Showing posts with label 5-Day Journaling Retreat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5-Day Journaling Retreat. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Journaling Retreat Tips: What do you do?

How is it possible to have enough to do in a journaling retreat that lasts, ideally  12-15 hours a day for 1 day, let alone anything more than that? Is something you might wonder.

It's easy, if we have lots of choices. So, what are the choices?

* Read the blog post from Monday and all of the links I have there and do them.

* Do lots of Stream of Consciousness writing--where you write for a 10-15 minute block anything that comes to mind. The key is to write fast. If you run out of anything to say, either write, "I don't know what to say," or rewrite the most powerful thing you wrote in the session. And keep repeating either, or both, until you know what to say.

* Do several journaling exercises or prompts. Look throughout this blog. Download a free copy of my book, THE JOURNALING AND STORYKEEPING ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 2013 and do anything found there. Look at the other blogs I have recommended and listed on the side of my blog, including THE JOURNALING PATH blog. Trust me between all these, you have enough material to write for a lifetime.

* Make lists. List your memories, all the people in your life, all your favorite possessions, all of the places you've lived and work, your favorites of anything, TV shows you have watched in your life, movies you have seen, books you have read... Then, do a journaling entry about any and all of them.

* Look at your photographs and journal about them.

* What photos do you not have that you wish you had? Write about them, what happened, what you experienced, and why you wish you had them.

* Go to Flickr and find photos to inspire you and write about.

* Look up inspirational quotes and journal about them.

* Journal anything your heart desires.

~ Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Memoir Writer


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Sign of a True Journaling Retreat

What is the sign that you are taking a real journaling retreat?

Answer: You are still in your pajamas at 10:00 in the morning on a weekday.

~ Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Memoir Writer

Journaling Retreat: Day 2: Letters

I hope your 5-Day Journaling Retreat got off to a good start yesterday. If it didn’t, the beauty is you have today to try to do so.

Today’s Theme is: Letters
Write several of the following letters in your journal. It’s up to you later if you really send them or not. But, you definitely want a copy of each in your journal regardless.

Letter writing is when we write for the sole purpose of reaching out to another. We express our thoughts, feelings, dreams, fears, ambitions, hopes, challenges, and everything in-between. We share a part of ourselves with another who cannot be by our side.

So, what letters are we going to write?

1 Write a letter to each of the 10 most influential people in your life who have helped you become the person you are today. They do not have to be alive, nor do they have to be someone you know. They can be authors, historical figures, etc. You might only get a few done today, but in time, do at least 10 people. Ideally, it would be 25 people.

2 Write a letter to yourself for you to receive the day you are born.

3 Write a letter to yourself to read when you are old.

4 Write a letter to someone who hurt you.

5 Write a letter to someone you hurt.

6 Write a letter to someone who inspires you.

7 Write a letter to God.

8 Write a letter to someone you know who died.

9 Write a letter to your closest friend.

10 Write a letter to someone you haven't seen in years.

11 Write a letter to each of your favorite book, movie, and TV show characters.

12 Write a letter to yourself in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, 25 years, and every 5 years until age 110. Where have you come, where are you, where do you hope to be, and so on. And write whatever else you want to say. Be thorough. Try to write at least 3 pages of single-spaced type for each of these letters.

13 Write a letter to your spouse in case you die.

14 Write a letter to your spouse and tell them how much you love them. Remember everything you’ve been through.

15 Write a letter to each fo your children and tell them how much you love them. Remember everything you’ve been through.

16 Write a letter to each of your children in case you die.

17 Write a letter to people of the Bible.

18 Write a letter to anyone else you can think of and for whatever reason.


~ Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Memoir Writer

Monday, January 28, 2013

Journaling Retreat

Every blog post I am doing this week will be to help inspire you to journal. Therefore, do all of the exercise or prompts listed.

Also, search my blog for more journaling ideas if you get stuck and are not sure what to journal. There is lots of material you can find on this blog. Trust me. As it is, while this is a new blog, there is enough material here to keep you busy for years and years.

~ Stacy Duplease
Journal Keeper & Memoir Writer

28 January-01 February 2013 5-Day Journaling Retreat

Welcome to a 5-Day Journaling Retreat. This week is meant to help us focus more on our journaling and taking time to refresh.

Let me start by saying, it does not have to be these dates for you to take part in a 5-Day Journaling Retreat. Take one whenever you can and read these notes and instructions.

Ideally, we will be out of town. However, how likely is this? If, however, we have put it on our calendar 5-years out, we might be able to be out of town, holed up somewhere, enjoying journaling for fives days and nights.

I put it on my calendar and have it planned out even more than 5 years in advance, but that doesn’t mean I can afford to get out of town whenever I desire. Also, there are some obligations I have to meet at times. But, I can take those 5 days off of work.

And, if I cannot, then, this is what I can do--and I assume most of you reading this are in the same boat. So, here is what you do:
~ What is the average amount of time you spend journaling each day? Make sure to journal more than that the next 5 days. At a minimum, you will journal for at least an hour longer than you normally do--and do so for the next 5 days. Ask your family to give you the time. Do not answer emails, do not answer your cell, and ignore all social media as well during the time you journal.
~ Journal how much you can.
~ Journal when you can.
~ Do this for 5 days.
~ It does not have to be these specific dates that I am writing for this retreat. Pick any 5 you can.

A SELF-PACED RETREAT
See the previous paragraph.

WHAT DO YOU JOURNAL FOR 5-DAYS?
1 See the section below for some suggestions. Read EACH of the links, please. And, do as many of them as possible. Also, make sure, no matter what, you add the journaling retreat suggestions made on your calendars/in your planners for at least the next 5 years.

2 Journal about anything you want.

3 Write about 5 memories at least and get as much on the page about them. That’s one per day for 5 days.

4 Do at least 10 items on your Future Journaling List--that’s two per day for 5 days.

5 What is something that keeps coming to your mind? Write about that.

6 Write about your plans for this week, this month, the next 3 months, the next 6 months, the next year, the next 5 years, the next 10 years, the next 20 years, the next 25 years, and beyond.

7 HOW are you? Write about this.

8 How is your journaling coming along? What are you getting out of it? What do you hope to get out of it this week, this month, the next 3 months, the next 6 months, the next year, the next 5 years, the next 10 years, the next 20 years, the next 25 years, and beyond.

9 Review your journaling and do this link:
http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-of-your-journaling-with.html

JOURNALING RETREAT SUGGESTIONS
Take a look at these blog posts and apply to a 5-day journaling retreat:

~ http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/11/journaling-retreat.html

~ http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-journaling-retreat-part-2.html

~http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-storykeeper-odyssey-journaling.html

~http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/another-memory-snapshot-or-mining-your.html

~http://storykeeper2121.blogspot.com/2012/12/journaling-retreat-stirring-up-memories.html

ARE YOU PARTICIPATING?
It does not matter when--January of 2013 or November 2050, please let me know if you are participating in this retreat.

For those of you who are participating in January 2013, I would love to dialogue with you at the Journaling & Storykeeping Google + Community, or on blog post comments.

ENJOY!


~ Stacy Duplease
Journalkeeper & Memoir Writer