A piece of writing begins with a germ of an idea, an inspiration, a straw dog. Some people use their journals to spark ideas.

In addition to being a good starting point for a writer, journaling has other benefits. According to Leslie
Andrus-Hacia, a clinical psychiatrist Writing is a brain-based porthole leading to a balanced and calm
state of being … through writing, both right-and left-brain hemispheres communicate, synthesizing
information that ultimately results in greater mental coherence.”* Other benefits of journaling include
memory support and increasing communication skills.
I like to journal on my IPhone. I always have it with me and I loaded Microsoft Word onto it so I can
access the files from my IPad or MacBook. Whenever I get an idea or scrap of a thought, I enter it into
my Phone Journal. I review my notes once a week to see if there is anything I want to flesh out into a
poem. It’s a good system for collecting odd thoughts that otherwise would just escape you.
Sometimes those odd thoughts turn into your best work.
I published a new collection of poems earlier this year. Many were from thoughts in my journal.
Check it out:
https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/touch-my-head-softly-by-eileen-kennedy/
*Family Health and Wellness