5 Ways to Use a Reading Journal to Improve Your Writing

By Roni Loren, @RoniLoren 

Part of The Writer's Life Series  

JH: I’ve always been a fan of studying novels you enjoyed to see how the authors did it. Roni Loren has taken it to a whole new level with a reading journal.

Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. She holds a master’s degree in social work and spent years as a mental health counselor, but now she writes full time from her cozy office in Dallas, Texas where she puts her characters on the therapy couch instead. She is a two-time RITA Award winner and a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She also teaches online writing classes at her Fearless Romance Writing Academy.

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Take it away Roni…

The Power of Journaling Through Difficult Times

By Bonnie Randall

Part of The Writer's Life Series 

JH: Writing can entertain, inform, and even heal. Bonnie Randall shares thoughts and tips on the therapeutic power of journaling. 

These are strange times and, like much else these days, this month’s column is going to deviate from the norm. We’re still going to talk about writing—just not fiction. Not even anything for publication. We’re going to talk about writing that heals and soothes the stressed brain during the most unprecedented time we will ever see in our lives.

Journaling from the Heart, For Your Heart

In my day job as a therapeutic counselor, I assign journaling all the time. It is not an uncommon practice in or out of the counseling room; one quick peek at Pintrest and you’ll be overwhelmed with articles about journaling, journaling prompts, and even journaling doodles you can incorporate onto your pages.

Journal to Boost Productivity

By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoach

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: There are many ways to jump start the creative process, and writing coach Rochelle Melander visits the lecture hall today to share one of them—journaling.

Rochelle Melander is a certified professional coach, experienced book strategist, and the author of eleven books, including, Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity. She provides solutions for people who feel stuck, overwhelmed or confused by the writing and publishing process. She is the founder of Dream Keepers, a writing workshop that supports children and teens in finding their voice and sharing their stories.

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Take it away Rochelle…

The Organized Writer: A Case for Non-Fancy Bullet Journaling

By Angela Quarles, @AngelaQuarles

Part of the Indie Author Series

As we wrap up another year here at Fiction University, I thought I'd spotlight the biggest savior for me this past year, organization-wise. In of my earliest posts here I talked about how I found myself back to being a paper planner. I still am, though the type of planner has evolved. Now I believe I've found "planner peace" ever since settling on the bullet journal system.

What is a bullet journal?

Created by Ryder Carroll, at its simplest, it's a bulleted list of tasks that you write down. But there's also a way to log future tasks, which is where the magic comes into play. One of the problems I had with paper planners was that each day was different for me as an indie writer. Some days I had a ton of stuff going on, and other times, not so much. Plus there were some repetitive tasks, and also ones I needed to remember to do later and my paper planners were just not capturing this stuff for me. The pre-printed layouts were too confining.