Inner Outings: Adventures in Journal Writing [Paperback]

Charlene Geiss (Author), Claudia Jessup (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

Charlene Geiss’s collage style of journaling is not only fun to do but draws from a variety of media. Newsweek has reported on the therapeutic benefits of confessional writing, and writing and art together are able to pull out a deeper range of complexity and personal expression from the journal keeper than words alone. Geiss and veteran writer Claudia Jessup created this set of 33 cards, each corresponding to a question that prompts the journaler’s imagination. The Book of Exploration elaborates upon each card and suggests writing and drawing techniques to plumb the depths of the journaler’s experience toward rich self-exploration. Black-and-white illustrations throughout add to this tool for creative journal keeping.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: New World Library (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577312201
• ISBN-13: 978-1577312208
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inner explorations, April 28, 2004

By 

H. Grove "Errant Dreams Reviews" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inner Outings: Adventures in Journal Writing (Paperback)

The "Book of Exploration: Using the Inner Outings Method and Diarist's Deck of 33 Cards," by Charlene Geiss and Claudia Jessup, includes 33 cards. Each one is colorful and decorative, and each one has a phrase on it. You mix the cards up, pick one, and use it to spark your journal-writing for that day. The cards are huge--these are definitely larger than any tarot cards I've seen! This means they're nigh-impossible to shuffle. However, they're also incredibly beautiful. They layer images of leaves, puzzle pieces, and so on with unusual papers, paintings, and scenes. The words and phrases are interesting, with such examples as "Choices," "Crossroads," "Doorways," "My greatest fear," and "Explore the Possibility." They're a bit on the abstract and generic side, but if you haven't journaled before and aren't sure how to start, then I think they'll give you a nice push.

While the cards are inspiring, the book is less so. The introduction by Charlene is warm and friendly, but other parts of the book devolve into clinical seminar-speak. The language would feel at home in a sterile $19.95 video tape for sale on an infomercial, not in a book that started out with warmth and presents such lush cards as inspiration.

The book briefly addresses why it can be helpful to keep a journal, and what you can get out of the experience. The brief sections and thoughts provided to go with each card (like a tarot deck's accompanying book) are nice, but they stick to the shallows for the most part, with a few easy suggestions and minor thoughts to help you out. The best section in this book is the one on writing techniques--I hadn't thought much about the variety of ways in which one can approach journaling, and this section definitely inspired a few ideas.

This set would help someone who wants to journal but isn't sure where to start. The cards would make nice prompts for any sort of writer. And lastly, the set makes a great collector item for someone with a taste for beautiful tarot-like cards. For the experienced journaler, however, this set doesn't offer much beyond the writing techniques and the pretty pictures. I'd give the cards five stars and the book three; in the balance I'll average it out to four.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Outing The Real You, June 22, 2004

By 

V. Marshall (North Fork, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inner Outings: Adventures in Journal Writing (Paperback)

For journal writers who need a push to get going this is a perfect little set of inspiration.

"Inner Outings" is the perfect tool to have on hand for those days when journaling seems like drudgery. The Book of Exploration contains suggestions for keeping a diary and how to develop the best writing technique for your life. The book explains the cards otherwise you might be lost without it. The cards are pretty and creative but make little sense on their own standing. With titles like "A Gift For Me" and "Doorways" you would have to be very creative to find inspiration from the cards alone, but with help from the book you will discover that "A Gift For Me" could be a prompt to write about a great gift, a person, a talent, who you are a gift to, your ten best gifts and so on, while "Doorways" become real or imagined and open or closed.

Once you run through the cards a few times the process gets a little easier and journaling much more interesting and individual. We all wake up in the morning, go about our routines and fall into a deep slumber at night, but with this set next to your journal you might surprise yourself with how interesting you really are.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars creative explosion!, October 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Inner Outings: Adventures in Journal Writing (Paperback)

I have always kept a journal, but after reading this book and doing free writes, I am beginning to realize how much a journal can really mean! Jessup and Geiss ask such pertinent, thoughtful questions and help to open up unexplored parts of my memory and being. It is so well written--very clear and nurturing for beginners, yet challenging and fresh for avid writters. The cards add beautiful and poetic visualization. Inner Outings is a staple for anyone who wants to be creative.