Stencil 101

Free Workshop

I found this cool little workshop yesterday on Balzer Designs, which I thought would be a little bit of fun. I picked up a couple of stencils at the recent WA Craft, Quilt & Stitch Show. I've done a few pages using them, but felt some inspiration in the form of a workshop and mingling with other crafty, arty types might be just what I needed right now. Hope you'll join in, too.

Click here to visit Planet SARK.
Heather

Extreme Journalism

I stumbled across Extreme Visual Journals, a technique developed by Juliana Coles, today while searching about on google. Read a description of exactly what an extreme visual journal is by Coles & her team. You can't miss the packing instructions for what to bring with you so you can be an extreme visual journaler and their manifesto. This just might be exactly what you're looking for with your own personal journal writing journey.

Please leave any comments in the section below.

Heather
Photo used with permission from stock.xchng

The Unsent Letter

Another technique to use for personal journal writing is the unsent letter. This is a powerful tool to unload the weight of guilt, withheld emotion, deep-seated anger and many other troubles we carry in our lives. Just as you would sit and write a letter to a friend or a loved one, with this technique all you need do is address the person you have in mind.

Write their name at the top of the page, Dear .., and begin telling them the things you never could when face to face. It doesn't matter if the person you're addressing is actually no longer alive. I've found these kinds of unsent letters to be the most liberating.

The unsent part is important, too. If your letter is to someone who is in fact still living, chances are you do not want them to see what you’ve written, at this time. Writing the letter might be a good way to sort through your feelings towards them, or how you might later speak with them. The letter is one way of addressing what is the important part of your concern.

Several years ago I wrote an unsent letter to my father who, at the time, had been dead for some twelve years. Giving voice to the emotions I'd long suppressed released something inside me. I was able to grow out of that unsent letter writing experience. The fact I had it published multiple times just shows that several people felt the same way I did about my father.

I hope you will take the time to try this technique in your own journal writing time, too. Please leave any comments in the section below.

Heather
Photo used with permission from Stock.xchng

No Rules

Life brings so many different restrictions. If it's not speeding in your car, it's something about your health. Moderation and control rule the day. While I'm not saying these limits are exactly evil, perhaps we need a space in our daily lives where the rules don't apply. To really enjoy journal writing I try to keep one rule in mind - there are no rules.

Once I open the cover of my journal the pages are for me alone. I can mark them, write on them, stick things into them, draw, scribble, doodle, splash paint, ink or glitter glue, if that's how I feel. No one can tell me I'm doing this journal writing business right or wrong. There are no rules.

I can use a crayon, a pencil, typed pieces printed off from the computer, newspaper articles, pictures, jigsaw pieces, a paintbrush, stickers, lipstick, eyeliner or with any tool or object I want. Because it's my journal and I can use those pages to express myself any way I need to. There are no rules.

The pages are for me. I don't show them to friends or post scanned images of their content online, though there's nothing wrong with that if you feel the need. Journal writing serves me the way a trusted friend does. But the journal ranks superior, even over the best of friends. My journal listens and makes no comment or judgement. I can goof off, rant and rave, act down-right indecently or reveal the most intimate of secrets there. Did I mention there are no rules?

Many people desire to keep a journal, but fail at this point. Give up all your expectations and just write. Pick up whatever tools you have at hand and begin. You might have a dog-eared notebook leftover from school. That's what I used for my first journal. I left the old Physical Education work in the front of the book, perhaps as ruse to any snoopers, and used up the many pages still in the back. Use whatever pen or writing implement you have and make marks on those pages.

You don't have to be interesting or even a good writer to keep a journal. You don't even need to have terrific drawing skills or have an amazing of expensive tools. Read Dawn Vinson's Seven Myths about Keeping a Journal.
Bust these myths in your own journal. Remember, there are no rules.

Heather
Image created by my daughter Leonie

Timed Writing

One of the easiest ways to start writing in your journal, especially if it's your first time, is to try timed writing. This simply involves setting a timer for ten, twenty or perhaps thirty minutes and writing without stopping until the timer sounds or ends. I like my microwave timer. Once the time runs out it beeps and then again every thirty seconds. It's non-intrusive, yet quietly nags at me from the kitchen until I finally put down my pen and go switch the beeping off.

Ten minutes is an achievable way to begin. If you've never done any journal writing before try not to worry too much about what you're going to write. Simply sit in a comfortable position and place the pen on the page and begin writing. Fly straight off with your first thought. Knowing the timer is ticking away propels you to get as much writing done as possible in that ten minutes. You can write about everything and anything or nothing important at all.

Often the best way to start is to describe where you are. Write about the room you're in. List items inside the room or describe the people if you're in a public place. What are they wearing, doing, eating and talking about? What are you wearing? Do you feel warm or cool? Focus on your senses. What can you hear, taste, smell, see and feel? Heightening an awareness of each sense helps you really experience where you are. At some later point, when you reread your entry, you'll be amazed how the scene will come back to you in a vivid rush. You'll find yourself remembering details you didn't remember to catch in your journal.

Find a quiet corner, sit down, pull out your journal, set the timer and begin writing. Once your timer ends stop writing. If you feel you've just begun then don't let the timer hinder you. Keep on writing. Write until you can no longer write or your hand cramps up. The timer is simply a device. Try this method and see if you like it. You might find the pressure of a time limit helps you be more concise about your feelings. You might access what you're trying to say faster; a boon in our busy lives. I hope you give this technique a try in your journal.

Heather
Photo used with permission from stock.xchng