Be raw, don’t worry about punctuation
I wrote that line in my journal a few weeks ago. No poetry. No metaphor. Just a sentence that landed with the dull thud of a boot heel on concrete.
I don’t always write in paragraphs. Sometimes, it’s just fragments. I’ll toss out an action phrase like, “went to the grocery store and ignored the popcorn.” These short lines are snapshots of what was on my mind that day. On other days, I write full paragraphs. These often stir memories or help me process a difficult experience.
As I start off a series of articles about journaling, it might help if I expose a bit of the man behind the words. Yes, I used to live in Florida and yes, I moved to Menomonie, WI by choice.
One late-summer day in 2022, my brother, sister and I were visiting. We’d moved often as children, every couple of years, like clockwork. The upside was, we saw the world. The downside was we never really had a hometown. Friends came and went. Roots never had a chance to grow. After a few bottles of wine and more words than should be said in one sitting, we decided we’d look for a place to retire, together. At the time we were scattered across the country and only saw each other at deaths and funerals. This gave us a reason to change that.
It took nearly two years and more than one cross-country trip, but I landed here, with purpose and a plan to build something new.
My list for a new home included such things as bumpy ground, or hills for all you who don’t understand the South. Rivers were a must and being I was giving up grass-flats fishing along the Florida coast, I figured that trading the ocean rods for a fly rod or salmon fishing on Lake Superior were good trades. I also wanted a home with a basement. You don’t get basements in Florida and not having the space makes you feel cheated, somehow.
So, why do I write a journal and why am I writing this article?
Our language is shifting. Text abbreviations are becoming the norm. Most of us know that “LOL” stands for “laugh out loud.” That acronym came out of the early computer chat rooms of the 1980s and now lives in our language.
How we speak and what we say have been reshaped by every tool we’ve picked up along the way. Family dinners are less frequent. Stories around the table are fading. But journaling, real, honest journaling can help rebuild some of what we’re losing.
I’ve written a couple of books, worked as a newspaper reporter, and taught writing at several writers’ conferences. I enjoy the teaching aspect of writing, and that’s what prompted me to start this series of articles.
Over the next few months, I’ll share a few pages from my journal. These glimpses into my life might inspire you to begin or return to recording your own stories and thoughts.
It’s also great therapy.
Today’s prompt is simple. Start with what you felt or saw. Add a metaphor or some color and you’re rocking the words. It can be short or long, either way, your written words improve us all.
Prompt
Begin with this: “I feel…”
Or: “Today I saw…”
Write five lines. Keep it messy. Let it be yours.
You don’t have to be a writer to journal.
You just have to show up and tell the truth.
John Wilkerson works most days writing and fiddling with his computer. His new, old, home in Menomonie is constantly subjected to DIY mayhem. His background includes ghost writing, newspaper reporting, and a long stretch in marketing and advertising. He may be contacted at [email protected]