Writing equipment

This is a question I’ve been asking myself recently. I’ve kept a diary on and off since I was eleven and feel that my life is more productive when I keep one. In recent years my writing has been more off than on, however, over the last few weeks I’ve had the urge to start writing again, but I don’t know why.

Of course, one of the main benefits of keeping a journal is the record of your life, which could become historically important (think The Diary of Samuel Pepys). However, there are also meant to be many other benefits of keeping a personal journal:

• helps goal setting and measuring progress
• simply your life
• strengthen your relationships
• empower you
• aids reflection
• reduces stress
• helps focus
• helps to practice writing skills
• creates personal space
• helps to develop self expression
• helps with problem solving

Why did I start writing a journal?

Kate's diaries

I started my first journal in 1989 because of the book The Diary of a Teenage Health Freak

because I wanted to have a diary published too. My entries were just writing about the day and thoughts on future events. I didn’t think any more deeply about journal writing until Amazon recommended a journal writing book in 1998. This opened up a whole new world to me that I had to know more about.

Why did I stop writing a journal?

Basically, I think I got overloaded with information and I forgot what a journal is actually for. There are so many different techniques that can be incorporated in to writing a journal and I think I was trying to use all of them so it got too complicated and stressful.

Should I keep a personal journal?

Since I’ve started writing again I’ve gone back to just writing a quick summary of the day or my thoughts as I go to bed, but I have many questions that I still want to resolve:

• how do I get maximum benefit from writing a journal?
• should I write in the mornings, when I get in from work or when I go to bed?
• should I free write or use exercises?
• is it better to select exercises as random or follow a routine?
• should I read my previous entries?
• how do I learn about myself from my previous diaries?
• how do I look for patterns from my diaries?

Plus, what is the best way to preserve my journals? In the past I have started typing my entries in to LifeJournal software hoping to use it as a backup tool as well as a search tool. However I don’t think I put the effort into using it properly, perhaps I was put off by the number of entries to enter.

I think a journal is important to my life so I am keep to research this topic further, especially because I have noticed that when I keep a journal my life tends to be in a ‘good’ or productive phase (although I don’t know which comes first the writing or productivity). The simple thing I want to discover is why should I keep a personal journal? Once I know this I think the answers to the above questions will be easier to find.

There are a large number of books on journalling you can find if you do an Amazon search and I already have a good selection that I will use to start my research:

• The right to write
• Writing for self discovery
• A book of one’s own
• Journal to the self
• A year in the life
• Leaving a trace
• The Artist’s Way
• Harvesting your journals
• The journal wheel guide book
• The new diary
• Wild minds

Plus I have more on my wish list

• Learning journals
• Life’s companion
• Awaken the writer within
• The decorated page
• The decorated journal
• Simple days
• Soul catcher
• Journalution

What is your experience of journal writing? Do you think I should continue writing? What techniques would you recommend? Have you read any of these books?

Originally published at Blog to discovery

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