Incentivizing the Writer: Journaling is a Good Starting Place

I missed last Monday’s reading-writing incentives discussion, but I was just itching to bring this topic out today, because it’ll quite possibly be my last Monday posting for some time as I’m working to adjust my schedule for my content writing services I’m rolling out. I have a new client I’ll be offering these services to and I’m looking to get going the first of next month. So, YAY! But with that new endeavor, my blogging schedule will change somewhat to accommodate the new writing responsibilities I’ll need to incorporate into my weekly routine.

So, rest assured that the writer in me may be slowing down somewhat on this platform, but I’ll be spreading my writing momentum around in some other spaces, too. Writers write, right? I guess what I’m saying is that I have that internal incentivizer that keeps me hungry for writing. So, I’ll be around. And hey, if you or someone you know needs content writing assistance on online (as well as non-Internet-related) platforms, please let me know. I’d like to see if I could be of assistance to you (or that someone else). You can read about my content writing services here and here.

(But wait. Let me stop and apologize if you’re one of those wonderful individuals who’s heard my “services announcement” a time, or two, or more. Just please bear with me as I’m trying to get others — reading about this for the first time — up to speed. Promise I’ll dial down the promos pretty soon.)

And since I’m going to be keeping the writing up, you’d better believe I’m going to be encouraging others to join in the fun. I already have prospect #1 lined up, but he doesn’t know it yet. Little Man. Yes, that’s right. Middle schooler will be writing this summer. I’ve made efforts to get him on some kind of writing path in the past, but he’s older now and doesn’t need as much nudging in the writing direction as he did when he was younger. So, he’ll put up his defenses somewhat, but I’ll make it fun for him so he’s more of a willing participant.

Here’s a little recap of what I tried in the past, regarding Little Man’s writing routine. I got him a notebook that he could use for journaling and I would give him writing prompts, so he wouldn’t necessarily have to come up with topics if it was hard for him to do so. The idea was to have him write daily on the weekdays (at least) and to start with the following topics to get his writing momentum going:

• his favorite activity (inside or outside of the home)
• his best day ever
• what his most delicious meal is or would look like
• his favorite superhero or someone who he admires
• if he could have any super power, what would it be and how would he use it
• what motivates/inspires him
• where he would like to go on vacation or his favorite vacation memory (a classic writing activity)
• what he wants to be when he grows up (another classic writing activity)
• what he would do with his money if he was rich
• a day in the life of Little Man (journaling)

And since I wasn’t consistent in having him write in his journal, the whole effort was kind of a flop. But, I put that resulting outcome ALL ON ME. I mean — if a child is already not as enthusiastic about taking some of his summer downtime to write, then why would he remind dear old mom to make sure he uses some of that time to write? So, consistency in writing (developing a writing routine) is truly important when you call yourself journaling or having your child journal.

And since we obviously didn’t wear these journaling topics out in our household, you are more than welcomed to put them to use in yours. I would love to hear if you were able to get some mileage out of them. (Hey, if you use them, please contact me and let me know how it went with your child. And who knows? You might even want to use them for your own journaling purposes, as well. They work for adults, even the “what do you want to be when you grow up” topic. Hee. Hee.)

Now that I’m typing about these topics, I might even try to revive some of them for Little Man. But, I’m sure I’ll be bringing in some fresh ideas such as journaling about:

• a new process he’s learning.
• a process he created.
• historical events from the past and how they relate to the events of today.
• his morning and evening routines.
• goals he wants to accomplish this summer.
• goals he wants to accomplish during his 7th grade year of school.
• what activities he’d like to do with his cousins this summer.
• a food recipe or drink recipe of his own creation.
• the Lego and paper sculptures, designs, and graphic work he intends to create.
• some life lessons (morals of the story) he learned from the recent books he’s read.

The whole point in journaling is to give you and/or your child a stress-free avenue in which to write. So, journaling can even involve you chronicling your day like what you’d include in your diary — basically A Day in the Life (DITL) but with written words instead of video footage, which is everywhere you look on YouTube today. (Written DITLing was one of the topics I listed in Little Man’s original journal topics list. And it’s probably one of the easiest ones to implement.)

By the way, the journaling you do in your leisure time should be interesting and fun, as well. Remember: we’re wanting to usher in the writing process with open arms. So, make the journal topics the type you look forward to writing about and the writing process will appear more inviting and appealing. (This is especially important for the reluctant writer, whether adult or child.)

And for the child writer, I actually have some fun, inviting, and appealing writing resources and tools that might aid in the whole writing process. As a parent who seeks to have your child writing this summer break, you might want to visit my incentives hangout at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. You can click here to get there; and if you do so, you’ll notice that everything in the store is 20% off today (5/23) through Thursday (5/26). You’ll want to check it out if you need some writing incentives for your child and don’t want to search high and low for them. I’ve got you covered.

Oh, and I’ve already pinpointed a new topic I’ll be journaling about in the upcoming months. And just for the kiddy fun of it, I might even use some of my journal sheets from my store to do it.

Can you guess what the topic is? Hint: it has something to do with the new creative journey I’m currently on.