If you're an aspiring writer, you've probably heard that writers should keep a writing journal.

The first time I kept a real writing journal was in my freshman English class in college,

so since it's the beginning of the school year and some of you may be keeping a journal

for the first time, it also seemed like a good time to cover the topic.

Writing a journal is a very personal thing, so I'm going to give you guidelines and advice

based on my experiences, but know that whatever works for you is the right thing for you to do.

The idea of keeping a journal is that writers need to write, and you don't always have assignments

or projects underway, or you have ideas that aren't fully formed and they need to be worked

out.

Your journal is where you work out those ideas, or write when you don't have anything

formal to write about.

You may keep a journal on hand to write down those flash ideas that come to you out of

nowhere, a great topic for a blog post, a great title for a short story, or the perfect background

detail for your main character.

That's the kind of journal I keep these days.

Or you may set aside 15 minutes every day to write in your journal, is a way to stay

disciplined or get in the writing spirit before you start working on your, quote, real

projects.

I know one author who loves to free write a bit before he starts working on his novel.

Free writing is when you sit down and force yourself to write whatever comes to mind

without stopping for a set period of time.

It often helps people brainstorm or overcome writer's block.

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