Following up on my last post some folks find it hard to get going.

The process of journal writing is the process of discovering, uncovering and sometimes recovering.
To do this effectively you need to follow the steps.
Step 1: Listing
List everything that comes to mind. This is called free association. Therapists have used this term for decades. 
For example, if I say the word “family” what comes to mind?
Kids. Parents. Mom. Dad. Uncle. Granddad. Sister. Brother. John. Sally. Sue. Ben. Canadians. Nova Scotians. East Coasters. East Coast Pride. Hurricane. Pandemic. Friends. Connection…. etc…

Do you notice how I started with the obvious but then I started to think of how people think of each other as a family through hard times? That’s an opportunity for a journal entry maybe.

Step 2: Circle and Question
So, pick something from your free association list and write more deeply.
For example, from the example “family” I might circle “Connection” the last word I wrote.
Now I need to question why I picked that:
What about ‘connection’ made me choose it?
What does the word ‘connection’ mean to me?
Is connection important? Why?
What kinds of connections are there in the world? And what is necessary for a happy life?
How do I feel when I’m disconnected from things? 
What makes a good connection for people?

These are all great ways for me to approach the journal entry.

Step 3: Write
Considering all these questions, now I can begin writing my journal entry. This means I will have much more than a single sentence or two to write. I should have multiple paragraphs both questioning and responding to those questions that the selection brought up.