Why You Should Write Your Story — and How to Get Started

You have a story worth telling.

Not because you’re famous.
Not because your life has been perfect or overly dramatic.
But because you’ve lived, learned, changed, and survived. And there is power in that.

Writing your story isn’t just about publishing or performing your work (although I obviously want to see you do both). It’s about the clarity, confidence, connection, and impact that can come from putting your experiences into words and sharing those words with someone else.

The act of writing your story can transform the way you see yourself and the world around you – even if you keep your work tucked inside your journal. But I hope you’ll consider turning those private reflections into published pieces!

Let’s talk about why writing your story matters and how you can start today using the journal you may already have.

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My 2026 Journal Ecosystem

Journal ecosystem – the internet has given a name for something I’ve been creating since I was a pre-teen, and I’m here for it!

Thanks to this fancy title, I no longer feel the need to justify all the notebooks on my desk, on my nightstand, and in my handbags. And when someone asks, “You’re buying another journal?” — I can confidently say, “Yes! Yes, I am. It’s part of my journal ecosystem.”

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January Jumpstart: 31 Journal Prompts to Kick Off the New Year

There’s something powerful about starting the year with a blank page. And I do this quite literally by buying lots of new journals for the new year!

January feels like permission to begin again. It’s a time to reflect, reset, and recommit to the life (and habits) you actually want. If you’ve ever said, “This is the year I’m going to journal consistently,” this is your sign to start now, in January, and set the tone for the rest of the year.

Consider this your January Jumpstart. Here I offer you 31 journaling prompts designed to help you reflect on the year you’re leaving behind, get clear about what you want next, choose a word for the year, write affirmations that actually resonate, and set meaningful personal and professional goals.

You don’t need fancy notebooks (although I will never turn one down), perfect handwriting, or hours of free time. All you need is 15 minutes a day and a willingness to be honest with yourself.

Let’s do this!

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Keeping Up with the Janes: Cherith Fluker

See Jane Write Collective member Cherith Fluker has had quite a year. Her blog, WhatCherithInks, won awards from Alabama Media Professionals and the National Federation of Press Women. Her career as a freelance travel writer is flourishing, and she published her first book — Secret Birmingham: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure (Reedy Press). And she’s done all of this while working full time in the field of education. So it seemed only right to catch up with Cherith for our next Keeping Up with the Janes feature.  Keeping Up with the Janes is a new feature that allows us to revisit past See Jane Write Collective Members of the Month to see what they’re up to now. Let’s learn the secrets of Cherith’s success.

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Word for the Year 2026

What’s your word for the year 2026?

I’ve been choosing a word for the year for several years, and it’s a practice I’ve happily passed on to the women of the See Jane Write Collective.

Some years, I’ve picked three words. In other years, I’ve chosen a phrase.

Some years, I get completely obsessed with the word that I chose. It becomes my mantra or prayer that I constantly whisper. Other years—like this year, I must admit—I forget which word I picked until someone asks me.

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