Improve Your Writing With An Observation Journal

Want to strengthen your observation and description muscles? Try keeping an observation journal. 

If you have kids, for example, or little nieces or nephews, you can use your observation journal to keep a record of the funny and sweet things they do and say. In my family, because we're a silly lot, mispronunciations of specific words and phrases from our learning-to-speak years are still sometimes used in conversations as part of our love language. Out of respect for my family, I will not publish any of those gems on an Internet-wide scale.


Your Journal, Your Imagination


You can also use your observation journal to record things like amusing mispronunciations or misunderstandings from adults. (We all have those moments, right?) You can use it to practice writing an exact description of your dog’s snore. Or the quality of the sky at different points in the day. Follow your mood.


Pay attention to one thing, or multiple things. Write down whatever you like. The goal is to practice paying attention, taking in what you hear, see, smell, taste, and touch. Describe it in your head. Then, write it down. 


Making a commitment to noticing, describing, and writing down even the smallest details can quickly strengthen your writing skills. This simple practice can also help you discover your writing voice. 


You can also use your observation journal to help yourself tune into the way others speak. We all have unique ways of communicating. And of course, how we communicate with others can vary depending on their background and experiences.


Choosing the Right Combo 


Keep in mind that the notebook and pen you use don't have to be fancy. They just need to be easy to carry with you, or easy ti get to quickly when a moment happens, or a spark appears. If you want your journal/notebook and writing utensil of choice to have personality, you do you. 


To Use or Not Use Apps


If you have a smartphone, you can certainly record voice memos or leave notes in your preferred note-taking app. As of this writing, the US is still a democracy, and you are free to use what you are most comfortable with.


With that said, I strongly recommend using a notebook and pen. Paper and pen are the most reliable tools a writer can use. On a personal and professional level,  I can tell you there are few things more artistically and literally tragic than storing all kinds of good creative bits on a hard drive, either at home or in an unknown remote location, only to find out one day that what you've written is no longer there. 


A Brief PSA


More than one of my clients have chosen to use a variety of apps on their phone and/or laptop to store interviews, ideas, and interesting excerpts, either dictated or typed in a burst of inspiration — only to discover later that some or all of it vaporized due to either machine error or user error. Please make sure you have deep experience with specific software before you decide to use it for important writing projects.


And please do not ever use a device that your employer has given you to work on your own writing. The inevitable frustration is something you can completely avoid. 


Final Thoughts 


Starting (and keeping) an observation journal can help you sharpen your writing skills and serve as a kind of meditation. Record what you observe honestly, and let your imagination expand. You can use a pink glitter pen to write with if you like. There’s no AutoCorrect to slow you down. You can throw in a doodle. Or add a mind map. Write down one thing a day, or five things at the end of the day. But don't be hard on yourself if you're only writing down one thing a week — life happens. Ultimately, keeping an observation journal should be enjoyable. 


If you’re wondering, I personally use a 9.5 x 6 Mead Five Star notebook and a Bic SoftFeel blue ink pen (non-retractable). I bought a ton of them on sale years ago, and I still have about a dozen. The rest were donated to the B&N where I worked. I offered them following a mysterious uptick in pen theft — and the Bics disappeared even faster than the store’s supply. “Nice pen,” people said. Yep.








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