Why You Should Wreck Your Journal
The perfect morning ritual for writing - or is it?
This past year, I upgraded my morning journaling time. Each morning, coffee in hand, I sit in my piano room and write. I love looking at my books and music while I write. But this past Christmas, I received gifts from my children that changed the way I write.
Hailley, my son’s girlfriend, painted a picture of my dog, Schnitzel on a mug. I filled it with pens my son Zack gave me, along with a candle. And my daughter Lizzie bought me a little bell from Ireland, with a harp on the handle. I added an amethyst crystal to hold while I took a few deep breaths and set an intention. Combined, the gifts make the perfect morning writing ritual, engaging all of my senses with sound, smell, light and touch.
The only problem? It didn’t work.
Oh, I loved the ritual as I lit the candle and chose a pen. I rang the bell and sat in a few moments of silence. But Zack and Hailley had also given me a new journal to write in. It was moleskin with thick lined pages and it was the nicest one I’d ever owned.
Unfortunately, it triggered my inner voice, telling me my words weren’t good enough for this beautiful journal.
Writing often triggers that critical voice. Just yesterday a friend told me she’d love to write but every time she tried, she could only manage a sentence or two before that inner voice roared to life and started screaming: not good enough, this is silly, you’re writing about this?
I’ve learned tools throughout the years to silence that voice like free writing and writing sprints, but something about that beautiful journal still made it difficult. So I moved on to my favorite tool - Wreck The Page.
Wreck the Page frees up my inner child and helps silence my critic. It teaches me to play on the page. Here are four ways I “wreck” my page.
1. I write in one long, giant word with no spaces in between. This makes it difficult to read, which tricks my inner critic into ignoring what I’ve written. It allows my thoughts and ideas to flow freely without fear of judgment, especially in those beginning moments of writing when it’s clumsy and doesn’t even make sense. That’s when the critic loves to strike. If I keep pushing through, eventually I’ll tease out a moment or two of insight. I write those on a separate piece of paper to explore later.
2. I crumple up the page, transforming it into a messy, wrinkled work of art. With each crinkle and crease, I remove the fear of a blank, perfect canvas. And now, I can play and invite creativity to my page.
3. I write with my non-dominant hand. This turns out messy and slow, but my inner critic is logical and understands there's a reason for this and allows me to write freely on the page.
4. I go back to Kindergarten, a magical place where everyone could draw and write and sing. I choose a big, fat crayon. This brings out my playful side. I’ll even weave a few stick-figure sketches within my words, sometimes even singing my sentences into a simple song.
These Wreck the Page Tools help me play with my inner child and bypass the critic that lives within. I choose one or two each morning and play. My new journal is still beautiful, but filled with “wrecked” pages that spark insights, ideas and new stories.