19 4. Journal Writing

I would like you to practice your writing on a regular basis by using a journal. If you get into the habit of writing things down, you might realize how important it is to somehow save your ideas, change them from the potential energy in your mind into kinetic energy (words written on a page, words spoken to someone or words memorized until they become part of your knowledge).

Practice also helps improve your skills. How many of you play a sport or a musical instrument? You know, if you are the shortstop for the team, that the more you field grounders, the better you can react to bad hops and make the plays. The greatest rock musicians are great because they became a part of their guitar or whatever instrument they play. They practice day after day after day. It’s the same with writing. If you practice that very difficult concept of moving ideas from your mind to a computer screen or sheet of paper on a regular basis, it will become easier.

So for each module, I am going to ask you to write a minimum of three entries in your on-line journal (some of the longer modules will require more entries, averaging three per week). I will be giving you some required topics early, but you can begin to write on any topic you wish in a few weeks. I will not grade these entries on grammar or content, just on the fact that you are putting ideas down, practicing the process of creating. There is no length limit to the entries, but try to write 10 to 15 minutes on each one. Also, I will only accept one entry per day, so you can’t write all three in one setting and be done for the module. It’s a practice for you, not for me. Use it to your advantage.

You will find the journal entry list for this module in the “Written Assignment” section. If you’d like to begin now, great. I look forward to reading your ideas.