A Letter to Yourself:
There is nothing quite like writing a letter to someone who truly understands you. Consider a letter to yourself as another reason to journal. You might not grasp what comes from the pen in your hand, but you will see it. Journaling allows you to see yourself more than any mirror.

Improved Work Performance:
I am in an “Artist’s Way” group where journaling is part of the discipline. One of the members said he saw more success while journaling than when he wasn’t. It opens doors in a way; it’s good for any business person. He’s an artist on the side. What he saw was, when journaling, something clicked in his head, he found more ideas and improved his work performance. Of course, journaling isn’t about gaining business sense. But it can be.

For the Inner Artist:
The part within you is waiting to come out. When you begin journaling there may be many doubts about this inner artist. “He wants me to do this and that, finish a novel, take care of myself, and …” “She wants me to send that story out, but it’s terrible!” What journaling does is provide an outlet for all these thoughts. Writing it down gets it on the page.

It doesn’t matter if you are a freelance writer or a painter. There is something to be said for expressing this inner artist. And you need no one telling you to write-it must somehow come from within. The pages will guide you in a sense, much as reading does, to new thoughts and new takes.

For Ideas:
The number one reason I journal is that the pages allow me to make sense of my ideas. Certain artists need some quiet space to think. Journaling is a perfect solution. Science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick would write a book in two weeks or a month, sit in quiet for six months, writing only in his journals, and then go back to the page. His was an interesting form of journaling, but he wrote things down no matter what he did. Every day he had some crazy idea of the world and what reality is.

Future Hopes:
You will set career goals in the journal. It will provide an outlet for all your future hopes. Something will come out you didn’t know was there. Maybe you want a child; maybe you want a new career. The journal allows you to think on all this future hopes in a logical way, expressing your point of view to the future you. Some day, maybe a few years from now, you can go back to the journal and see a portrait of you from another day. That’s what makes it so fun. That’s why writers like Julia Cameron and Natalie Goldberg believe so much in the journal. I believe Philip K. Dick was different-he wanted to somehow make sense of what he was on the page.

#
Whatever your position in life, a journal can be something close to your heart. It can tell the future you to work harder, the past you to take it easy, and the present you to say what you want. If you want something, write it down. If you don’t, write exactly that. The beauty of journaling is there is no such thing as a poor piece: everything has meaning.

1. Never write while you’re angry. Feel free to replace the word ‘angry’ with any other strong emotion (sad, hellbent, crying). Writing while you’re angry or overly emotion is dangerous. So, take a break and breathe deep before the pen ever touches the pad.
2. Words are your weapon, use them wisely. Words have the ability to heal wounds as well as create lifelong scars. When you write a hate letter you want to convey your hatred in every word. You must realize that some words cause paper cuts while others are machetes.
3. Always stay in control. The wisest of warriors will tell you that control is how they win battles, and staying in control of what you’re writing is not only a way to make sure you get all your points across, but it also guarantees that your words won’t be used against you at a later time. Think about your words, and then listen to them from the perspective of the reader. Feel their emotion and make sure it is exactly what you wanted your words to convey.
4. Never write what you don’t mean. Writing a hate letter is akin to writing a love letter. That’s why if you don’t mean it, don’t say it. You and only you are accountable for your actions whether they be on paper, a computer screen, or a bathroom wall. So never write what you don’t mean, as it will almost always be used against you at a later time, and it’s hard to defend what you never truly believed to begin with.
5. Perform expectation management before you sendExpect that your reader isn’t the only one that’s going to see it. Expect to ruffle some feathers. Expect that you’re going to get a response from the reader. Expect the hate to be returned in some way, shape or form.

Writing a hate letter will always make you feel better once it’s done. However, before sending it, make sure that the gladness you feel isn’t resolved completely by just getting the words down on paper.

IF WRITING THE LETTER MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER, THEN YOU’RE NOT REQUIRED TO DELIVER IT.

Hate letters are used to cause others the pain we’re feeling. However, sometimes there’s healing in just putting the words down on paper. So, get the words out and feel free to burn the letter once it’s done. See the hate go up in flames, and feel a million times better in the process. It can always be your little secret :-).

Test a theory: go up to a random man and start drawing him on a sketch pad. He might blush or start laughing. He might punch you in the face. Those are the two extremes. He might just walk away, robbing you of a masterpiece. When you give it your all, you are going to extremes. Robert Mckee wrote of this in his screenwriting primer “Story.” But we aren’t here to learn about just that-in a way itís more about opening up to the world in your own way, playing in the middle if you will. Doing it your way means finding no formula, and creating your own instead.

Consider the journal: You write exactly what you want to write. There is a glaring ache within you to say this, just this, and nothing else. The mindset is you have to make money on it or it’s a failure. What it is to myself as a writer is something more akin to finding your own expression. The clichÈ, find your voice, is really the way to do it. Journaling allows you to race to the finish, finding pieces of you all over the page; it’s built for it.

Looking at the ìdo it your wayî philosophy, remember that in most of the world you cannot do it your way. Actually, in some countries you cannot say whatever you want, even on the page. So look at writing as your freedom to say it your way.

So you wrote the novel, the short story, the flash fiction piece, and youíre wondering what to do next. I recommend seeing others who did it their way, because itís a reminder of what can be done in this world. Recall the man who punched you, ran away, or just plain blushed? What he did was react to you. It’s time for you to react to the writing. Thatís what makes you as a writer-how you see each piece, terrible or flawed as it is, and moving onto the next piece with the hope of taking one more step.

What defines the writer is his way of seeing the world. Making yourself stand out is hard. But writers are more apt to stand out than anyone else, especially if they break all the rules, knowing what they are doing, and have a blast doing it. Creative writing works as a means of saying something about you, just you, first, and then it says something about someone else.