I’m a great believer in the therapeutic value of keeping a journal. The grumbling, grousing, musing, imagining and navel-gazing that fills my journals would bore the most loving and patient listener. But I’ve had so many “Ah-ha!” moments while journaling, especially during difficult times. Some people (like my husband) reflect best by sitting in silence, but I require a pen and paper to process the murky depths of my psyche. And the two or three bound journals I burn through each year are a helluva lot cheaper than therapy.

Not usually a woo-woo person, I truly believe in the power of declaring one’s intentions, in detail and in writing—“putting it out there in the universe” so my heart’s desires can begin to manifest. During the last, miserable years of my previous marriage, I wrote in detail about the kind of life I wanted and the partner I wanted to share it with. Et voilà! I now have the freedom I longed for, the time I need, and the most wonderful partner to share this new life with. Is cause and effect at work here? Could be.

But I digress. (Don’t I always?)

Today’s question from the Marketing for Romance Writers blog challenge: Does journal keeping help with the writing process?

Heck yeah. When mired in the muddy middle of a WIP, when baffled as to a character’s motivation, when the story just runs out of steam, I leave my office, journal in hand. A change of scenery helps. Even more, though, it’s the fact that I’m writing in messy longhand with no audience in mind but myself. At my computer, I can’t forget that I’m writing for others. The journal’s just for me.

And it works. In both my published romances, I was able to untangle plot knots by noodling in my journal, trying out “what if?” scenarios in that low-pressure way until something clicked, sending me back to my computer.

How about you? Do you keep a journal? Has recording your life’s journey helped you? Do you ever revisit those pages you wrote long ago?