Relieving Stress 'The Write Way'!

November is a big month for writers. As well as being National Life Writing Month, it's also National Novel Writing Month. And what does that have to do with stress relief? Perhaps more than you think!

Participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a write-a-novel-in-a-month contest, and can be a pretty huge undertaking, which is attempted by a surprisingly large number of people. (In 2007, over 100,000 people participated, and over 15,000 ended up reaching the goal of writing a 50,000-page novel in 30 days.) The idea is to get words on the page with a focus on quantity, rather than quality. People do it because having a deadline and a large group of people with the same goal can be an effective way for 'regular people' to reach a creative goal that they may otherwise not be able to reach in their busy lives. It can be both stressful--because it's a huge amount of work and can stretch an already-busy schedule too far--as well as stress-relieving--because it provides a creative outlet, a distraction from stress, and a cathartic way to process stressful events from your life (if you so choose). Writing about past events as part of a fictional story can help you process through feelings you may need help working through, and exploring new 'endings' to stories from your past can be a way to find closure.
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National Life Writing Month can be celebrated in a similar fashion, except instead of creating a novel out of your personal experiences, you can create some interesting journal entries. Journaling can be an excellent stress reliever--especially when your practice follows certain guidelines I discuss in this article on journaling for stress relief.
_{Read More on The Benefits of Journaling}

These November observances may also inspire you to keep other types of journals, which can also be good for stress relief. Gratitude journals help you to stay in touch with everything that you're lucky to have in your life, maintaining an attitude of gratitude and positive thinking (both of which are good for stress relief). Goal-setting journals can help you get a clearer picture of the less-stressful life you want, and take specific steps toward making that life a reality.
_{Read More on Different Types of Journaling for Stress Relief}

Whether you opt for writing an entire novel through the month of November, or just get inspired to start a journaling practice, there's no better month than November for harnessing the power of writing for stress relief.

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