2 Ways to Journal When You Can’t Find the Words

Recently, I’ve read through the Barbara Buncle series written by D.E. Stevenson back in the 1960s, I believe.

When I read this part, I couldn’t help but resonate. It was talking about a discussion that Barbara and her husband were having.

“They discussed the matter carefully (argued would be too strong of a word), but they could come to no decision. They could not really understand each other’s point of view. This was Barbara’s fault, of course; she was extremely bad at explaining what she felt, and when she felt very deeply about anything, she became even more incoherent and inarticulate than usual.”

I admit, that feels like me. I can have a difficult time explaining how I feel about something, and when it’s incredibly important to me, the words seem even harder to find.

But there are other times when words feel hard, too: when you’re grieving, when you’re busy, when you’re depressed, when you’re anxious. What do you do then?

Today, I want to share with you two ways you can still journal, even when you are struggling to find the words to do so. Both of these can be incredibly powerful, and I can’t wait to see what happens when you try them.

Blackout Poetry

The first way to journal when you can’t find the words is to create blackout poetry. Blackout poetry allows you to borrow words from someone else, because through it, you eliminate the words that don’t matter.

Let me walk you through a way you can do this:

First, find a sheet of paper that has someone else’s words on it, such as a book, a newspaper, or a magazine article.

Second, go through and choose the words or phrases you want to keep, the ones that resonate with you. You can do this by drawing a box around them.

Finally, use a black marker or paint to mark out all the words you don’t want. This leaves only the words you do want, which creates your journal entry.

Much of the time, there may only be one phrase or sentiment that shines through. Something like, “Remember that you are in process” or “Our hearts are unlearning the fear that we were taught,” both from John Carroll.

Though black is the traditional color for blackout poetry—hence the name—you can use any color you’d like. Some people even create images around their poetry.

Here’s an example that I did. I used a page from my certified writing guide training. Again, you can use a novel, a non-fiction book, a magazine, a newspaper… any number of things. I just happened to pull up this PDF training of mine and randomly picked one of the pages.

After sitting with the page for 5 minutes or so, I had identified the words that spoke most to me, and this is the phrase I was left with: “Increase healing, safety, and connections. Be a witness.” To me, it speaks of my desire to support women in their healing journey by bearing witness to their experiences and providing a safe and sacred space for them to process that.

If you have a hard time using the actual page from a book or magazine, you can make a copy of it and use that.

You can learn more about blackout poetry in the book Newspaper Blackout, by Austin Kleon (Amazon affiliate link).

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Quote Journal

The second way is to create a quote journal, or to journal quotes. This is another way that we can borrow the words of others to express what is stirring inside of us.

When I was in college and struggling with depression, I created a scrapbook style quote journal. Each spread had a few quotes on it, and then I used pictures and images cut out from magazines and such to illustrate them. I remember slowly leafing through that when I was having a hard time. I remember showing it to one of my college mentors, watching her read through each quote and gaze at the pictures. It was one of the only ways I could express what was going on inside of me.

Quotes like, “She worshipped, even when her heart was breaking.”

Quotes like, “Tears are our deepest form of worship; they are what we offer when we have nothing else to give.”

So include meaningful quotes in your regular, everyday journal. Or, if you want to, create a special journal just for quotes.

But if you do that, don’t just sit down and write a bunch of quotes to fill your journal. Take your time. Pay attention to the words, the sayings, that are resonating with your heart in this season.

Is there a song that speaks to you? Write down some of the key lyrics.

Are there Bible verses that God is speaking to you? Write them down.

Do you find powerful passages in the books that you’re reading? Write them down.

Do just the words, or find or draw images to go along with them, if you’d like. It’s your journal. Make it your own.

Journal Prompt: What words are resonating with you right now?

Whether you choose blackout poetry, a quote journal, or something else, I want you to be mindful of the words that are resonating with you right now. In fact, that’s your journal prompt for this week.

Pay attention to those words. Then write them down in your journal. You can simply write them and leave it at that as a way to document it and acknowledge it, or you can take the time to explore why those words are hitting so close to home right now.

Prayer

God, thank You for giving us so many ways to name what is stirring inside of us. Whether we come up with the words ourselves as we journal or whether we borrow the words from others, I pray that You would lead us in this process and draw us closer to You through it. May we know that it’s enough just to come and sit with You, even in the silence. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 137: 3 Easy Ways to Journal When You Don’t Know What to Write About
• Episode 153: Can 5 Minutes Journaling Really Make a Difference?
• Episode 118: Tips for Journaling In Front of Others

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