Sometimes all we need is an inspiring quote about journaling to remind us why self-reflection and writing are so important. Whether you journal for fun, self-discovery, healing, for logging specific events, or like to stay organized with a bullet journal, there is great value in the writing and journaling process itself.
Quotes About Journaling to Inspire You
For ages, writing in journals and notebooks has been the way humans understand what’s going on in their lives and the world around them. Famous writers, philosophers, and modern-day thinkers have put pen to paper, sometimes even writing about their writing.
We’ve compiled meaningful quotes about writing and journaling as a way to remind all of us just how important and powerful it is to write exactly what you want or need to write, and how beneficial it is to journal in general.
Plus, these are great journaling quotes to scribble in your notebook or jot down on a sticky note at your writing desk for encouragement.
Inspirational Quotes About Journaling
1. “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” William Wordsworth
2. “A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world." Susan Sontag
3. “Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.” Susan Sontag
4. “Sometimes the only paper will listen to you.” Anonymous
5. “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” Louis L’Amour
Quotes About Journaling by Famous Writers
6. “Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” Natalie Goldberg
7. “Nobody cares much whether you write or not. You just have to do it” Natalie Goldberg
8. “Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a relationship with your mind.” Natalie Goldberg
9. “I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals and my fantasies.” Anne Frank
10. “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” Anne Frank
11. “Preserve your memories, keep them well, what you forget you can never retell.” Louisa May Alcott
12. “Write hard and clear about what hurts.” Ernest Hemingway
Practical Quotes About Journaling
13. “Writing is medicine. It is an appropriate antidote to injury. It is an appropriate companion for any difficult change.” Julia Cameron
14. “If you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you.” Madeleine L’Engle
15. “The best time to begin keeping a journal is whenever you decide to.” Hannah Hinchman
16. “Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else.” C. S. Lewis
17. “Thus says the Lord, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.’” Jeremiah 30:2
18. “I started writing one afternoon when I was twenty, and ever since then I have written every day. At first I had to force myself. Then it became part of my identity, and I did it without thinking.” David Sedaris
19. “I believe myself that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it.” Chinua Achebe
Witty Quotes About Journaling
20. “I like to reserve the right to write about whatever I like.” David Sedaris
21. “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf, write it.” Beverly Cleary
22. “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” Jodi Picoult
23. “Quite often you want to tell somebody your dream, your nightmare. Well, nobody wants to hear about someone else’s dream, good or bad; nobody wants to walk around with it. The writer is always tricking the reader into listening to their dream.” Joan Didion
24. “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” Terry Pratchett
25. “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say. Flannery O’Connor
Quotes About Journaling and Self-Discovery
26. “Keeping a journal of what’s going on in your life is a good way to help you distill what’s important and what’s not.” Martina Navratilova
27. “Journaling is like whispering to one’s self and listening at the same time.” Mina Murray
28. “Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.” Christina Baldwin
29. “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” Joan Didion
30. “What would you write if you weren’t afraid?” Mary Karr
31. “This pouring thoughts out on paper has relieved me. I feel better and full of confidence and resolution.” Diet Eman
32. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Maya Angelou
33. "Keep writing, and one day you might just become a great writer." Pablo Picasso
34. "I owe a good deal to this journal. By unburdening my mind on paper I feel, as it were, in some degree to get rid of it; it seems made over to a friend that hears it patiently, keeps it faithfully, and by never forgetting anything, is always ready to compare the past & present and thus to cheer & edify the future.” — Anne Lister
35. "Paper is to write things down that we need to remember." Albert Einstein
36. "A write is someone who has taught his mind to misbehave." Oscar Wilde
37. “The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” Anais Nin
Did these Journaling Quotes Resonate With You? Comment below!
Sometimes we just need reminders that what we are doing is good and going to lead to positive results. Hopefully, these quotes were just that!
Journaling has proven health benefits. And there are many writers, philosophers, athletes, artists, and influencers that agree. They know the value of journaling first-hand and have quotes about journaling echoing their beliefs.
Chances are, one of these writing and journaling quotes resonated with you! Which one? Tell us in the comments below. Plus, you can subscribe to Silk+Sonder's newsletter to get more journaling tips in your inbox.