writing

Creating a Gratitude Journal

Posted on by Olivia Meier

Journal

Through the hustle and bustle of everyday life – between work, school, internships, and trying to have an amazing summer – it’s easy to lose focus and take the little things for granted. With creating a gratitude journal, anyone can easily add a little positiveness to each day. Having trouble getting started? Here are a few tips.

Find a Notebook You Love

This may sound silly, but it is vital. Search for a notebook that shows off your style; one that generates happy thoughts. You can also buy a blank notebook and create your own cover similar to an inspiration board. This is something you can be creative with because it’s all about you. It’s important to have a notebook that you won’t mind carrying around with you or having on your bedside table. You will encounter it a lot – so make sure you like it.

How Much Time to Spend

Writing in your journal everyday is ideal for beginners. This will help kick-off your positive lifestyle and make it easier to adjust to writing about yourself in a journal. Most people advise to write 5-10 things you’re grateful for a day – which is a great guideline – but if some days you have less than five and others you have more than 10, that’s perfectly fine. No two days are the same, therefore you shouldn’t restrict your amount of grateful moments.

Be Specific

When it comes to writing down your ideas, it’s easiest to use bullet points. This breaks up your thoughts and makes them easier to comprehend when you go back and read your entries. However, be specific with your bullet points. Don’t just say that you’re grateful for your job – provide a detailed example. Like that you’re grateful for your job because it’s payday, or you’re grateful for it because it’s brought you great coworkers that cheered you up today. Being specific will pay off when you reminisce on your memories.

Nothing is Unimportant and Keep the Negative Out

If you are grateful for the amazing sandwich you had for lunch, or for the lady who held the door for you at the local coffee shop – write it down. This helps you find positive moments in every situation. And of course, any negative thoughts you have throughout the day do not belong in this journal. This is specifically for happy and grateful thoughts or memories!

If you’re looking for a new way to find joy in every situation, try a gratitude journal. It helps you focus on the little things that make every day great, and it’s a creative way to keep track of your thoughts.

A Day in the Life of a Journalism Major

Posted on by Olivia Meier

Journalism

As I sit back and write this, I realize how busy my life actually is. I am constantly thinking and I am constantly writing. Whether it’s on the back of a placemat at the diner or in my bed at three in the morning; my brain is always working on my next piece. And you know what? I love it! Here’s what my typical day is like…

Reviewing My Planner

As I said before, my days are full of writing. They’re full of writing stories, articles, and random ideas… everywhere. I usually begin by looking over my day planner, which is supposed to help organize my life. As a journalism major, that’s not quite true. My day planner is full of little blurbs and keywords from thoughts I had throughout the year. I’m already running out of room and it’s only June. The ideas are constantly flowing, like a stream after a huge rain storm. Reviewing my planner keeps me on top of my writing assignments and functions as a refresher for my ideas.

Becoming Inspired 

When I’m ready to leave the house, I walk out into a world full of possibilities. To me, everyone’s a story. No matter who it is, people I encounter at the local supermarket or the drive-thru girl at Dunkin Donuts, I wonder where they’ve been and what they’ve seen. I am constantly thinking, “I wonder what their story is?” I imagine who they met and how it affected them. I strongly believe there’s a story within everyone – you simply need to find it. 

Exercising My Mind

Aside from wondering how the elderly cashier at the food store got to where she is, I also frequently practice writing exercises. Whether they’re from a workbook about sentence structure or some online courses, writing exercises are valuable for personal growth. If you’ve never tried one, check out Writer’s Digest for an example. I do at least one exercise every day to help me master my craft. As one of my favorite professors said on our very first day of class, “Becoming a great writer is no secret – write, edit, repeat.” There’s no need to write a complete story every time. Throughout the day, I simply write a few sentences and see how I can improve them. It’s that simple!

Journalism isn’t only about writing. It may sound cliché, but I read the newspaper every day. Some days it’s my local online news paper and other days I use the New York Times app. Occasionally, I’ll even go retro and read a physical paper. Whatever the platform, I keep up with the news constantly. Not only is it entertaining, but reading helps develop your writing skillet. It’s good to compare how different newspapers report on the same issues or events, helping young writers create their own style.

Long story short, my entire life revolves around journalism and writing. Some people might think that sounds boring, but I’m perfectly okay with that. There’s nothing more satisfying than thinking of a great story, writing it down, then doing a self edit to create a perfect product.  

 

Overcome Writer’s Block With These Summer Writing Exercises

Posted on by Olivia Meier

Writer's Block

Ah, the summer is here and you’re ready to kick back and relax. If you spent last semester struggling to overcome writer’s block, picking up a pen is probably the last thing you’re planning on doing over summer break. However, soon next semester will sneak up on us and you’ll be back to stressing over how to start writing a paper. The truth is, there is no secret to being a great writer. Simply put, practice makes perfect. Writing and reading are exercises for your mind. The more you practice the craft, the better you will become. You shouldn’t stop writing simply because the semester ended. When school starts back, lose the stress by practicing these four writing exercises over the summer:

Free Write

Some students appear able to begin writing a paper without taking any time to brainstorm. Before class is dismissed, they’ve written a novel and are off to claim their National Book Award. While we can’t all be the next Edgar Allen Poe, we can improve on our ability to overcome writer’s block. Practice free writing, an exercise writers use to strengthen their creative ability and sharpen their voice. Free writing is trying to continuously write for 15 minutes without interruptions. Sound easy enough, right? Well, the challenge is your pen should not leave the paper until those 15 minutes are up. Free writing is not about stopping to think. It’s about actively writing whatever pops in your head. Try walking outside, whether it be in your backyard or in a local park, and finding a comfortable spot to write about your surroundings. 

Once you are finished, take an hour or so before you review what you wrote. After you read your spontaneous creation, take time to make any necessary revisions and turn it into a story. This great exercise for young writers strengthens their thought process and improves their editing skills.

“My first…”

 New experiences create rich memories filled with lasting emotions and detail. Many people can recall their first day of school, their first pet, or their first time driving with distinct clarity. All of these firsts are great story telling opportunities. Try to think about how you felt those days or in those moments and expand on them. What details stand out in your mind? What senses or emotions can you remember? Think of it like you’re telling the story to someone else; what would you want them to know? Start a paragraph with “I remember” or “My first” and let your memories dictate what you write. This will help you create strong stories and sentences because you’re practicing reporting information and using descriptive words.  

Use Online Prompts

The internet is a great source for education. There are dozens upon dozens of online writing prompts that will help strengthen your skills and reduce writer’s block. The best part about using prompts is your freedom to search for and customize them to fit your interests. Prompts usually start with a subject or topic (I.E. What’s Outside Your Window) and feature questions to help you brainstorm what to write for your story.  For a more creative approach, you can combine two prompts to create one bigger story. The options are endless!

Ask Journalistic Questions

If you’ve spent more than 10 minutes in a writing class, you’re likely familiar with the five W’s. Who? What? Where? When? and Why? This formula is often used by journalists to create leads, but it’s a great tool for other writers to utilize. Imagine your walking through town and suddenly see a dog chasing a cat. The dog chases the cat up the street until both animals run around the corner of a building and disappear out of view. Who is responsible for that dog? What caused the dog to start chasing the cat? Where did the two animals run off to? All of these questions create awareness of your surroundings and help with describing a situation.

Writer’s block is the last thing anyone needs when facing a deadline. Doing any of these exercises once a day, once a week, or even once a month can help keep your writing skills sharp throughout the summer. Write, take a break, come back to read it, and learn from your experiences. Now go practice writing! 

 

How to Write a Quick A Paper

Posted on by Kelly Craig

Every college student at one point or another will be faced with writing a paper.  Even the mathematicians have to go through general education courses and end up writing papers about literature or world events or what have you.  Getting an A on a paper might not be much to brag to your friends and family about (or it is…) but what if you told them it only took you half the time to write it?

It is possible to write an amazing paper in a short period of time.  The key?  Be a genius of course.  Okay, but seriously the everyday person can write a paper that will blow your professor away if you go about it right.

Okay, get ready because I am about to blow your mind here: do you remember back in high school English how your teacher gave you all those little assignments leading up to the big paper?  If you never had a teacher who did this, I am truly apologetic because although those teachers pushed you and you hated them for it, what they were forcing you to do does do a world of good if you carry the concepts they taught into college.

The best way to write an A paper in a short time frame is… prepare, prepare, prepare.  The more work you put into preparing for your paper, the easier it will be to write, plain and simple.

At this point, you’re probably thinking to yourself that the time it takes you to prepare for the paper is just as long or even longer than writing the actual paper.  Oh contraire my friend.  If you take an hour to make an outline detailing the structure of your paper, writing your thesis, figuring out what the paragraphs will be about, maybe plug in the facts you are going to use and throw in your topic sentences, the paper is essentially written.  If you have a detailed outline in front of you, it will take you a fraction of the time to write your paper because you will know what you need to do and don’t have to make up the structure as you go along.  By doing it without an outline, you usually end up stuck on what to write about next then start to procrastinate, right?  Or, you realize how much your paper stinks and how it isn’t by any means enjoyable to write?  Chances are, if it isn’t enjoyable to write it will not be enjoyable to read resulting in a bad grade.  I’m not about to say that writing an outline is a super fun thing to do (unless you’re an English or communications nerd and love to write), but it will make the process of getting to that final result much smoother.

Need some other tips on avoiding procrastination?  Check out this post Kill The Procrastination Beast.

-TravelBug

I’m reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages