Writing can really help to clarify your ideas. The action of writing down thoughts and ideas with pen on paper has helped many in healing; for me it helps in developing my creativity and expression.

Do you feel more connected when writing with pen on paper?

When writing I experience a physical connection between my mind, hand, pen and paper. This feeling is often lost when typing. So much so that for many, writing improves the memory of what is written compared to typing. Writing by hand is very different from typing on the computer; somehow it helps to imprint the idea much better in your memory. It has this physical feel, which incarnates what you write in a way that is much less with computer typing. The slowness of writing compared to the speed of typing also matters a lot.

Whatever ideas you have floating around, they seem to become clearer once you put it down in writing. Even if they are not clear at the beginning, you are somehow obliged to clarify them at the time of writing; it is a practice that allows you to go deeper, to search more.

Many therapists also suggest that the practice of writing helps to heal one self. It can be useful to seek within and find out the reasons for some ‘problems’; especially by asking ‘why’ at every stage. Drawing and painting can also achieve the same. Some may struggle to find words so painting can also be therapeutic.

Have you ever felt that you’re full of clutter in your mind?

I find that ‘brain dumping’ is a useful technique to assist in clearing the mind. Mental clutter is when your mind is busy racing from one thing to the next; past happenings, present situations and future forthcomings. With clutter, finding clarity is not always easy and those ideas are very unlikely to make sense to you, let alone develop. When I started to ‘brain dump’ using pen and paper, I noticed my thoughts quickly hurdled from one to another. With time by writing, they became clear, deep and structured with consistent flow. I found this blog post quite interesting about this topic.

Give it a Try! See how your handwriting also changes with your mood. Just as a writer begins with his messy draft and then moves to a clear piece; you can also find clarity in your thoughts and ideas.

Writing is another way to express yourself; but no one else will read it, so there is no judgment. Writing without fear of judgement is critical. Many times when we express ourselves to others, whether it is in writing or in talking, we often have to face someone else's judgment; this can limit you by expressing your deep inner thoughts. It is really great to be able to express one self freely, without judgement.

It hasn't been a regular part of my life except for some previous special experience or special travel where I felt it was really important to put down what was happening. What was quite interesting was that later on, when I remembered that travel, it was quite different from what I wrote in the journal. I wrote about small daily challenges I was facing, I totally forgot about later on!

Creativity is in all of us. And many times we don’t realise it, or we don’t believe it to be true. Writing may contribute to access your creative side too. Following ideas through words, diagrams, graphs, sketches, whatever it is you do to express a thought or idea; pen and paper will allow you to easily spark creative moments.

This Author for the Elite Daily speaks about writing as a creative outlet, allowing us to Cleanse, Analyse, and Recharge

To me a journal is more than a notebook to write in. It’s an object that holds your energy and feelings. It holds the words you write, the diagram you draw, the landscape you sketch, a tear drop that falls, a flower or a leaf that you pick and insert, or a lipstick stain with a kiss to yourself!

Sometimes the journal itself pushes you to write in it, sketch, paste, draw, create. You can achieve a physical relation with the object, your journal, or your sketchbook.

Feel, smell, and arouse your senses.

Do you keep a journal? How have you benefitted from writing?