Journaling: What the heck is a journal anyway?
May 21, 2007 by Lillie
A reader expressed an interest in posts on journal writing.
A journal can be just anything you, the writer, want it to be. So the first step should be to decide what that is. Why do you journal? What do you hope to accomplish?
Journals and diaries are sometimes considered to be the same. In fact, one of the dictionary definitions of journal is diary. However, generally journals focus more on self-analysis, thinking, analyzing, learning. Diaries are usually more straightforward accounts of day-to-day activities. A journal may include day-to-day activities, but instead of just listing what you did and where you went, a journal might also include what you learned from your experiences.
You may have more than one kind of journal, or you may have one journal with several purposes. Some kinds of journals, in no particular order, include:
- Idea/goal/dream journal – to capture ideas, record goals and dreams, keep track of your progress, learn from your mistakes, hold yourself accountable
- Creativity journal – to develop your creativity. In Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Julia Cameron recommends what she calls “morning pages” – three pages of writing about anything at all, stream of consciousness, unedited thoughts. She even has The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal
to make it easy.
- Spiritual journal – to record Scriptures that touch you or thoughts on Bible study, prayers and their answers, your spiritual journey
- Writer’s journal – to store ideas and future writing projects or to practice and improve your writing
- Business/career journal – to document plans, learning, and progress in your business or career
- Personal development journal – to grow and develop by gathering great ideas from others and writing your own thoughts
- Catharsis journal – to express your emotions, fears, joys, hurts, challenges (perhaps during a difficult time such as illness or grief at the loss of a loved one)
- Gratitude/positive/nature/beauty journal – to remind yourself of all you have to be thankful for and to enjoy and appreciate beauty
- Hobby/special project journal – to concentrate your experiences with a hobby, vacation, or special project
- Memoir – to reflect on your life experiences, perhaps to share with loved ones
The way you journal will differ based on the kind of journal you are keeping as well as your preferences. You may prefer writing in a beautifully bound journal with a fine writing pen. You may be more comfortable typing into a word processing program on your computer or writing in spiral notebooks with a ballpoint pen. The choice is yours.
You may write in a single journal beginning at the first page and continuing through the book. For example, if you are writing morning pages, you will write each day consecutively without censoring your words or editing what you write.
For some other kinds of journals, you might have several different sections rather than filling the pages from beginning to end. A section could be a file on your word processor, a section separated by a tabbed divider in a spiral notebook, or a completely separate journal. A writer’s journal might have sections for ideas for stories or articles, golden words that you cut from a novel and hope to use in something else in the future, submissions/responses and how you may want to change your writing as a result.
The style of writing and whether or not you are conscientious about grammar and spelling will also depend on your purpose. If your journal is personal with a goal of improving your creativity, you will write in a stream of consciousness without censoring or editing. If your journal is a memoir that you intend to share with family and friends, you will be want to be more careful.
If you are interested in journaling, comment and let me know what you’d like me to cover about journal writing. I’ll write future posts based on the feedback
Here are some journaling resources you may find helpful:
A Creative Journal
Journal for You
Journal Writing
Journal Writing Pages
Journaling Pages
Memoir Writers
Writing the Journey
[tags]journaling, journal writing[/tags]
Thanks for this helpful and informative post.
Hi, great article. Thanks for the link love.
My first introduction to how useful a journal can be came a number of years ago when I owned an interior landscape company. One of my employees, Dorothy, kept a journal in which she wrote about problems among her son, his wife, and their child. Her journal was actually admitted into evidence in a court case that resulted in the child’s mother being declared unfit and Dorothy’s son gaining sole custody. The judge said the journal was credible evidence because it covered an extended time period, recorded events when they happened, documented Dorothy’s reactions and feelings, and, most importantly, included criticism of her son when she thought he was wrong rather than being simply a tirade against the child’s mother. Dorothy’s verbal testimony on the stand was portrayed by the wife’s attorney as a mother defending her son and siding against the soon-to-be-ex daughter-in-law. However, the journal was seen as unbiased.
You’re welcome, Heather. I didn’t discover your blog until I was researching this article. Now I’m a subscriber.
very informative and Comprehensive guide here Lillie. thanks and it will prove helpful to a lot of people.
Thanks, Rob.
Thanks for that Lillie. Some of the most amazing journals are ones that are raw in their truth and immediacy. When I read those, entry after entry, they inevitably move me.
Helen
Truth and immediacy – good points, Helen!
Thanks for this, Lillie. I keep a personal journal…actually a couple of them on different areas of life…and reading your post made me realize again how very important they are to me. Awesome post.
Michi,
A lot of people think a journal is a journal. Thanks for sharing that you have different journals for different purposes.
Great post! Extremely insightful…
Thanks, SavingDiva.
Good entry on journals! Very informative and very easy to read. Thanks for sharing!
Alcohol Rehabilitation,
I’m glad you found the post helpful.
Good post.
“Morning pages” changed my writing life when I started doing them last summer. While I don’t always agree with her perspective or philosophy, Julia Cameron has some great ideas for this. My wife met her at a weekend seminar, said she was pretty cool.
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http://surfcountry.blogspot.com
Howard,
I’m glad the morning pages helped you. From reading your blog, I can tell you are a very talented writer, and I’m looking forward to reading your book when it’s available as an e-book.
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