s) I’m missing.
7. I don’t feel I’m as good as the other writers out there.

What jumped out at me as I read these is how intimately our writing intersects with the painful topic of self-worth.

I’ve always felt this way personally, and now I have cold, hard data to back it up: The hardest part about writing is how it can activate our struggles with self-worth.

The hardest part about writing is how it can activate our struggles with self-worth.

How Writing Engages Self-Worth

We almost take for granted that writing tugs at our self-worth, so it can be helpful to remember where and how this happens. A good jumping-off point is the topic of rejection.

Writing is full of rejection throughout, not just at the obvious nadir of being refused by a publisher. Struggling to build a readership means facing lots of rejection: no matter how strongly we feel about our words, most others can’t be induced to care about them. Editing and critique, no matter how carefully structured, includes rejection: we must hear where, in others’ eyes, our words fall short.

Most important, and most painful, is self-rejection: I’m worried my work isn’t good enough. I don’t feel I’m as good as the other writers out there. As our survey showed, this hurts writers more than literally anything else.

We might reject our own writing to shield from others’ criticism: “Before you say anything, I don’t like it either.” This numbs external rejection, at the cost of internalizing it. This is how we learn self-rejection: from the outside in.

We learn self-rejection from the outside in.

Then, at some point, there’s the experience of reading our own writing—writing we were excited about at the time—and finding, as if by some negative magic, that we don’t like it. This isn’t directly about others’ opinions, but is a personal noticing: This is just not good.

In other words, we feel that the goodness we intended, and which we felt as we were writing, is now not present in the words staring back up at us. We lost the goodness, somehow, exactly as some other writers don’t—the ones you’ve heard of; the good ones.

Why Is It Like This?

The pain of all this is so familiar that mentioning it almost feels like belaboring the point. But the question is: Why is it like this, and why is it so painful?

This same question holds not only for rejection, but for the closely related topics of envy, inferiority, desperation, competitiveness, arrogance, gatekeeping, snobbishness, dread, wavering motivation, writer’s block: really, every painful emotional state for which writers are known.

It’s Learned

My four-year-old daughter is a frequent and totally uninhibited storyteller. She never waits at the end for me to say, “…Oh! Yes, I liked it. I liked the part with—” She has never wondered whether she’s talented, let alone how talented. She doesn’t ask for feedback; in fact, she doesn’t care what I think. She enjoys the story as it dances in her mind, and she shares from that enjoyment.

Of course, my daughter will someday develop every adult problem we suffer from. The point, though, is that they’re learned. We develop them, like bruises, as the world starts to impact us roughly.

How does this happen? I can describe what I know of my own case.

Writing and Self-Worth: My Personal Experience

In my case, I’m worried my work isn’t good enough, and I don’t feel I’m as good as the other writers out there. These aren’t worries about my writing ability itself, but with what feels like the incompleteness or trivialness of what I might have to say to other humans.

Beneath all this are issues with self-worth. This is why encouragement targeting what seem to be my challenges—“your writing is great!” and “you have lots to say!”—never helps, the way itch cream doesn’t douse a fire.

Beneath my issues with writing are issues with self-worth.

I’ve begun to explore the issues with self-worth through a personal journaling practice. I’ve found many straightforward sources: being bullied in adolescence; erratic experiences in my family life; social, romantic, and academic rejections. Some are more unexpected: for example, I’ve come to associate a fear-based “travel light” mentality with my mother’s parents’ families having lost everything in the Dust Bowl.

These root issues have little to do with writing, but writing activates them.

So, these root issues have rather little to do with writing, but writing activates them. To write for others—to share my inner life in language—draws on a kind of confidence that, in me, is damaged. Until I started to untangle this recently, I found it simply puzzling why I can’t do things like “set a timer and write each morning” or “write the journey, not just the destination” or “embrace rejection” or whatever, all the good advice out there.

It’s Not Just Me

I expect that this kind of thing is what most writers are suffering when they say: I’m worried my work isn’t good enough. I struggle to stay motivated. I don’t feel I’m as good as the other writers out there. We should always be growing and improving as writers, but our underlying insecurities aren’t the kind of thing that learning or accolades alone can address.

Because writing is extremely intimate, it summons, activates, what we deal with as people.

Because writing is an extremely intimate act, it summons, activates, what we deal with as people. If this is true, we need to ground how we support writers at this level, or the help we offer will tend to be of the quick-fix variety.

Where We Can Go From Here

The understanding above makes me excited to offer the following three kinds of supports on Writers.com.

1. Writing to Heal

I’ve been surprised how powerful writing can be within a broader healing process.

I have been stunned by how powerful writing can be as tool within a broader healing process. For me specifically, this takes the shape of a journaling practice, and I’ve also seen it combined with body-awareness practices. I’m very excited to explore more, and see what we can offer in this vein to Writers.com community.

The most obvious benefits of writing within healing, as I’ve experienced them, are that writing our thoughts and feelings clarifies them. It also records them, removing the pressure of either remembering them or losing them. These are more or less the base advantages of writing anything, and I’ve found them extremely helpful in personal healing.

Obviously, we can’t heal our minds fully before we start writing. (It’s taking forever in my case.) But for people who suffer in their writing, as I have, some help seems possible.

If you want to get started on this, check out our article on mixing yoga and writing, or on writing as a wellness practice.

2. Craft Foundations

What makes writing emotionally challenging becomes even harder if you feel you’re missing concrete skills that make your writing less engaging for others.

As a personal analogy: I could try to dive right into a local bar’s flamenco dancing night. However, I am an untrained and also a terrified dancer in general, and it would take a cosmically more healed person than I am to suffer the embarrassment of dancing flamenco publicly, rather than just an astronomically more healed person to learn basic principles of dance like what “footwork” means and why it matters.

Many basic writing craft elements are straightforward.

Many of these basic craft elements are straightforward. In prose, for example, learning to reword into the active voice and to reduce adverb use can do much to improve our writing. I’m excited to support exploring these foundations in community.

If you want to get started on building craft foundations, you can start with our overview of prose writing style. 

3. Mindset Support

Understanding that writing engages the deepest—including the most painful—parts of ourselves, we can approach our writing with full respect for what we’re activating.

If we understand that writing engages the deepest parts—including the most painful parts—of ourselves, then we can work with ourselves and one another on that basis. This would mean compassionate, non-bypassing support for one another, as we approach our writing with full respect for the parts of ourselves we’re activating.

I’m not aware of a single resource that’s doing exactly this (if there is one, please tell me), so this would be something I’d want to explore in community, to see what works.

To explore mindset a little more, here’s an article I wrote on the topic of working with writer’s block.

Summing Up

If you were just curious what’s the hardest part of being a writer, I hope the answer you’ve found here—that writing activates our struggles with self-worth—feels intuitively right.

Beyond that, I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on the ideas above, and more broadly on how to support the whole human being that each writer is. This is where I want Writers.com to go in the future, and I want very much to hear what you feel would help.

The post The Hardest Part of Being a Writer appeared first on Writers.com.

When you develop a daily journaling habit as a wellness practice, it is often done with the hope of improving a specific aspect of your life or your overall health. This article explores how to journal for wellness, with tips, strategies, and insights from personal experience. But first, what is a wellness journal?

What is a Wellness Journal?

 A wellness journal is a special type of journal focused on monitoring your overall wellbeing or a specific aspect of your health. Unlike traditional journaling, which typically involves writing about your thoughts and daily experiences, wellness journals are specifically created to help you track goals or develop intentions related to your health and wellness.

 A wellness journal is a special type of journal focused on monitoring your overall wellbeing or a specific aspect of your health. 

Wellness journaling can serve many purposes and take varied forms. I’ll discuss several of those in this article. One may start a wellness journal as a means for tracking habits that lead to achieving a larger goal. These habits and goals can be something concrete, like improving your physical wellbeing through daily movement, mediation and nutrition. However, wellness journals can also be used to track more artistic or philosophical endeavors, like developing a daily habit of reflection and gratitude.
 
While developing a daily wellness journaling routine may sound like a trivial matter, research has shown there are tremendous health benefits, both physically and mentally, that comes with intentioned journaling. For writers, wellness journaling can provide a means of connection to mind and body, which can lead to surprising creative breakthroughs. 

Types of Wellness Journals

 There is no one size fits all version of a wellness journal. Wellness journals are as unique as the health, wellness and goals of the journaler. There’s no secret formula or specific way your wellness journal must look. You decide what your needs and intentions are and develop the process that works for you. However, if you’d like a bit of guidance to get started, I’m here to help. Here are some examples of different types of wellness journals, with links out to each:

• Gratitude Journal – Start each day by writing down three things you are thankful for. Focus on the both the macro and micro areas of your life that you feel most grateful for—from the relationships you have with family or friends to the barista who remembers your coffee order. Routinely focusing on the positive aspects of your life can be a powerful tool against battling negative thoughts.
• Mood Tracking – Tracking your moods throughout the day and reflecting on them at night can help you better manage them in order to improve your mindset more quickly. It will also allow you to see patterns and identify triggers. Being more aware of your moods can improve your ability to manage lifestyle choices, make informed health decisions, and work towards a better quality of life.
• Stream of Consciousness & Brain Dumps – At the start of every day, write continuously for a set period of time or a certain number of pages without worrying about grammar, structure or content—just let your thoughts flow. This is a great wellness practice for morning journalers. This type of journaling has been shown to clear your headspace first thing in the morning, which sets you up for a more productive day. If you’ve ever written Morning Pages, inspired by Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, they would fall under this category.
• Personal Growth and Reflective Journal – Documenting your journey of personal growth allows you to reflect on the valuable lessons you’ve learned along the way. Take the time to write about your experiences, noting both the challenges and triumphs. Embrace setbacks as opportunities for growth, viewing them as chances to build resilience and strength. By acknowledging and learning from these moments, you can continually improve and move forward with greater confidence and wisdom.
• Nutrition and Fitness – Tracking your nutrition and daily physical activities can help you to develop a comprehensive approach to maintaining and improving your health. This does not have to be about weight loss or changing your appearance. While those things may happen, keeping this kind of wellness journal is meant to support and encourage you to be consistent, track your progress toward your health goals, and lead to a better overall well-being.
• Goal Oriented – Setting big goals can often feel overwhelming, which can lead to discouragement and lack of motivation. It can help to break down your goals into smaller, more manageable steps to alleviate pressure and overwhelm. Write about your goals and why they’re important to you. Break your goal up into the steps you need to achieve them, and track your progress. Remember to celebrate whenever you complete each mini step!
• Visualization and Manifestation – Use your journal to engage in visualization exercises to help bring your dreams and goals to life. Spend time each day picturing yourself achieving success, focusing on the details and the steps you took to get there. Allow yourself to fully immerse in the emotions of accomplishment, feeling the pride, joy, and satisfaction as if you’ve already reached your goals. This practice can boost your motivation and confidence, making your aspirations feel more attainable. By regularly visualizing your success, you reinforce your commitment and create a positive mindset that drives you toward achieving your dreams.

Wellness Journaling: My Story

Being a writer and keeping a journal may sound customary and expected, but, for many years, I wasn’t that kind of writer. I had been an avid diary writer as a child, but as I got older and life got busy, I gave up the habit of recording my experiences and thoughts on paper. By my mid-twenties, life was so hectic, I let the idea of dedicating any time to writing that was just for me as a waste. I barely had time to write a few thousand words a week. How would I ever finish my first novel if I gave up precious free time to journaling?

A Writer Loses Her Words

The words never flowed easily, but I did go on to write a novel or three. I was a determined writer, focused on a specific publishing path. I kept on moving down that road, until, about seven years ago, I hit one too many bumps, took a few wrong turns, and found myself lost. I had become jaded by the publishing world, and had lost my desire to write. For the first time in my life, I stopped writing. For a couple of years, I produced next to nothing. I took it hard. I grieved my lost words. I often stared at a blank page just willing myself to write anything, even if it was terrible. How had I ever written hundreds of pages when the idea of writing just one now seemed impossible?
 
In her book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert discusses the concept of ideas. Specifically, where they come from and what happens when you don’t utilize them. To summarize, Gilbert believes ideas are everywhere, and when a great one comes to you, you only have a limited amount of time to use it or lose it. If you sit on a good idea for too long, the idea may decide you’re a terrible host, and move along to someone else more deserving, who will actually use it.

When I first read Big Magic, this concept both intrigued and terrified me. I loved the thought that my characters and stories had chosen me as the writer who would bring them to life, but I was appalled at the idea that, if I wasn’t quick enough, they could just up and leave me. I tucked this controversial theory away in my mind, and didn’t think about it again, until my well of words dried up. Was Gilbert right? Had I dillied and dallied too long? Had I wasted so much time that all of my good ideas ran away to find someone new?
 
I tried not to be dramatic or lose hope. I gave myself a bit of grace, and offered my stories space and my words time, hoping they’d return. They did not. The word abandonment enveloped me like an itchy sweater I’d been sentenced to wear for eternity. It stole my focus and drove me mad, constantly scratching my mind. My words had ditched me, and I was bereft. At my lowest point, I gave in and gave up. I stopped calling myself a writer. I stopped trying to write.

Wellness Journaling and a Creative Breakthrough

Around the same time that I was in the midst of a creative breakdown, I was living abroad in Italy, and began traveling to different countries for five to six month each year. Wanting to have written memories to accompany all of the pretty pictures I was taking, I returned to journaling for the first time in over a decade. On each journey, I packed at least one beautifully bound book of lined, yet blank, pages with the intentions of writing down my travel reflections each day.
 
It never worked. I’d either never unpack my travel journal while I was away or I’d write a few pages each morning for the first few days, and then miss a day or two or five. My intention with travel journaling was to chronicle my adventures each day. When I missed several days, I felt obligated to rewind to where I’d last left off and recount all of the time I’d missed. When I would neglect my journal for more than a few days in a row, this task became daunting. I felt guilty about falling behind, and the idea of catching up felt like a chore. Worse, it felt like homework. Who wants to do homework while visiting some of the most stunning places on earth? Not me. Eventually, I took the pressure off by continuing to pack a journal for each trip, but without any expectations that I would ever write in it—and I rarely did.

Fast forward a few years later, it was late 2019, and I had just moved to California. I assumed I’d still be traveling often. Then, 2020 and Covid-19 arrived, and my travel life ended. I hadn’t had time to make new friends in my new state before it shutdown. I was stuck in the house most days with my just cat and a growing desire to start writing again. However, I could desire all I wanted. The words were still not flowing. I believe in the idea that “if nothing changes, nothing changes” (Courtney C. Stevens, The Lies About Truth). I couldn’t keep doing the same things and hoping for different results. If I wanted to start writing again, I needed to make a change.

I tried various tactics throughout 2020 that didn’t work, so I’ll spare you the lackluster details. As 2021 approached, I decided to commit to journaling each morning. I hoped that writing some—any–words each day would eventually lead to more inspired words, and that someday a novel idea might choose me again.

I committed to the endeavor, but I didn’t hold a lot of faith that it would actually work. I also knew that journaling hadn’t worked for me in the past, so this attempt would have to be something different than just writing a few random pages each day. I needed a system, a purpose, a reason. To be successful in showing up to journal each day, I needed to be intentional. This is how I developed my practice of wellness journaling—even if I didn’t know that’s what I was doing at the time.

Wellness Journaling and the Benefits of Mantras

Around the same time, I was gifted the book Find Your Happy Daily Mantras: 365 of Motivation for a Happy, Peaceful and Fulfilling Life, by Shannon Kaiser. As promised, the book contained one to two sentence daily mantras to guide readers through an entire year. Each entry also included a short paragraph reflecting on the mantra, and ended with a question. I still wasn’t sure if I believed Elizabeth Gilbert’s theory of ideas finding you, but I surely believed that books often come to you exactly when you need them. This seemed like a perfect match. I decided to use Find Your Happy Daily Mantras as the foundation for my wellness journal journey.

Each day, I would read a mantra, the accompanying paragraph, and then use the daily question as a journal prompt. I committed to doing this every single day—even on days when I didn’t feel like it, especially on days when it felt inconvenient. Occasionally, I did miss a day, which helped me to make a needed mindset change. If missing a day equaled failure, I knew I would just give up. Therefore, instead of berating myself for an occasional missed day and trying to play catch up, I simply accepted it, showed up the next day and continued on. Shame is not a good motivator for me, so I removed it from my wellness journal equation.

Shame is not a good motivator for me, so I removed it from my wellness journal equation.

If I’m honest, I didn’t put a lot of weight or hope that this new wellness journaling habit would help me recover my creativity or change my life in any way. When the changes did start to happen, I tried to deny them at first. I would brush them off as coincidence, because I couldn’t possibly attribute them to this simple daily habit. Try as I might to deny the benefits of wellness journaling, eventually I accepted and relished in them.

After only a few weeks of daily journaling, my morning journaling sessions became my favorite part of the day. I grew protective of this me time, and began feel proud of my dedication to myself and personal growth. I added things to my routine, like meditating for ten to twenty minutes before I wrote and listening to classical music during my sessions. I noticed a shift in the words that filled my notebook pages. I was more open and connected to my emotional struggles and past experiences. What I wrote often surprised me. Even though I was writing about challenging topics, my daily moods were greatly improved. I was sleeping better, being more consistent with my yoga practice, and my mental focus overall was noticeably better.

After a few months of daily journaling, the barriers between me and my creativity began to lower themselves. It didn’t happen all at once, and it wasn’t a linear process. My progress was mixed with setbacks, but I did progress. The shifts were subtle. At first, I felt the desire to read more, to reconnect with my longtime critique partner, and to take my first online writing course in several years. By the end of the year, I started drafting a new novel, and had written my first personal essays. I had found my words again.

The Power of Developing Journaling as a Wellness Practice

Can I attribute all of this to wellness journaling? Maybe, maybe not, but, does it matter? Change, like habits, often have a snowball or butterfly effect. One small change leads to the next. One tiny habit shifts all habits. The impacts can be small, but noticeable. They can also be huge and life altering. What I know for sure is that I made a conscious and concrete change, and it brought about more change. I was changed. 

Journaling can be a powerful wellness practice with numerous benefits for mental, emotional, and even physical health. This practice can take many forms, including free writing, structured prompts, or guided journaling techniques. Here are some ways to use journaling as a wellness practice: 

• Stress Reduction – Regular journaling can help manage stress by allowing you to process challenging events and identify healthy coping mechanisms. Putting your thoughts on paper can help you clear your mind, making you feel less overwhelmed. With a clearer headspace, you can more easily organize your thoughts, brainstorm new ideas and find solutions to problems or creative blocks.
• Emotional Release and Processing – Write it down, and let it out. Venting your feelings on paper can be a safe outlet to release and process intense emotions. Journaling can help in identifying recurring patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, allowing you to address underlying issues. The simple act of writing down what you feel nervous or anxious about may help you explore those emotions and release the physical and mental tensions associated with them.
• Improved Mental Health – Consistent and intentional journaling can lead to an improved mental state. Journaling can be a form of mindfulness, helping you stay present and aware of your thoughts and feelings. Over time, you’ll grow to know yourself in new ways, and can better identify the positive thoughts that serve you and the negative ones that do not.
• Physical Health Benefits – Some studies suggest that expressive writing can improve immune function, lower blood pressure and heart rates due to a reduction in stress levels. You may also find that clearing your mind through journaling, especially before bed, can improve the quality of your sleep.
• Creativity and Expression – Writing regularly can spark new ideas and creative breakthroughs. Journaling provides a judgement free outlet for expressing your thoughts and experimenting with ideas. Your journal is the ultimate safe space. You’re less likely to make progress on ideas you only allow to ruminate inside your mind. Writing down things you’ve been longing to write or create can be a first step to a making it happen.

Five Key Tips for Effective Wellness Journaling

 Here are five tips to help you make the most of your wellness journaling journey: 

1. Set Clear Intentions – Begin your journaling practice by setting clear intentions. Determine what you want to achieve, whether it’s being more creative, tracking your health goals, or fostering gratitude. By having a specific focus, you’ll find it easier to stay committed and measure your progress.
2. Create a Consistent Routine – Establish a regular journaling routine that fits your lifestyle. Whether you choose to write in the morning to set a positive tone for the day or in the evening to reflect and unwind, consistency is key. Aim to journal at the same time each day to build a habit that becomes a natural part of your daily life.
3. Embrace Honesty and Vulnerability – Your journal is a safe space for your thoughts and feelings, so embrace honesty and vulnerability. Write openly about your experiences, emotions, and challenges. This authentic self-expression can lead to profound self-discovery and emotional release, fostering a deeper connection with yourself.
4. Find a Comfortable Space and Use a Dedicated Journal – Choose a comfortable, quiet space for your journaling practice and use a journal dedicated solely to your wellness journey. This creates a special environment and tool that signals to your mind it’s time to focus on your wellbeing, enhancing the effectiveness of your practice.
5. Be Patient – Be patient with yourself and your journaling process. Personal growth and well-being are continuous journeys that take time. Allow yourself to progress at your own pace, celebrating small victories and learning from challenges without judgment. You won’t transform overnight, but change will come. As time goes on, acknowledge the positive changes that wellness journaling has brought to your life.

Wellness Journaling Prompts

For me, selecting a new journal to record my journey in is part of the fun. For your wellness journal, you can decide to purchase a journal designed around a particular type of wellness path, which typically include guided pages filled with prompts. I’ve linked to several versions of these in the Types of Wellness Journals section of this article. You can also use any blank journal or notebook to design your own wellness journal specific to your own needs. If you decide upon the later, here are a list of wellness journal prompts to get you started or to inspire you to write your own:

1. Gratitude and Reflection – Write about three things you’re grateful for today and how they positively impact your life.
2. Daily Intentions – What are your intentions for today? How do you plan to achieve them?
3. Self-Care Inventory – List five self-care activities you enjoy and describe how each one benefits your well-being. Plan how you can regularly integrate each one into your life.
4. Emotional Check-In – How are you feeling right now? What emotions are you experiencing, and why? You can perform these check-ins at scheduled intervals throughout the day.
5. Mindfulness Moment – Describe a recent moment when you felt truly present and mindful. What were you doing, and how did it feel?
6. Personal Growth – Reflect on a recent challenge you faced. Journal about how you handled the situation. What did you do well? What can you improve upon?
7. Health Goals – Write about a health goal you want to achieve. What steps will you take to reach this goal, and why is it important to you?
8. Positive Affirmations – List ten positive affirmations that resonate with you. How can you incorporate these affirmations into your daily routine?
9. Stress Relief – What activities or practices help you manage stress effectively? Brainstorm way you can employ these practices the next time you feel overwhelmed.
10. Sleep Quality – Track your sleep patterns over a week. Each morning record how many hours you slept and how well rested you feel. What changes can you make to improve your sleep quality and overall restfulness?
11. Relationship Health – Think about a relationship that positively impacts your well-being. What makes this relationship special, and how can you nurture it further?
12. Environmental Influence – Reflect on how your environment affects your well-being. What changes can you make to create a more positive and supportive space?
13. Emotional Resilience – Describe a time when you bounced back from a difficult situation. What strengths and resources helped you, and how can you build on them?
14. Self-Compassion – Make a list of five things you like about yourself. Strategize how can you practice more self-compassion in your daily life?
15. Mind-Body Connection – Reflect on how your physical state affects your mental and emotional well-being. What activities help you feel more connected and balanced in both body and mind?

Is Wellness Journaling Right for You?

Only you can decide that. I can’t say that everyone needs a wellness journal. However, it worked so well for me, I’m inclined to say that everyone could benefit from developing journaling as wellness practice, even if not everyone necessarily needs one.

Surely, some will disagree. I can respect that not everything is for everyone—even if it might be, if they actually gave it a shot. If you’re still of the mindset that it’s not for you, but haven’t actually tried wellness journaling, then how can you know for sure? Many of us are wired to dismiss things we assume won’t work and/or have never worked for us. However, the truth is, we do this most often before we’ve ever tried, or when we’ve only tried them briefly and never truly committed. Our doubts are really just assumptions, and our assumptions are typically rooted in fears or arrogance. Remember, if you want to change, then you have to change. If you knock down every possible solution before you even try, then your assumptions will always be correct, and you’ll be unlikely to see any changes.
 
If you’re busy, it can seem overwhelming to add another thing to your list of to-dos, but something has to give. By giving wellness journaling a chance, you might be surprised to find that you are actually less stressed and more calm, have better focus and motivation, and are more likely to make progress on your other goals—creative or not.
 
If you’ve read this far or did a Google search to find this article, then I have a good assumption that you’re looking for something to help you with a need you’re feeling or a desire you have. If that’s the case, then a wellness journal might be just what you need.
 
Thank you for reading! I hope you found this article helpful. I’d love to hear your comments or answer any questions below. 

For more advice on journaling, read our article here: 

How to Start Journaling: Practical Advice on How to Journal Daily

Journaling Courses at Writers.com

Want to hone your wellness journal alongside other writers? Writers.com can help! Take a look at our courses for keepers of journals and diaries:

• Creating the Visual Journal
• From the Source: Journaling for Self-Knowledge and Creativity
• These Fragments: From Journal Pages to Personal Essays
• Where the Diary Ends and the Essay Begins
• Using Bullet Journaling to Achieve Writing Goals

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