Journaling & Applied Narratology
Journal Your Way to Master Your Own Narrative
October 6th, 2026 / µ
Disclaimer: I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical professional. The writing exercises, reflections, and advice shared in this blog post are for self-discovery, creative expression, and informational purposes only. They are intended to support your healing journey but are not a substitute for professional mental health care, diagnosis, or therapy. If you are experiencing a severe crisis or struggling deeply with your trauma, please consider reaching out to a qualified professional.
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Your Life Unfiltered
In my last post, I wrote about how applied narratology takes you a step beyond journaling when processing experiences. That does not mean that journaling is useless; quite the opposite, in fact.
Journals are places where you dump everything – events, thoughts, feelings, ideas - you name it. Journals are your raw material. They are you and your life, unfiltered.
Most great writers write all the time – and hundreds of years later, their journals and notebooks are sources of inspiration for humanity. Take Leonardo da Vinci’s journals, for instance – they are a hodgepodge of scribbles and drawings that show us one of the greatest minds in human history at work.
Writers write, and a lot of great writing and works of art began on pieces of paper, in notebooks and journals.
Is Your Journal Your Frenemy?
However, journaling can become your frenemy if you lock yourself into a loop of constant writing about traumatic events, bad situations, or people who hurt you, focusing on the situation, event, or person instead of a solution. As a result, your journal can become a place that freezes you in time.
Instead of dealing with your problem emotionally, you keep writing about it until it becomes your Sleeping Beauty coffin. And let’s face it, there are very few princes out there. So when you have locked yourself in an emotional coffin, you will have to find a way out on your own. One way to do that is to use applied narratology.
Not all your life experiences and thoughts need to be processed into narratives to make sense, of course. Plus, who has the time? For example, your journal entry on how you survived Christmas with an ulcer-inducing sister-in-law who hates your guts may be rough, but not necessarily so traumatizing that you need to process it in a fictional narrative.
So, not all material in your journals needs to serve a higher purpose, but some of it can, and some of it may be more useful than you think.
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Summing Up!
1. Journals are brain-dump containers; they are you without a filter and raw material you can use elsewhere.
2. Journaling about pain and sorrows without a goal in sight can freeze you in time and lock you into a loop of constant focus on an event, a situation, or a person, instead of seeking answers and a solution.
3. Journals are great companions and sources of raw material for applied narratology: Use the material in those brain-dump containers to create your narratives.
Your journals and your narratives serve different needs and purposes, but they are all part of your life and narrative journey. So when you dive into applied narratology, remember your brain dump containers. They are your raw material.
Thanks for reading. If you found it valuable and worth your time, please consider supporting the blog on Ko-Fi. Until next time, remember to get your facts straight!
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