08Jan
There is an expectation that journals should start on 1st January, however there is no reason why you can’t start on any day of the year. Here are some ideas on starting you journal if you’ve just missed the beginning of January, although they could be adapted for any time of year.
Photo by retro traveller
- Use a page a day diary and use the first few pages to write information you may not include otherwise e.g. description of current situation such as where you live, your job, list of what you want to achieve this year, description of the people who may make an appearance, or create an index so you can easily refer to key events / emotions in the future
- Use a page a day diary and ignore the first few pages, there is no reason why they should be filled in just because they’ve been printed
- Use an undated page a day diary, these are hard to find, but do exist in UK and USA
Photo taken by petit hiboux
- Use a normal notebook, you could still use one page a day or just let yourself write as much as you want each day without being limited by the end of the page
- Use word processor so you can create your own structure
- Stick in a photograph taken on each missed day
- Use journalling software such as Lifejournal
- Use a 5 year journal and loop around each year; so you start this year on today’s date and continue using the 1st row for January next year and when you catch up move on to the second row
Photo taken by atibens
... Read more 390 words, 3 images
Tags: 1st page, journal, notebook, writing
24Dec
With Christmas almost here it means the new year and the traditional time for making resolutions is not far away. I’m not a fan of new year resolutions because I believe it adds too much pressure and you are more likely to achieve the outcome if you set well developed goals at a time appropriate to you and not necessarily defined by a calendar.
However, having said that, this year I have a desire to set some resolutions. As I’ve been doing my Christmas shopping I’ve been reminded of things I’d like to do and have developed a list of things I’d like to achieve by the end of 2012.
Complete weekend novelist – I was progressing well through this book until I wrote a post about it and I haven’t used it since! Therefore I would like to complete the remaining chapters.
Write journal at least once a week – although I have written a journal for many years I tend to go through phases of not writing, sometimes it is days, but sometimes it can be months. I would like to have some continuity in my records and think once a week will provide this without being too difficult to keep.
Write things I’m grateful for every day – I think it is good to finish the day thinking about the good things that have happened or things I’m grateful for, and I sometimes list them in my journal. However this is fairly erratic and I would like to do it more regularly. I’ve dropped some hints and hope I will be given a five year journal for Christmas and this will provide a small space to write each day, but will also enable me to review them easily each year. ... Read more 543 words
Tags: blogging, gratitude, journal, journalling, novel, reading, resolutions, writing
27Jan
Do you want to write a novel and either can’t find the time or don’t make much progress each time you sit down? If so you may benefit from a writing programme that provides ideas and structure for each writing session.
My husband knew I was not finding much time to write and although I made some progress each time I sat down I got frustrate because I didn’t feel my writing was cohesive. So he kindly bought me The weekend novelist as a birthday present. My birthday is in December, so once we had finished preparing and celebrating Christmas the first weekend happened to be 1st and 2nd January. This means it has become an inadvertent new year’s resolution that I will write a novel in 2011.
My review
I have to say that so far (weekend 5-6) I love the book; the style really works for me. It is structured by weekend or group of weekends but it does not tell you which exercise to do which day, so if you want to write all day Saturday and not on Sunday there is nothing to suggest that is unsuitable. It has also meant I’ve been able to write on Wednesday when I don’t go to work without feeling I’m ruining the structure.
I’ve hand written about 5 sides of A4 in my new notebook and the exercises have got me working out my plot. With my novel I’ve had images in my head of very specific scenes, but no idea how they link together, this programme has helped solves this by making me think of my plot structure in different ways. ... Read more 661 words, 1 image
Tags: books, novel, writing programme
19Jan
Journals started off as a private record, think of Samuel Pepys, one of the earliest known journals written in code so other people could not read it. With the establishment of mass communications came the opportunity to share journals e.g. newspaper social diaries, television, video diaries. However it is only with the internet that there is an opportunity to share writing in real time.
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Picture taken by vanhookc
It is so easy to share your writing using the web, with blogging sites e.g. WordPress, Blogger, article sites e.g. Ezine, Squidoo and fiction sites e.g. FanFiction, Fictionpress. In 2005, it was said a new blog was created every second, so people obviously like this method of sharing their writing. But can you write the same online, knowing it will be public as you can in a personal notebook or computer?
I’m sure some people can, but I can’t.
My online writing
My first blog was on Livejournal and I never worked out why I should write there as well as in a journal so it became a strange collection of updates and notifications from other sites. This may explain why I didn’t keep it for much longer than a year. I started a blog on productivity and goals in 2007 and most of the posts are on topics that I would not think about including in my journal. Last summer I kept a log of our summer holiday so my family could read how my 1.5 year old daughter found her first sailing trip, but kept a journal at the same time.
So I’ve had several years when I’ve kept a blog and a journal on similar topics, what does it tell me?
Comparison of online and personal writing
I’ve collected extracts from my blogs and journals which were written on the same day and the same topic. ... Read more 1312 words, 1 image
Tags: blogging, comparison, extracts, facebook, family, journalling, sailing, writing
26Nov
Photo by minifig
Blogging has been around since the 1990s, but has become widely accepted and popular over the last few years; from large scale sites to niche and very personal there is something out there for just about everyone.
If you want to join the trend and be a blogger you can quickly set up a site on Blogger or WordPress. However, just because its easy doesn’t mean it is right for everyone, for example what if you don’t think you can write regularly, or you are not interested in looking after the site upkeep. Can you still participate? Of course you can, you just need to existing blogs you can write for; here are a few ideas: ... Read more 385 words, 1 image
- Ask friends and family – Do any of your friends or family have blogs? Are they on topics you are knowledgeable?
- Work or associations – Does your company or association e.g. sports club, school drama club have a blog?
- Blogs you interact on – If you’ve written several good quality comments on a blog the owner is likely to have noticed you and has already seen your writing style. Get in touch and explain why you’d like to write for their site and the topics you’d like to cover
- Blogging jobs – There are frequently blogging jobs going on a variety of blogging boards. However, these are often for several posts a week so are not suitable if you want to write irregularly plus they usually need track record.
- Guest post services – Sign up to a site like Myguestblog that provides a forum for blog owners and writers to meet
Tags: Blog, blogging, comments, guest post
01Nov
Its the first of November and that means two things; it’s time to grow a mustache and to write a novel in a month. As I’m challenged in the facial hair area, I concentrate on Nanowrimo.
At first it sounds daunting, writing 50,000 words in a month, but after thinking a bit harder the enthusiasm kicks in and you think yes I can write 1600 words a day, so you sign up and then reality hits. However, the great thing about Nanowrimo is, it is about quantity and not quality. It can be difficult at first to accept it, but it means the target for the month is to get as many words written as possible and it doesn’t matter if it is not your best writing, or whether you’ve missed out all the difficult scenes because you have a first draft you can revise over the next 11 months.
I have completed Nanowrimo twice, but have not participated the last two years; in 2008 I gave birth to my daughter at the beginning of the month and 2009 I returned to work after a years absence. As I don’t have any major life changes this year, I’ve thought hard about whether to participate knowing it will encourage me get words on paper instead of them just going round my head.
However, I’ve decided not to participate because I just don’t know where I will find the time to write the words. It was tricky before, but now I am working longer hours and have my daughter to look after, so is likely to take most of my free time. I thought about signing up and seeing how far I got, but in the end I decided that it would become stressful and remove the fun. Plus I want to work on an idea I’ve already started and that is against the rules. ... Read more 385 words, 1 image
Tags: nanowrimo, novel, word count
07Oct
People who keep journals have lif
e twice.
Jessamyn West
American writer (1902 – 1984)
As I have started rereading my journals I am thinking about adding the post in to some software so I can search my writing and use my journals instead of having them just sit in a cupboard. I used lifejournal years ago and it currently has close to 500 entries, however I don’t know if it the best software for me now, therefore I have been researching the software that is now available.
I am intending to continue writing my journal hardcopy and then transfer it in to the software so I am not interested in features such as prompts or timer, but the facility to search the text and tag the text is essential. I have therefore split the available software into two lists, those that seem to meet my requirements that I will test and other software that maybe of interest to other people.
Journal software I will test
life journal
i*write 3.2
Net time diary
The journal
Simply Journal
Alpha journal
Reflective journal
Other journal software
Forever journal 2.0
Ultra Recall this is much more than journal software, but it has a journal add-on
Star message diary
Dear Diary
E Diary Gold
1st Journal
All in one journal
Effective journal
Diary defender
Mondo! E journal I can’t access developers site, but there is a good review here. It is still possible to buy it from download sites
Diary One
My personal diary
Smart Diary Suite this appears to be underdevelopment so there is no information on the developers website, but there is a review at download.com ... Read more 342 words, 1 image
Tags: journalling, review, software, writing
26Sep
Kate reading
Do reading and writing always go together? Many times I’ve read the advice that if you want to be a good writer you need to read a lot. But does it work the other way; can you get more pleasure from reading by writing lots?
I love reading; in fact my love of reading is greater than my love of writing. I like to read a variety of topics and formats. For instance I’m currently subscribed to 188 RSS feeds covering topics including blogging, writing, finance and uncluttering. Bookwise I’m currently reading a thriller Angel Flight, a book on career development, one on project management and one on using Premiere Elements, but my wishlist is much longer (approaching 500 books) and covers topics such as property development, crocheting and urban fantasy. I also enjoy reading about books and writing; in fact I have developed a large collection of books about writing, most still on my to be read list. If I worked through the exercises on this blog I probably wouldn’t run out of posts for several years! I also read in a variety of formats such as traditional hard copy, on the computer as well as my new smart phone. Plus I’m hoping I may get a Kindle (or other ebook reader) for my birthday.
A lot of my desire to write fiction originates from reading. For instance outside of school, my first attempt at writing originated from books. When I wasn’t happy with the ending of book I would rewrite them (usually in some long convoluted adventure). I specifically remember doing this for the Magician’s nephew. More recently, after finishing a really good book I often can’t settle to a new book, so I turn my mind to developing my own stories (or I admit it a bit of fan fiction). ... Read more 400 words, 1 image
Tags: books, ebook, fanfiction, reading, rss feeds, wishlist, writing
06Sep
So its the 1st January and you are thinking of starting a journal, but you don’t know where to begin. It is important to remember that there is not one way of journalling, the only correct way is whatever works for you. Here are a few ideas that will hopefully motivate you to get started
- Consider what type of journal you want to keep
- Think about how you will be keeping your journal as it dictate both the collection type and size, for instance if you want keep a mediation journal on your commute home using an audio recorder maybe most appropriate, but if you want to keep a gratitude journal as events occur a small notebook you can keep in a pocket or handbag maybe better suited
- Always date an entry and consider including the time and location as they will provide reference details when you review your journals later
- If you live with other people you maybe worried they will read your journal, there are several options you can try to stop them; tell them you do not want them to read your journal, keep it at a different location e.g.
work, lock it away, encrypt it on a computer, write in code, write a joint journal or suggest they keep a journal as well so they understand the desire for privacy
- Write as quickly as you can and do not worry about whether you are writing correctly
- Write honestly, do not lie to yourself in your own personal journal
Of course, if you are writing a journal one of the problems with starting is dealing with that blank first page. It can look frightening, but instead think of it as the doorway to an exciting record of your life. Here are some ideas to help you start (you can fine more here). ... Read more 435 words, 1 image
Tags: 1st page, journal, journalling, other people, writing
29Aug
Having a new notebook is a fantastic feeling, its so exciting to think of the potential of the notebook, the things you could right. That is until you open it to the first blank page. Of course, it is no different to any other page in the book, but for some reason the first page can feel daunting. If this happens to you, here are some ideas on what to do with the first page:
- Copy in a headline from today’s news
- Write a list of wishes
- Leave it blank
- Write a list of things you are grateful for
- Stick in a photograph or picture of yourself
Photograph by cone_dmn
- Explain the notebook theme and why you chose it
- Complete a questionnaire about yourself e.g. weight, height, where you live
- Explain the people who you may mention in the book e.g. family tree, groups by association like work, list any abbreviations you use to refer to people such as initials
- Contact details (just in case you leave it somewhere)
- Write a prayer, mediation or affirmation, something that describes your current spiritual outlook
- Leave it blank so you can add a review or synopsis of the notebook once you’ve filled it
- Stick in a year summary calendar (potentially useful if you use a blank notebook instead of a dated one)
- Stick in a favourite picture
- Keep a store of useful information e.g. frequently used telephone numbers
- Write a summary of your goals or your mission statement
- Explain how you got the notebook e.g. gift from friend, bought on holiday
- Keep a list e.g. books read, countries visited
- Write a greeting to the book, possibly including an agreement about when, where and how you’ll use it
... Read more 361 words, 1 image
Tags: 1st page, journal, notebook, writing
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