The Notebook

how free writing shapes my words

Jun 02, 2025

I wake up each day and write. Not a family history. Not a historical fiction. I write in my journal.

Every day.

You may be thinking, “Well, I’m interested in writing my family history.” or “I’m interested in writing historical fiction. Why do I care about a journal?”

Honestly, that is a valid question.

Why should you care about me waking every day to write in my journal?

Because it helps all the rest of the writing.

Writing – creatively in both fiction and nonfiction – is a large task to undertake. You are sitting down and essentially saying, “I am here to capture the essence of my story (a story, my family’s story)!” When you look at that statement directly, it suddenly becomes daunting.

In that one instant, you go from a proud declaration of, “I am writing the story!!” like a knight on a hill with their sword stabbing towards the wispy clouds, bright golden sun, and pristine blue sky – to – “Oh, no. I’m the one writing the story…” and the image changes into something more claustrophobic.

And that is why I write every morning.

I write about the day, the weather, and how I’m feeling. I write about the individuals I’m researching in my family tree, the articles I plan to write for my Substack, and what I need to accomplish for my clients. I write about current affairs and about historical ones. I write about how I need to balance my checkbook and set up my annual wellness exam.

I write about the little birds outside my window that sound like they're saying, “¡Buenos Dias!” as they sing. (Something my husband pointed out to me once and I cannot unhear.)

Sometimes, I write about my dog, Missy, and how cute she is because she’s incredibly adorable. It is impossible for me to leave that part out of my morning thoughts. She is that cute… (see above)

What all of this does, all this rambling, describing, explaining, venting, and talking about my dog, helps me, in two ways:

First, by sitting down to reflect on my thoughts each day, I organize my brain, my day, and my life. It helps me remember what I need to do and what order I need to do it.

Second, it allows me to grow as a writer.

Writing is like anything else. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Plus, writing every day has a way of transforming that statement of, “Oh, no! I’m the one writing the story,” back into the more inspired sentence, “I’m writing the story!”

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Daily free writing, for even half an hour, makes those monumental tasks manageable. Why? Because you get to talk them out. You make the task more attainable, and in between each note or reminder about your ever-growing to-do list, you also learn more about yourself as a writer.

You don’t need anything fancy, really just a notebook, like, a dollar college-ruled spiral notebook, and a pen or pencil. You’re welcome to get something a little fancier. Mine has flowers and butterflies on the cover (it was a gift from my son).

NOTE: There is only one rule: no computers, tablets, or phones.

Why? You can’t accidentally end up on Google when you’re writing in a notebook.

Just know:

The computer will be there after you’re done.

Everything else will be there after you're done, for that matter.

Grab a notebook and a pen. Go old school. Attack this exercise like it's 1999. (cue Prince)

Sit down with the notebook and pen, and then – write.

Write about the weather. About what you’re wearing. About how you’re feeling. About where you’re sitting at the exact moment when you're writing in your notebook. Write about any little thought that comes into your head – good, bad, beautiful, or ugly. Don’t write it for anyone else’s eye but your own. Make that notebook and the words in it utterly private and divinely sacred.

Make it the safest space you have ever been in, in all of the known universe throughout all of space and time.

Then, just write.

It is freeing.

So, if you have ever said, “I want to write, but I can’t,” or “I wish I had time to write, but I don’t,” or “I don’t even know where to begin,” grab a notebook, and join me in my daily writing ritual. I prefer the morning, but you can really snatch any moment of time that is available to you. That’s the other beauty of a notebook – you can write your words in the car before you go inside the grocery store, or at a park without an outlet, or on the train, bus, rideshare.

Notebook + pen/pencil + words = a great place to start. And then watch things change.

Plus, there is no wrong way to do it.

Isn’t that fantastic? Isn’t that lovely?

There is absolutely no wrong way to write in your notebook.

It’s impossible to mess up.

It just can’t be done.

So, please share your writing journey with me. Tell me about it. Share that you have taken time to write in your notebook because accountability and consistency lead to better routines, and better routines lead to more writing, and more writing means better writing, more ideas, and on and on and on.

If you'd like to join me on my daily writing journey. I would love to write with you.

The Notebook

how free writing shapes my words

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