37 of the Most Famous Quotes about Journaling

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.