Overcome Writer's Block: 8 Surprising Effects of Daily Journaling

by Misty Blais

It is now a proven fact that daily journaling is beneficial for physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Writing by hand is also great for overcoming writer’s block. It releases inner confidence and motivation. 

The best thing is that you don’t have to write something serious or academic like an essay. You can leave it to professionals at EssayPro. But simply keeping a diary of whatever comes to mind can help you feel less stressed and increase emotional intelligence. Here are several surprising effects of daily journaling.

Increases intelligence

Certainly, the habit of writing is helpful when it comes to learning a language and increasing overall intelligence. Journaling boosts the need to explore language and use new words. It enriches vocabulary and releases creative energy.

Helps to Reduce Stress

Expressive writing helps to deal with stressful thoughts. Putting worries on paper releases the brain from focusing on it. A study has shown that it is helpful for both emotional and physical health. The habit of journaling for 15-20 minutes a day resulted in lowered blood pressure and better liver functioning.

Overall, it is great to deal with overwhelming emotions. When they are not vocalized, bottled feelings can result in stress and anxiety. However, writing about worries helps to make this experience graspable.

Endorses Brain Functioning

Research has proven that there is a direct connection between writing by hand and neurological processes. Writing increases the brain function by providing new neural paths and involving more regions in the brain than typing. The best way to journal is by hand and on paper.

Better Health

This might be one of the most surprising effects of journaling. It actually does improve the immune system and provides faster and better healing, both emotionally and physically. This habit, when practiced constantly, results in improved functioning of the immune system. It lowers the risk of getting sick and improves overall wellbeing.

It also improves the functioning of the liver and lungs. This might be connected to a decrease in stress and stress hormones.

Helps With Depression

Of course, it is not the panacea, but it can help to reduce symptoms of depression and improve your mood. For example, blogging releases dopamine, a hormone that contributes to good mood and a higher happiness level. 

Journaling also helps as it offers an opportunity to be more aware of symptoms and their effects. A person can be more self-conscious about their struggles and thus have more opportunities to react in time.

Increased Memory Capacity

Handwriting trains the brain in many ways. And one of them is the memory boost. Not only does it help to better comprehend the experience and ideas. It also ensures a better remembering capacity. The creation of new neural paths helps to boost one’s memory.

Boosts Creativity

The best way to overcome writer’s block is by writing. It is as simple as that. For example, Julia Cameron has an exercise “morning pages” that helps to release creative powers, even if you are not a writer. It can help any type of artist or creative person to overcome the block and fear of beginning.

The main idea is to write 3 pages per day, first thing in the morning. They do not have to be good or specific, just journal about anything that comes to mind. It helps to clear the head and put off the pressure.

Self-Awareness and Confidence

Journaling about everyday life and things helps to get a better understanding of who you are. It also makes a person more aware of the people and situations in their life. What makes you happy, what makes you confident? Being aware of such things increases the quality of life, as one can nurture what makes them happy and eliminate toxic and stressful things.

And journaling about positive experiences helps to relive them. A person gets to feel the same achievement and satisfaction as in the moment of the experience. It releases dopamine, endorphin and helps to boost self-confidence.

In Summary

Journaling is an amazing habit one can practice. It has numerous benefits to physical and mental health. It reduces stress and anxiety, might helps with symptoms of depression. It also boosts self-awareness and confidence. From the point of physical health, it increases brain function, endorses the immune system and reduces illness risks. Overall, it makes a person more happy, healthy and emotionally adjusted.

Misty Blais is a professional journalist with more than 10 years of experience. She’s worked as a writer and a producer for magazines and radio stations. Misty is currently writing for various media as a contributing journalist.

5 Convincing Reasons Writing Is an Antidote to Stress and Loneliness

by Dorian Martin

Writing is a creative, artistic activity that people around the globe practice as a hobby or profession. Whether you’re writing books, poems, blog posts, short stories, articles, or even novels, writing is helping you cope with stress and loneliness.

You may not be aware of it, but writing is great for your mental health. If you're not sure how or why just keep reading and we'll break it down together.

Here are 5 convincing reasons writing is an antidote to stress and loneliness.

1.     Processing Emotions

If we take a deep look into ourselves, we’ll see all kinds of mixed emotions, hidden feelings, and desires. We'll also see our fears, worries, and problems.

However, it’s not always easy to take that deep look inside and process everything that we feel.

Luckily, writing is a great way to use creativity and artistic drive to:

-        process our emotions

-        express how we feel

-        cope with our feelings

Writing is a gateway to our inner world and helps us get in touch with ourselves. This further helps us fight stress and get all those suppressed emotions out on the surface.

2.     Fighting Monotony

Loneliness is a feeling no one wants to experience. Still, more often than not we start feeling lost, alone, and lonely.

Many things are causing us to feel lonely:

-        lack of true friends

-        monotonous lifestyle

-        not enough people to share our ideas with

-        nostalgia over an old friend or former home

However, using the power of our imagination can take us wherever we want to go. That means we can use writing to fight against loneliness.

We can write about a whole different world and escape using our fantasy and creativity.

3.     Personal Growth

People don't like to stand in one place. Stagnation is something we should all avoid. Instead, we should always aim toward personal growth.

Working on our personal improvement gives us a sense of progress and purpose. This, in return, makes us feel happy about ourselves and even gives us a reason to wake up with a smile.

Writing is a great way to work on ourselves and improve. Here’s how:

-        researching for our writing enriches our general knowledge

-        perfecting our writing skills boosts our confidence

-        exploring different types of written content broadens our horizons

-        learning about tools and resources help us improve

“Learning, improving, and mastering new skills is what every person should strive for. Personal growth will make us feel accomplished and will reduce the stress we might otherwise have to struggle with,” says Maria Faber, a freelance writer and editor at Subjecto.

4.     Critical Thinking

Sometimes, it’s hard for us to think clearly and set our head straight. When we’re busy, anxious, or tense, there’s no way we can deal with the problems and struggles we’re facing.

Instead, our minds get even blurrier and we find it harder to address our problems.

However, writing can help to:

-        clear our mind

-        critically assess the problem

-        explore our options

-        focus

-        calm down

While we're doing something that we love, writing, we're calming ourselves down and becoming more focused. Also, we even get to write about the things we're facing and assess them from a different standpoint.

This is a great way to cope with problems and stress.

5.     Staying Connected

We all want to feel like we belong somewhere and are connected to the rest of the world. Being connected with people is what fighting loneliness is all about.

Luckily, writing gives us a chance to connect with people from all over.

Publishing and sharing our work with the rest of the world is crucial for feeling accomplished, happy, satisfied, and connected. Once you share your work, it will continue to live.

People will:

-        respond to your work

-        give you feedback

-        enjoy what you’ve written

-        reach out to you

Your social life will be richer since you’ll be making connections with other fellow writers, critics, and your audience.

When you’re publishing, make sure that everything you write is proofread. Use Studyker, Grammarly, or Write Scout to ensure you’re sharing top-notch content.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, writing is a great way to reduce stress, fight anxiety and loneliness. Writing will lift your spirit, awaken your creativity and help you process your emotions.

Keep writing and you’ll not only enjoy time well spent, but you’ll also benefit your mental health immensely.

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Dorian Martin is a freelance blogger and a writer with years of experience. He primarily focuses on giving actionable tips to his readers, as well as providing guidance and giving credible information. He’s currently working as a writer at Top Essay Writing and Classy Essay.

Feeling Intimidated by Your Famous Subject? Befriend Them First!

By Rosanne Tolin

When I first set out to write about Michael Bond, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. He was a legendary figure—after all, the Paddington Bear books have sales topping 35 million and have been translated into 40 different languages! How could I possibly bring this literary giant to life in a way that honored his legacy? So, I started with a hook: the astonishing bits of information I had read about the true origins of his Paddington character. Those surprising facts made me confident that Bond was worth writing about. That’s because he wasn’t only a gifted children’s writer but also someone who was deeply affected, from a young age, by immigrants and refugees. His life had to be worth documenting in a way that had never been done before.

It all began with an article I read in Tablet Magazine titled “Paddington’s Surprising Jewish Roots.” At the time when I began my research, there were a number of interviews that glossed over the author’s writing journey. Since he had passed away a short time earlier in 2017, most of these memorialized him, sprinkling in amusing quotes about the author’s own bond with Paddington Bear. The two of them, as it turns out, were essentially the same being—inseparable.

It seemed I had suddenly found multiple points of personal connection. Here was a man who lived very much in his imagination. In his mind, it made perfect sense that Paddington Bear was as real as an old companion or immediate family member.

If I overthought it, the task I’d set out on—to write the first ever biography of this iconic writer—seemed a bit daunting. However, as I began to research in earnest, carefully putting the pieces together, I felt a deep affinity for both Bond and Paddington. Like Bond’s connection to his book character, I too, in a sense, grew close to the writer and his best furry friend. As my fondness for them expanded, I found myself fully immersed in their timeless story.

For me, that was the only way I could invest in writing More than Marmalade by befriending my subjects and appreciating both Bond’s faults and his genius—from his self-deprecating (and quintessentially British) wit to his undeniable quirks and his quiet human kindness.

These weren’t the only qualities of Bond I identified with. He was a writer after all, and it is somewhat apropos that my debut book was about his burning desire to be an author. Above all, More than Marmalade: Michael Bond and the Story of Paddington Bear is his story of persistence in pursuit of a dream. Somewhere along the way, Michael Bond became my mentor, too. So, you see, Bond and I—along with Paddington Bear—go together almost as perfectly as bread and orange marmalade.

Bond had to go through a lot of trial and error before he created the wildly successful Paddington series. For my part, it took me three years, from concept to publication, to see my book debut in the world. Here are a few of my suggestions for setting yourself up for writing success:

Writing happens when no one is looking. The fact is, writing itself is a solitary business. While many writers are more introverted, many of us still seek feedback from others. Understand that you’ll need to be self-motivated, but you should also seek out others you trust to give you the honest opinions you’ll value. That will immensely improve your craft.

Build a team around your writing. Join SCBWI. Go to conferences, both in-person and virtual. Attend author events and readings. Make connections on social media in whatever form you choose. Just pick one and get comfortable with using it. The biggest team builder for me? Find a critique group! If you have a good one, they’ll always have your back. They’ll let you know what works, how to make it better, and when to put away that manuscript for good. The same goes for beta readers and literary agents. Never stop growing your circle!

Don’t fear tech. Embrace it! Continue expanding your toolbox when it comes to technology. Especially with events like COVID-19, many of us had to leap head-first into areas of this that scared us: ZOOM, Google Hangouts, YouTube Read Alouds, and SO much more. Many writers realized out of necessity that online platforms could be used in new, creative ways to reach our audience of readers.

Most of all, have fun with writing middle grade! After all, is there a better job out there than writing for kids? So, go ahead, trust your gut and sure, take your writing aspirations seriously. But—taking cues from the late great Michael Bond’s author playbook—maybe not too seriously!

Rosanne Tolin is the author of More than Marmalade: Michael Bond and the Story of Paddington Bear.