Dear Writer

Tonight I was reminded about how fragile and broken I felt when I asked for help and started my healing journey.

I don't normally write poetry. But wow, it felt amazing writing this.

There is something about considering the words and the feeling. Crafting and cutting, as opposed to the raw unedited flow that I am used to writing.

How do you feel about writing poetry?

If you want to try writing here's something I did as a way of getting me started:

Warm-up by free writing for 5 - 10 minutes.

Notice as you're writing if any words that strike you come up.

Write out these words, pick one that stands out  (Mine was 'shards'), and structure a poem around it, however you like.

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I took the time to write myself some reminders for today in the back of my journal this morning.

I needed to recalibrate a bit. Often if I'm excited or nervous about something I get caught up in tomorrow or future situations. Trying to solve problems that don't exist yet. Writing always takes me back to the present, it allows me to explore the future but not get lost in it. Writing these reminders have framed my day today.

What reminder are you giving yourself today?

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We love reading reviews on your experience with the journal and how you find the weekly prompts.

We want to make journaling more accessible and by that we mean - make it easy to start and keep going. Just like Lucy says, a blank page can be daunting, our structured journals will guide you through the page - but they won’t restrict you or stop you getting into a flow with your writing.

Happy writing everyone!

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Things change, things stay the same.

I can get a bit wrapped up in change, no matter what it is, something at work, in the news or at home and when it's happening I sometimes loose sight of everything else, that is still the same.

This is my writing from the exercise in last weeks Sunday Prompt (link to sign up in bio). It is a very simple and effective way of looking at change and constants together. It helps me prepare for change, so when it does happen I find it a little easier to remember what I have and what is important to me.

What is something that changes for you, and something that stays the same?

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What is your weekend self-care routine?

Starting my morning with writing sets me up for the day. I'm finding it challenging at the moment to draw a line between the working week and down time at the weekend. By taking the time to write in the morning it helps me start each day with a fresh slate.

If you want to try some guided journaling you can get your hands on a journal from our site, or sign up for our free Sunday Journaling prompts. ✍️

Wishing you all a happy & relaxing weekend. 🙏

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This weeks journaling prompt was focused on self-love. Now that's a term, if I heard it four years ago would have made me cringe a little - that itself says a lot about the relationship I had with myself then!

I am protective around what I share of my own journaling but I think it's important to normalise self-love despite the voice in my head that says self-love is indulgent, it's arrogant etc... That's why I have to share this, writing about the things I love about myself is harder than the things I don’t. Working on loving myself is a daily thing.

What do you love about yourself?

This is my writing (warts and all!) from this weeks prompt which had four prompts on self-love that went out to our mailing list, written at the back of The Six Week Journal.

Remember, we still have 20% off all journals until the end of today with the code SELFLOVE20 used on our site.

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To celebrate the best kind of love (in my opinion!) we're giving you 20% off any journal purchase on our site from now until the end of the day Monday.

All you need to do is use the code SELFLOVE20 when you check out to get 20% off your order.

When I started journaling I don’t think I could honestly say I loved myself. Through writing and exploring what was going on inside I got to know more about who I am and slowly opened the door to loving myself. Loving myself is constant process, and I like to think of myself as a work in progress, each day is new and a new opportunity to get to know yourself.

Don’t forget you can also sign up to our Sunday mail-outs on our site to start receiving our weekly Sunday journaling prompts.

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All you need to do with today is live in it.

What is your message to yourself today?

This was my message to myself in my Six Week Journal this morning. I know I'm not alone in feeling like I'm not moving forward in life right now and that days are hurtling by with seemingly nothing happening.

My writing practice is helping me stay aware of the small things that happen everyday which I am grateful for, and the very small but important steps I am taking to grow in life. These things would go by unnoticed otherwise.

I still need to remind myself that I don't need to put pressure on myself to achieve loads of amazing things every day and worry that I haven't done enough for tomorrow. All I need to do today is live in it, the rest will come.

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Writing is one way of switching off and doing something wholesome. 

How do you take time out, and get away from your screens?

The time I spend journaling is a welcome time to reset. I find that if I'm feeling unbalanced about something, like not enforcing my boundaries around work and screen time, writing about it gives me the opportunity to start again. It helps me come at things I’m working on in a way that is compassionate to myself.

If you would like some structure to help you get started with journaling head over to our site and check out The Six Week Journal.

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I hadn't truly seen my handwriting for many years before I started journaling. In fact I think I had actively tried to avoid it. It reminded me of school, and back then I always felt embarrassed about my it. It never met the expectations I had of it and I quickly compared myself against other peoples seemingly flawless cursive style.

Journaling slowly allowed me to accept my handwriting and heal those self imposed wounds that I wasn't good enough. My penmanship is unique, it is mine and I have grown to love it and not be ashamed of it.

Do you have any experiences around your handwriting before you started journaling? And has that changed?

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Here is my gratitude list from this morning in The Six Week Journal.

I'm always surprised just how much I can find, especially on challenging days.

Writing gratitude lists has transformed my outlook. Before I started writing them I often overlooked wonderful and simple parts of my life. When I began I didn't think there was anything much good happening in my life, especially not enough to fill a list of ten things. Gratitude is like a muscle, it gets stronger with use.

What are you grateful for today?

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Writing about patience helped me to give up the struggle a little over the weekend and relax into the moment.

Here are some of my words from the prompt we mailed out on Sunday.

What words of strength did you write around patience?

If you would like to try journaling prompts like this then you can subscribe on our site.

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The Six Week Journal, a guide, a friend, an ally.

This journal was crafted with the support of writers all over the world who tested various copies and helped to build a creative writing practice for a happy mind :).

It came into reality, from a simple idea, into the book you see before you after a successful Kickstarter Campaign last year. With the support of so many amazing people, we were able to complete our first print run 📖 🏃‍♀️

I feel incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us on our journey and mission so far - your encouragement has been invaluable🙏

We currently have 15% off our journals on the site until the 1st of Feb. If you order two or more you get free postage too! ☺️

Happy writing!

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When is the best time for you to write?

If you're new to journaling, finding a regular time to write can be difficult. Blocking out a regular 20 minutes in the morning, day or evening might be hard at first.

I've heard recently from new writers, that after just a weeks worth of writing the time is less something consciously set aside and begins to morph in to an eagerly awaited part of the morning or evening routine.

When I started writing in the morning it was a game changer, I had tried during the day for sometime but could never stick to it. I was always on the back foot and caving in to any other task that came along.

For me, prioritising 20 minutes in the morning means that regardless of anything else that happens in the day, I have already achieved something and started on the right foot.

But that's just me - here are some thoughts from
me which might help with building your journaling practice.

Here are some tips on building a regular journaling practice.

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Every Sunday I mail out writing prompts and a gratitude list. This is part of todays prompt, a creative writing prompt getting to know your opposite self and having a conversation with them.

It has been a while since I've done some creative writing and I really enjoyed creating a character and writing some dialogue. My daily journaling is a routine which works for me, the practice is a simple enjoyable repetition that sets me up for the day (The format of The Six Week Journal) but I also like to take time to enjoy other writing prompts that make me think about things differently.

If you're interested in receiving these prompts you can subscribe to our mailing list on the site.

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Time to write is a gift I choose to give to myself. That space in the morning has been my friend, my guide, my daily act of kindness to myself.

Trying to live my life one day at a time has carried me through great difficulty. I'm actively doing that again at the moment, staying as focused as I can on the 16 hours or so that I'm awake. Writing helps me find that presence, especially when writing about gratitude. Writing about gratitude has been proven in many studies to improve sleep, lower stress and improve relationships.

What are you grateful for today?

Today I'm grateful for:

- Waking up without a hangover
- Feeling cosy while I wrote this morning
- The sound of rain against the window
- A call from a friend checking in
- Hearing my family laugh on the phone
- Not having to get on a packed tube this morning
- The way the river made me feel when I looked at it yesterday
- Having re-discovered birdwatching last year
- All the challenges I faced in the past - and what they taught me
- A quiet sense of peace I feel before the day starts

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📖 Some journaling prompts to help ease you into and through the weekend.

✍️ Give yourself a little gift of time tomorrow morning and set your weekend up with some writing.

If you have a Six Week Journal you can use the 'Join the dot's' section toward the end of the book to write this in.

I would love to hear how you find the prompts if you try them!

Wishing you all a peaceful few days.

🙏

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We have been donating One Week Journals to support our charity partners (you can read more about this on our website) but we've kept fifteen of them back to give away here, to whoever needs one but can't afford one - no questions asked.

There are no strings attached. You don't have to even follow us, like anything or sharing anything. It's simple, the first fifteen DM's asking for a journal in the UK will be posted one for free.

If you would like a One Week Journal then just drop us a DM and the first fifteen will get one. It's completely anonymous.

Please, if you can afford a journal then don't ask for one as you will be stopping someone who can't afford one from getting one.

By buying a Six Week Journal you enable us to do this work. So thank you to all of the nearly 200 writers who have ordered a The Six Week Journal so far. If this goes down well hopefully we will do another one in the near future.

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A restricted life is still worthy of reflection.

I have written some notes of strength to myself, gentle reminders for the weeks ahead. Sharing here if anyone finds them useful. 🙏

Why not take five to ten minutes if you can tonight to write yourself one or two notes of strength. Here are is a prompt to help get you writing your own:

1. Write down a short list of negative thoughts.
2. Re-write the list focusing on one at a time, but re-write them as the opposite. Turning them into a positive belief.
3. Keep them short if you can.
4. Keep them positive.
5. Read them out loud to yourself or someone close

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Reflection with a side of jam on toast, that's how I like to start my mornings.

The time spent before the day starts writing about gratitude and then 10 - 15 minutes of whatever I need transforms how I am through the day. No matter what is written, plans for the day, something reflective, writing about a conflict, writing about stress, it all helps me to step into the day a little lighter than I would otherwise.

How do you start your day?

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Dear Writer - making journaling more accessible Dear Writer's mission is to bring writing for good health further into the mainstream. It is an incredibly effective and low-cost form of self-care. Dear Writer publishes guided journals to help writers build a solid writing practice and encourage new journalers to pick up a pen and give it a go.

There is a lot of pressure at this time of year to make resolutions, intentions and goals. Why leave this as something we only talk about and share with each other once a year?

My intention for the future is to maintain regular reflection, make small goals when I need them and support others however I can to reach theirs, whenever they are made.

Here are some messages I wrote to myself thinking about sustainable change and year-long intentions.

What short compassionate message can you write to yourself about your growth and goals?

I hope that you all have a relaxing and peaceful night whatever you're doing. x

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