Many writers start the act of writing as a means in which to order their conflicting thoughts and feelings - getting them out of the confines of their mind and on to paper - so allowing these feelings to be given a name, acknowledged and if necessary,dealt with.  I am no expert on the philosophy and rationalisation behind this, but have found that my most powerful writing, the kind which touches other people lightly on their shouders, is often born out of this type of simple, uncomplicated prose.  Below are a few suggestions of places you can get further information and software to guide you safely through the act of journalling and help you organise a toolbox of your thoughts and feelings.
Best wishes.  Shani

inspired to journal

I have found this Site by Nan Fischer a constant source of inspiration and source of useful tools to help you get words onto a page. Full of bright ideas from a person who obviously uses her own advice

Nan has an excellent Yahoo Group which offers weekly prompts that is available at:

Life Journal is an encripted journal I have used on my computer for a couple of years.  It has a straightforward interface, and you don't get lost in mumbo jumbo and instructions. More importantly it has a multi-layered search engine which is brilliant for finding those lost fragments of thoughts, and easier than hunter through paper notebooks (I use this as well as paper though, not instead of) - This week they have announced a specialist add-on for writers, and I am really pleased with its functionality.  This means that I can keep all my thoughts in one place, both fiction and non-fiction, instead of swopping between two different programmes - I would commend this to any writer at any level.

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