Summer has a way of waking up our senses. The scent of cut grass, the crash of ocean waves, the heat on your skin as the days stretch long and unhurried—it’s a season that seems to demand you pay attention. And for writers, that’s a gift.
If you’re someone who journals—daily, sporadically, or just when the mood strikes—you might already be collecting the seeds of your next great story without realizing it. Summer is the perfect time to turn those raw, honest pages into the foundations of a real draft.
Here’s how to do it:
1️⃣ Embrace the Summer Mood
Your journal entries might naturally shift in summer. Maybe you write more outside. Maybe you record travel details, observations of people on sidewalks or beaches, or the rush of emotions from seeing old friends. Don’t dismiss these small details—they’re material.
When you re-read your summer entries, ask:
- What images keep repeating?
- What emotions feel strongest?
- Is there a moment that feels like the start of a scene?
Often, the vibe of summer can infuse your fiction with life, color, and heat.
2️⃣ Mine for Character
Our journals are intimate, often raw. This is where you’ll find the real emotions that make characters believable. Look at your entries for:
- Confessions of fear or longing
- Observations about people
- Frustrations and joys
These personal truths can be transmuted into your characters’ voices. You might realize your MC has your anxious note-taking habit. Or that a secondary character sprang from that stranger you saw dancing in the park at dusk.
3️⃣ Capture Summer’s Structure
Stories often have shape. So does summer.
Think about:
- Beginnings: anticipation of vacations, new plans
- Middles: heat, conflict, restlessness
- Endings: the cooling down, returning to routine
Your journal entries might map this out. Could your next story reflect a “summer arc”? Even if it’s set in another time or place, the emotional rise and fall of the season can guide your plot.
4️⃣ Use Free Time for Play
Summer can offer more relaxed schedules. Use this time to:
- Re-read old journals with fresh eyes
- Highlight story ideas or themes
- Free-write new scenes based on past entries
- Experiment without pressure
If you’re traveling, waiting in airports, or lounging in hammocks—those are golden drafting moments. Jot a scene on your phone or scribble dialogue in your notebook.
5️⃣ Remember: Journals Aren’t Drafts—Yet
Your journal is private. It’s raw. It’s yours.
Your draft is for sharing, eventually. Don’t worry about copying entries word for word. Instead, translate them:
- Change details
- Invent characters
- Add conflict
- Find a shape
Let your journal be the soil, your story the plant that grows from it.
Your Summer Challenge 🌞
- Pick a week of journal entries
- Re-read and highlight anything interesting
- Choose one moment, image, or emotion
- Write a single page of fiction inspired by it
That’s it. One page. One small step from journal to draft.
Because summer is short. Your ideas shouldn’t stay buried. Let them grow.
Happy Writing ^_^
Sara's Writing Sanctuary 