Mining for Creativity

A journal I made - cover photo with my Grandfather, my friend Lillian and me when I was 5.

The workshop, Journaling for Creativity, led by Carolyn Dahl was inspiring! We brought past journals to share, plus a blank book and colored pencils. Carolyn is the author of 3 books including Natural Impressions. 

After everyone shared from a past journal, we talked about journaling techniques, such as: making lists, gluing pictures from magazines, bullets, free association; then we started a writing assignment.

We wrote for 15 minutes about an evocative object that had special meaning to us. We mined for creativity by using our colored pencils to circle objects in blue; actions in red; emotions in purple, etc. Using colors in this way helped us to visually inspect our writing.

Carolyn asked us: what phrases can be used for quotes, for poems, for artwork, or to expand your thoughts? Some rare gems may be buried beneath a phrase.

Carolyn also had a reading list for us to continue our writing momentum. Especially helpful to me are Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down The Bones for finding writing topics.

And if you have writer’s block - try changing your environment by going outside - or bring your journal to your favorite cafe. What are your thoughts about creative journal writing?
©Anne Rita Taylor 2016