VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Do you keep or have you kept a journal or diary? If so, you probably already know some of the benefits of journaling because you've experienced them. You know that your journal helps you make sense of the senseless side of your life. A journal can be an emotional lifesaver when you go through a hard time. But did you know that scientists believe journaling can even keep you physically healthy? The release of pent-up emotions you pour into your journal every day actually helps reduce the symptoms of arthritis and asthma, and strengthens your immune system. This really makes sense if you consider that much illness is exacerbated by stress, and a journal is one of the best stress reducers out there. Journaling gives you a record of your emotional growth like no other. While it can be useful at times to be able to look back and see just when your neighbor moved in or when you started suffering from headaches, the intangible changes in you can be even more fascinating to look back...

You're sitting at your desk, staring at a blank sheet of paper or a blank word document on the computer screen. You actually want to write, but just can't bring yourself to it. You have no clue what to do with your characters next, and they don't seem eager to tell you. Or perhaps you have a deadline, but you're aimlessly typing random letters on the page, none of which seem to make sense, and you're getting more and more frustrated as every minute passes. That deadline that you have in two weeks seems to be coming round very quickly and, at this rate there is no way you are going to make it! Whether you are experiencing this for the first time or for the hundredth time and you're at a loss as to what you should do, don't despair. You can consider yourself as having a case of writer's block or being stuck in a rut; it can and does happen even if you haven't been neglecting your work. Other writers experience this too. Your muse needs to ...

It's said that a problem or premise can be viewed from two distinctive points of view -- the observer viewpoint and the merged viewpoint. Today's creativity method focuses on the second viewpoint. The merged viewpoint occurs when you become the object of the observation. You become the subject of your observation, and you observe from the point of view of your subject. This is referred to as projective identification. Projective identification can be purely fantasy: What's it like to be a potato about to become French fries? How does it feel like to be a gum stuck in a shoe? Imagine what it's like to be an ink cartridge. Or it can be empathetic: Seeing the situation through a laborer's eyes Getting inside the skin of an AIDS victim Being in the shoes of a chronically depressed person For your creative activity today, write 2 short texts (100-200 words) using projective identification for the following: Fantasy: What's it like to be a pict...

Journaling Topics -- They're All Around You! Do you ever sit down with your journal and find yourself fresh out of ideas to write about? Virtually anything can be a journaling topic. If you are finding it hard to think of something to write about, here are some ideas that might get those creative juices flowing for you. Pithy sayings A never-ending source of ideas to write about are the wise words of others. You can find these statements anywhere. If you read the Bible or other inspirational literature every day, choose a statement, paragraph, or thought from your day's reading, and expound on it. What does it mean to you? How could you apply it in your own life? What changes might be required? What improvements might you see in your own situation if you applied the wisdom in the pithy saying to your own choices?   Nature Are you near a window? A view to the outdoors can provide a myriad of writing possibilities. Even if all you can see is the sky, look for words ...

If you've ever struggled in coming up with creative ideas, welcome to the club. For most writers, discovering new writing projects involves conscious pursuit of their thought trails. But where do we start on our quest for inspiration? Here are a few places you can find new ideas for writing. 1. The world around you. Just like a photographer, you must start looking at life through your own personal lens. You will get a tremendous amount of writing material if you start filtering your own experiences. Soon you will start noticing ideas everywhere around you. Very often the muse will come at strange times and from unusual sources, so be prepared. The world is full of surprises that can materialize in your next book or article. 2. Writers' associations and networks. If you are a professional writer, you probably belong to an association or writer's group. Generating new ideas will feel much easier after meeting other members or attending writing workshops and conferences. Y...