There are three journal actions that you should take when writing a journal entry. You should stop. You should look, and then you should listen. In order to write a journal entry you need to be aware of what's going on inside and outside of you. After practicing these three actions you will become more aware of everything around you.

STOP: Prepare yourself to write, finish up the work in front of you. Find your journal and pen or pencil. Take a deep breath, shrug your shoulders and relax.

LOOK: Look at your journal page. Take in everything about the page, including margins, whether the page is ruled or unruled and how much space you have from the top to the bottom of the page. Then think about the issue(s)s that you want to discuss. Choose one subject. Jot the other topics in a short list somewhere for later use. Here's are some suggestions for choosing a topic.

-- Make a list of positive words or phrases that you read when you need some encouragement.

--Make a page of your favorite drawings to motivate you in to create your art.

--Write a page about one of your strongest feelings, such as anger or sadness.

--Write a list of all that you accomplished in one day, week, month or year/

--Write a to-do list.
--Write a list of dreams.
--Write a list of goals.
--Write a list of short prayers.
--Write a list of your favorite books.
--Write a shopping list.

LISTEN: Listen to your intuition, that small voice that you hear when you are making a decision. Listen to God. Listen to people you trust. Listen to the five w's, who, what ,when where and why. Write the words that you hear. Identify the voice that is speaking to you. Have a brief conversation with the voice. Stop writing when you are both finished. You may run out of words to say, feel tired or have writer's cramp. Some examples of when you may be finished: You may run out of words, feel tired or have writer's cramp.

Congratulations! You've written your first journal entry. You can repeat this exercise any time, to help you write new entries.

Happy Journaling!

Copyright 2005 Writer's Eye Advisory Service

Lael Johnson

Contact Information: Ms. Lael Johnson P.O. Box 2405 Culver City, CA 90231 Journallady2001@yahoo.com 310-649-5543

Lael Johnson is the owner of Writer's Eye Advisory Service. She has a varied background in history, marketing management, psychology, community service and facilities management. She is also a trained creativity coach, writer and beader. She owns Creations Beadwork, selling handcrafted jewelry at craft shows and other community events. She is a published author whose writing interests include: haiku and related forms, devotional and inspirational material, short stories, essays, children's stories, volunteering, journaling and lyrics. She's published in inspirational material in the Vineyard Voice, Single Spirit and Children's Bible Search. She is also a published poet in Makar, Frogpond and Woodnotes. She edited copy for the Vineyard Voice, edited the weekly church prayer bulletin for four years, and edited and published the National Journal Network newsletter for six years. She's completed one basic course in children's writing from the Institute of Children's Literature.

She is currently completing several email and teleclasses in creativity coaching and small business topics. She is a member of Cassell Network of Writers, International Women Writer's Guild, and California Lawyers for the Arts (artist member only), respectively. She also participates in several other niche writing organizations. Currently she welcomes creativity coaching clients, using journaling and other resources, to help artists, small business owners and people eager to expand their creativity skills. She's authored several articles on creativity coaching and other relevant topics. She can be reached by email.

She is a member of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Westside. She currently resides in Culver City, CA. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing and listening to classical, Celtic and international folk music and taking care of her two companion parakeets.