Tulis: write.
Journaling prompts for readers
At every Kalamrasa session we write for a few minutes before we talk. These are the kinds of prompts we use, sorted by where you are in a book. Use them at a session or at home.
How journaling works at a session
Before anyone speaks, the host reads out one question linked to the month's book, and everyone writes for a few minutes. Then you talk it over with the person next to you, and then with the whole table. Nobody reads your notebook, and you share only what you choose to.
You don't need to be a writer. Lists, half sentences and small drawings all count.
Before you start a book
- What made you pick up this book, and what do you hope to get from it?
- What do you already know, or think you know, about its subject?
- Where will you read it? Describe the spot in as much detail as you can.
- Write down one question you hope the book will answer.
While you're reading
- Copy out a sentence that made you stop. Why that one?
- Which character would you trust with a secret? Which one would you keep it from?
- Was there a moment you wanted to argue with the author? Write your side of it.
- What does this chapter remind you of from your own life?
- Notice how you feel when you put the book down. Name the feeling as exactly as you can.
After the last page
- Did the book answer the question you wrote down at the start?
- Write a short letter to one character, or to the author, telling them what you wish they knew.
- What do you think you'll remember about this book in a year?
- Who would you give this book to, and what would you write inside the cover for them?
For non-fiction and self-development books
- Sum up the author's main idea in one sentence of your own.
- Where does it match your own experience, and where doesn't it?
- Would this advice work here in Kuantan, for someone your age? What would need to change?
- Which claim would you want to check before you believe it, and where would you look?
- Choose one idea to test for a month. What will you do, and how will you know whether it helped?
When a book brings something up
- Which scene was hard to read, and what made it hard?
- If a friend were going through what this person went through, what would you want them to hear?
- What helped the character, or the writer, cope, and does any of it fit your own life?
- Before you close the notebook, write down one small, kind thing you'll do for yourself today.
If writing stirs up something heavy, you can stop at any point. Put the pen down and talk to someone you trust. If you need support today, call Befrienders KL on 03-7627 2929 at any hour.
Start a reading journal at home
Any notebook works, and one page per book is enough. On each page, note down:
- the title, the author and the date you started
- where you were when you read it
- lines you want to keep, with their page numbers
- one question you'd ask the author
- the date you finished, or the date you stopped (stopping is allowed)
Bring it to a session if you like. A line you copied out is a good way into the discussion.
What the research says
Most research on writing about feelings looks at a method called expressive writing. In one of the first studies, psychologists James Pennebaker and Sandra Beall asked 46 students to write for four days, either about a difficult experience or about everyday topics [1].
Many studies followed. A 2006 review of 146 of them found that the average benefit was small, and that it varied a great deal from person to person [2].
Our prompts are gentler than the ones used in those studies, and we make no health claims about journaling. We include it because a few quiet minutes of writing give everyone time with the book before we move on.
References
- Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(3), 274-281. doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.95.3.274
- Frattaroli, J. (2006). Experimental disclosure and its moderators: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(6), 823-865. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.823