Gratitude (Podcast Bonus Version)

MAL Season 2, Bonus Episode Podcast

Word of the week: 

Gratitude: Appreciating and being thankful for someone or something.

Reading:

Acrostic Poem: Gratefulness

Tips: 15 tips on Keeping a Writing Gratitude Journal: 

Keeping a Gratitude journal can help build writing skills, allowing the writer to reflect on their past work and celebrate what has gone well.  Here are 15 Tips on Keeping a Writing Gratitude Journal:

1. Plan a time.  Set aside the same time each day or week to write in your journal. Journaling doesn’t have to happen every day.  You could choose to journal weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly if that works better for your schedule.
2. Plan a place: Create a place in your home where you will journal each session.  This may be a desk, sitting on the edge of your bed, at the kitchen table, or another comfortable place.
3. Find a medium that works for you.  Maybe that’s a fancy journal, a Google Document, or a notebook.  Use fancy pens, regular pens, markers, or other creative tools to help you create a journal that works well for your needs.
4. Don’t limit yourself to just big moments.  Small moments of success in your writing add up!
5. Commit.  It’s ok to miss a journaling session now and then, but make it a regular habit to write in the gratitude journal. 
6. Be flexible.  Some days you may want to write a lot, but other days you might only write down one thing you are grateful for in your writing.  Either way, you’re still journaling.  
7. It takes time.  Building a habit of keeping a gratitude journal will take time, but consistency will help you get there. 
8. Give details.  Being specific about what you are grateful for may be more beneficial than making a superficial list.
9. Don’t just add, subtract too.  It’s ok to list the things you are thankful you don’t have to deal with.  
10. Think five senses.  If you get stuck trying to think of something you are grateful for in your writing, think about how you use the five senses as you write.
11. Location: Keep your journal in a place that’s easy to get to.
12. Space: Make sure your journal has space to write as many or as few things down that come to mind during your journaling time.
13. Look at examples.  There are a wide variety of Gratitude journals.  Look at different examples to help find the one that fits you best!
14. It’s about the experience.  It doesn’t matter how much you write or what you write about during this time.  What matters is taking the time to reflect and consider what’s going well with your writing.
15. Start with prompts.  There are many different prompts available.  To get you started, here are 10 Writing Gratitude Journal writing prompts.

10 Writing Gratitude Journal Writing Prompts:

1. List five things in your writing that make you smile.
2. List 3 writing tools you are thankful for.
3. What are some of your favorite things in your latest piece of writing?
4. Talk about a time you felt really proud of something you wrote.
5. Write about a time your writing influenced someone else for the better.
6. What are 5 things you are thankful for in your writing?
7. Name your favorite author and describe why you are thankful for them.
8. List 10 things you are grateful for using your favorite writing tool (Pen, keyboard, marker, etc.)
9. List 3 reasons your favorite writing tool brings you joy.
10. List 5 reasons you are thankful for your favorite character. 

Prompt: 

What are you most grateful for in your writing?