http://www.writersdigest.com/rss.aspx?p_PageAlias=PersonalWriting en-us Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:24:17 GMT Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:24:17 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6384 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6384 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5711 Losing a child is devastating. Here's the story of one mother who journaled through her sorrow and created a lasting tribute to her baby girl.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5711 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5511 Self-nurturing is the foundation of a satisfying life, but it's not second-nature. Learn how to comfort yourself.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5511 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5620 Indulge yourself with a journaling-retreat weekend.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5620 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5114 Here are three writers' takes on personal writing featured in Personal Journaling: Writing About Your Life, a Writer's Digest magazine.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5114 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5456 Record your life in sound, image and word. Try adding a dab of the audio-visual to your journaling ways.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5456 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5180 In her book Writing Personal Essays, author Sheila Bender gives these tips for those writers interested in publishing their personal essays.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5180 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5503 Carve out a time and place for writing amid the rush of life. Learn to honor soul time.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5503 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5548 Capture your love of music in a journal dedicated to recording your life's soundtrack.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5548 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6863 In this excerpt from Writing Life Stories, Bill Roorbach teaches you how to pay attention to and translate your memories and how to overcome your resistance to remembered places and events.]]> Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6863 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5455 We asked questions about journal sharing, keeping an online diary, and issues of privacy. Reader feedback, submitted via e-mail, represent the various experiences of journal-keepers everywhere. A selection of responses appears below.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5455 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=8909
by Chris Baty]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=8909 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5621 Learn how to use a journal to weather a life-threatening illness.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5621 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5760 We rate the best computer programs for personal writing.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5760 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=9302 Writer's Digest Weekly Planner will keep your entire writing life organized and portable, all year long.]]> Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=9302 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5338 One might be the loneliest number, but it shouldn't be the loneliest page. Use these ideas to start your journal off right.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5338 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5341 Keeping a journal can be a wonderful way to preserve your life story, but choosing the wrong kind of paper can destroy your words before your descendents are ever able to read and enjoy them. Inveterate journal-keeper Megan Fitzpatrick explains.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5341 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=8162 Read the Introduction to Pocket Muse: Endless Inspiration]]> Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=8162 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=13311
by Gigi Rosenberg ]]> Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=13311 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5390 Benefit from the experience of sharing your journal writing with others.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5390 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5285 Everything you need to be creative, is already locked inside of you. Try this exercise to imagine someone else's life.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5285 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5337 Craft personal essays that really connect with your reader by incorporating these four crucial elements.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5337 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5702 Jump off the hamster wheel of life by using your writing time to find the path to a fulfilling future.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5702 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5679 Share your writing! Discover why journals for two can be a unique—and lasting—way to stay connected.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5679 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5552 Does your disparaging attitude extend beyond your journal and into your life, where the bad is all you seem to have, because it's all you take note of?]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5552 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5617 Live a life worth writing about! Venture from your daily routine, and leave this note on the door: Gone Journaling!]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5617 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5225 Chronicle your holiday joys and celebrations in a journal dedicated to the traditions of the season.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5225 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5353 Collect the e-mail gems you write and receive, and gather a precious diary of your life, as expressed to your cyber-pals.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5353 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5271 To name is a powerful act. Title your journal — and the years you live.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5271 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5478 A New Hampshire hospital is recording the stories of its elder patients—for healing and history.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5478 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5495 Are your children's journals off limits? One parent says yes—and here are six reasons why.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5495 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6849 Bill Roorbach, author of Writing Life Stories, has publications in both creative nonfiction (memoir, essays, nature writing) and fiction (novel, short stories). He's also the William H.P. Jenks Chair in Contemporary American Letters at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. The advice he emphasizes is this: Write every day.]]> Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=6849 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=9906 THE STAND, PHANTOMS, and CREATURE three or four times each.  Probably even more.

by Andrew Peterson]]> Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=9906 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=8193 Check out an excerpt from Chapter 1 of You Don't Have to Be Famous.]]> Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=8193 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5623 Celebrate life in a journal you make, and create one more reason for celebration.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5623 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5219 Personal writing is the key to all writing, Julia Cameron (The Artist's Way, The Right to Write) tells Writer's Digest's Brad Crawford.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5219 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5676 There's no better way to record?and share?your adventures than by journaling.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5676 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5134 Dump your worries and obligations onto paper. Clear your mind, and start living the life you envisioned.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5134 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5551 Dedicate a journal to history as it happens. Chronicle your memories and reflections on the moments that define your generation.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5551 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5525 Uncover intimate knowledge about yourself by journaling your sensual side.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5525 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5315 Time introduces a new character to our lives each season, one with a temperature and temperament that affects our own. Take the time to record the details of your life in winter.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5315 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5420 Keeping a five-year diary keeps your life in perspective, a few lines at a time.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5420 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5761 Guard your diary from trespassing eyes with a little creative protection.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5761 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5701 If you find yourself caught in a rut, let your journal help pull you out.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5701 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5367 Here are several ways to fuel creative infernos.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5367 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5211 What's the secret to finding great personal stories for articles when you've run out of usual suspects? Learn to make your writing up-close and personal by scoping out these four sure-fire resources.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5211 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5547 From the "How to Convey What's in Your Heart" article by Jaclynn Morris and Paul L. Fair]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5547 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5182 From choosing a topic to weighing your words, here's a start-to-finish guide to writing an essay that makes a clear point without skimping on personal insight.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5182 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5117 Don't forget one detail of your engagement and wedding. Keep a log of the memories and plans that make your "I do's" special.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5117 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5696 Stop journal wear and tear with this complete guide to protecting your journals from the elements—and you.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5696 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5336 One mother did not want the lessons and inspiration of her daughter's life to pass away. She published her story—using the words from her daughter's journals.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5336 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5415 The Writer's Idea Book]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5415 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5763 Honor yourself by exercising honesty and courage in every journal entry.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5763 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5524 Little Pieces, Big Messages]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5524 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5684 When doctors and counselors could provide no help, a journal became the medicine that cured this accident victim of her fears.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5684 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5502 Create, collect and share happiness in a book where friends, family—and even strangers—write about what makes them smile.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5502 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5217 How to celebrate and share your writing every day, even if you don't publish your work.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5217 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5228 7 creative things you can do to find sketching inspiration.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5228 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5268 Journaling With Style]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5268 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5471 An interactive journal is a journal you can use to communicate with someone close about things that are hard to express verbally. Here's how to use one.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5471 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5342 Photographs and playbills, flowers from your first love?it's the stuff your journal is made of. So how do you preserve it?]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5342 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5391 Creating a timeline of your life in your journal can help you see more clearly how to get from Point A to Point B.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5391 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5729 Combine visual details with your words and add even more appeal to your favorite journal.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5729 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5764 Start an empowerment journal! Tap your inner strength by telling the truth about your life.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5764 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5310 Letting go of the past can be the first step toward living better in the present. ]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5310 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5269 Journal with style by using variations in point of view to enliven your entries.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5269 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5441 Learn how to turn a personal story, joke or unique anecdote into a page-turning success. Author Steven James guides you through six easy steps guaranteed to keep your story powerful.]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5441 http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5592 Heartfelt Personal Essays]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.writersdigest.com//article/?p_ArticleId=5592