Is journaling just a means to an end?
After reading my recent interview with Amie McNee, someone asked:
“I have a question about journaling: Is its main focus as a means to another end (e.g., writing a novel), or is it mainly an end in itself?”
This is a question I’ve thought a lot about since 2022, when I started journaling in earnest only to realize I wanted to write so much more than my morning pages—without giving up my journaling practice.
Here’s what I told them:
I think different people would have different answers, but I personally think the answer is both.
On the days I journal through my self-doubt or mine my mind for ideas, journaling helps me with my other creative projects.
On days like today when my journal entry is just a collection of random thoughts and feelings, I think of it as an end in itself—a way to just check in, bear witness to, and acknowledge my thoughts.
Journaling also gives me a place where I can explore my ideas without judgment, and therefore learn more about my values, opinions, and beliefs, which will inevitably influence my future writing.
Put another way, journaling isn’t just one set thing. Or at least, it doesn’t have to be. If you’re open to it, your journaling practice can be a shapeshifter, transforming to meet you where you are on any given day. It can be whatever you need it to be.
Next time you sit down to journal, ask yourself: “What do I need my practice to be today?” Let yourself write from there.
Then comment and let me know how it goes.
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