WOW Blog Tour: Start Journaling And Change Your Life in 7 Days

Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days
by Mari L. McCarthy

Today, I welcome back Mari L. McCarthy, whom I just love. She knows everything about journaling, inspiring writers, and encouraging everyone to do their very best! In the winter, I took her 28-day journaling challenge; and I found that journaling can really help you get out all those worries, so that you can concentrate on the important matters like your WIP. Journaling is for everyone–teachers, parents, writers, librarians, and students.

Mari is back with a new book and new Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days Challenge, which will be June 4-10. It’s free to do the challenge–you just have to purchase the workbook, OR you can purchase the workbook and do it on your own at any time. For more information about this, go to Mari’s website: http://www.createwritenow.com/start-journaling-workbook

Today, Mari has written a wonderful post about taking some time to play around with your creativity. She gives you several ways to do this. If you are a teacher, you could have your students do these, too.

And we are having a giveaway! Please leave a comment below or a question for Mari by Sunday night, May 6, and one winner will be chosen by random.org. The winner may choose either an e-copy of Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days, the spiral-bound version, or one of Mari’s signature t-shirts (see photo). So, let’s “hear” what Mari has to say and leave a comment below!

Just Playing Around
(GUEST POST BY Mari L. McCarthy)

How long has it been since you played? I’m referring to the kind of playing that you used to do when you were five. Playing nonsensically, just following your nose, moving, imagining, making noise, being silly and crazy without thought or inhibitions. Making up your own rules, focused myopically on your story, you are no longer yourself; you’ve become the narrative unfolding.

The older we get, the less time we spend playing. It’s sort of sad. Thank goodness, there’s journal writing to help keep us young.

If it’s been far too long since you had a bunch of fun just playing around, pull up a journal and start being foolish.

• Scribble, for instance. Put the tip of the pen on the paper and let it move. Follow, do not lead it. No thoughts or objectives. No rhyme or reason. Just line, shape, marks on paper.

• Get a charcoal stick from the art supply store or a marker with a broad-to-fine tip and play with light and dark, thick and thin, line and space on the page.

• Doodle, drawing the cartoons, sketches, and stick figures that occur to you randomly, without precedent or meaning.

• Paste bits of this and that together in your journal to make a collage. This may be scraps of anything around you, whether 2- or 3-dimensional; it may be souvenirs from a walk in nature, or a selection of images from magazines or photos.

• Make up a story in your journal: a fantasy, mystery, romance, or melodrama. Describe exotic characters, adventures, and intrigues.

• Write a stream-of-consciousness list of words–both real and imaginary words. Let them spill out one after the other.

• Create a haiku, limerick, or other poem from a silly prompt like banana, zipper, my friend Alfred, or bamboozled.

• Write out the scenario in which you execute your deepest mission, satisfy your deepest yearning, achieve your greatest accomplishment. Explore and relish all the minute details.

• Write a letter to your nemesis, stating in no uncertain terms how you are offended by it, and how you hurt as a consequence of its actions. Do not send this letter, by the way. Just write it, with full conviction and passion. Don’t save the letter, either; rather, scribble over it with crayons, pick out five hot words from it and continue to write, or burn it ceremonially.

• Create a fictional character that you can love unconditionally and describe him or her carefully in your journal.

In general, I think, we worry too much about being constantly productive in a grown-up way. We too-willingly set aside childish preoccupations, as if they are useless. The trouble is, there’s no guarantee that our adult preoccupations are any more legitimate than children’s games.

Considering the full span of our risk in living and participating in society as adults today, the best practice may be to include both “grown-up” pursuits and “childish” play in the hours that are allotted to us each day. Yes, we should seriously contribute in mature ways; but remaining in touch with childhood’s creativity is equally essential to our well-being.

Mari L. McCarthy, journaling therapy specialist and author, owns Create Write Now, a website dedicated to all things journaling. The site includes hundreds of journaling prompts, personal journaling stories, interviews, a blog, and many other resources. Mari publishes many e-books and e-workbooks to help journalers accomplish amazing things. She also conducts online challenges, and you won’t want to miss her upcoming Start Journaling and Change Your Life in 7 Days Challenge, June 4-10.