The other day I launched Time to Shine on Lucky Things. It’s all about featuring everyday people who have something to share but don’t have or don’t want to start their own blog. It’s also for fellow bloggers who would like to write a guest post. So I’m happy for peeps to basically “borrow my blog”. I started this as I wanted to give others the chance to showcase their creative skills or have a little creative outlet by sharing a post pulled together in their own very words.
Since starting my blog I’ve remembered how much I love writing and it’s more than just a hobby. When I was younger I had fun writing little stories and making pretend magazines. In my teens, I started writing poems particularly after my parents’ divorce. If only I had kept some of them. It would be interesting to see what I was writing about in my younger years. Looking back, I’ve realised how writing has played a subtle but important role in different phases of my life. So whether you’re a blogger, someone who loves jotting stuff down or you just love reading blogs, here’s seven reasons why writing is like a little sanctuary…
- Getting out those emotions…When we write a blog post, we can give ourselves the permission to express our feelings. Maybe in a different way to if we were talking to somebody. We may have carried those emotions around for a while and by writing them down we’re off-loading them. As advised by different psychologists and philosophers, writing is pretty therapeutic. Interesting research has been collated by James Pennebaker who promoted the health benefits of creative writing. He was also one of the main experts to champion ‘writing therapy’. Writing helps us to work through our emotions. It can also help us to understand why we feel a certain way.
2. Creative outlet...For many bloggers, writing a blog provides a creative outlet and a place to share things we love. You could be thinking life is so busy, why fill it up with other writing tasks? Having a creative distraction can be a healthy way to actually stay focused. Sometimes you just want to write because you want to. You can write down funny or silly things. It might be a brain dump, a letter or email to a friend or even a little poem. It may only make sense to you and that’s just fine. Writing can energise you and help pull together your ideas. Ever done a mind map? That’s how I sometimes plan my blog posts (just like my uni and A level days!)
As I’ve grown up with diverse musical influences, I’ve realised that a lot of musicians and intellectual hip-hop artists are incredible poets (people like A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Common and Mos Def to name a few). Songwriting is another level and writing lyrics is another way of expressing ourselves. Another good example is dad blogger Tim from Slouching Towards Thatcham who writes his own (comedy) lyrics to well-known songs.
3. The power of keeping a journal…Journals are a lovely way of capturing memories. I can imagine how these days we’re more likely to capture memories with our iPhone cameras. Sometimes I don’t get to write in my One Line a Day Diary especially as the daily routine takes over. Psychotherapist Kathleen Adams did some interesting work on the power of journal writing. If we’re able to make time to write things down, keeping a journal is a great way to organise our feelings, questions and important moments. Our minds are busy all day so sometimes we need to clear out thoughts to make room for new ones. When going through our IVF journey, I kept a few notes on how I felt and the positive things people said to me. I still keep a notes page on my iPhone called “nice things in 2016” which captures my little achievements or cute things people have said to me each month.
4. Things we care about…Writing passionately about a topic, person or an occasion shows others how much we care about something. We care lots because it was a sentimental time or it’s just a good cause. Maybe we want to share some awareness. I know these things are important for me when I’m hopefully spreading the word about what it’s like going through things like our IVF journey and the baby blues. Encouraging children to write is also powerful thing, especially if they write a little poem or rhyme about something they really love.
5. Sharing is caring…Blogs are like open journals where you’re happy to share what’s going on in your world. We’ve had a great time or experience and we want to share this with others. We want people to know about it in case they might enjoy something similar. It’s not about bragging about the exciting things we do at the weekend or trying to present a picture of how cool our life is. It’s just about promoting things that make us happy that others might like too.
6. Capturing those memories… Blogs and journals help us to capture the details of beautiful memories and other moments that have made us who we are. I hope the blog lasts a long time so my girls can look back on it and see what they got up to! Instagram is a wonderful thing as it collates our favourite moments and things all in one place. For me, the captions that accompany my Instagram photos can be just as important. It’s my chance to express my feelings and document a little moment or memory through words.
7. Helping others…One thing I love about writing posts on seven things or seven tips is that maybe others will find them helpful. It’s about sharing ideas, tactics and solutions to everyday challenges! Seeing a new comment appear on the blog is a great feeling as you’re reminded that people do enjoy reading what you write. Helping others makes us feel good about ourselves too. I always love hearing about others’ experiences too.
Is there anything you like writing about? Do you like keeping a little journal? What do you love about writing? Who are your favourite writers? What fun things have you encouraged little ones to write about? Share the love of big and small writing and leave a comment below…
If you’d like to feature a post, top tips or a piece of writing on Lucky Things’ Time to Shine series, drop me a line at sunita@luckythings.co.uk
Catch up again soon, enjoy Lucky Things.
x Sunita
I love that my blog gives me an outlet for my writing. It’s not particularly creative, but I love to write. I think it is great you are giving people the opportunity to share their work.
#fortheloveofBLOG
For an introvert, I think that blogging is a perfect outlet – you get to say what you want to, but you can always have your quiet time too.
I am looking forward to your future posts!
#brilliantblogposts
You’re so right Ana. That’s funny you mention being an introvert. I’m just finishing another blog post where I talk about being an introvert! Quiet time is precious isn’t it? Thanks for your wonderful comment. Hope you also enjoy reading future Lucky Things posts. X Sunita #brilliantblogposts
Lovely post. I read James Pennebaker’s book and often have his research in my mind. Writing is so therapeutic for me, and I love how when we have a struggle we can blog about it and then help others. Glad I discovered your blog through #brilliantblogposts
Hey Kate. Thanks for your lovely comment. That’s so cool you’ve read some of James Pennebaker’s work. My husband introduced me to his concepts. Yes it’s cool how we can blog to get through our own ups and downs in life. Even better when our blog posts end up helping or inspiring others. Looking forward to reading your blog too. What a special name for a blog Nice booking up over #brilliantblogposts #brillblogposts
That’s a really nice idea for a series! I love writing as well. I enjoy it as a hobby. I also tend to like to write things down at times of stress or conflict – usually those notes are never seen by anyone else, but I find it easier to write feelings than discuss them. #fortheloveofBLOG
Blogging is the best creative outlet I’ve found. Like you when I was a teenager I used to keep a diary, hidden so my parents couldn’t find it, I’m sure they did. And, now I blog for the whole world to see…..no secret is safe. I find it such a good way to express my feelings, yesterday I was having a nightmare of a day..my little girl was ill and I was working from home. I quickly bashed out a blog post on it in 10 minutes, and instantly felt better. It’s funny how writing it all day really helps, and our blog is our own little sanctuary. Thanks so much for linking up at #fortheloveofBLOG. Claire x
Hey Claire, lovely to hear from you. Hope your daughter is feeling better now. I hope today was a better day. It’s rubbish when the little ones aren’t themselves. Blogging has so many benefits when it comes to being creative and looking after ourselves. I love reading The Pramshed. People don’t realise that some of our most popular posts are bashed out in 10 minutes! Every bit of creativity helps. Happy your blog is a little sanctuary too. I hope the return to work has been OK. Catch up again soon and maybe see you at BlogFest in November. X Sunita #fortheloveofBLOG