Journaling. 

I know it sounds silly, but this is an absolutely effective way to improve your skills as a writer!

How?

1. It helps a lot with your creativity.

Every day there was something that either bothered you or made you happy. What? Why? When? Answering questions about your feelings might be useful to the stories you want to write.

2. The more you write the better, right?

You probably want to expand your vocabulary and writing daily will do it naturally. It will also help you to find your own tone and your unique style with words.

I imagine is not that easy to start it. So I will give you an idea.

Just buy a notebook if you don’t have one at home already. Something simple and commit to writing at least one page per day. Soon or later, one page won’t be enough for your imagination.

I have three journals and I write in them every day.

The first one is just a cute notebook mostly with my thoughts and interesting dreams I can still recall.

The second one is actually a book with simple exercises to push you in your creative mood and it’s called 1 Page At The Time - by Adam J Kurtz.

The third one is The Daily Stoic Journal - by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman, it features space for morning and evening notes, along with the Stoic philosophy: we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and how we react to those chaotic situations. If you struggle with anxiety, it might be the perfect journal for you.

3. Sometimes our better ideas come up when we don’t have a paper closer enough to write it down.

So we just forget about it. You don’t have to let your best insights disappear. You only need to keep a small notebook in your bag wherever you go. Or use the Notes App on your phone. Or record your voice if you are riding a bike and can’t just grab a pen - well, I’ve done it…

Author: Leticia Nogueira.

First-year Student Media & Entertainment BUAS.