I like journaling. It's a place for me to vent and work things out and speculate and brainstorm and jot notes for writing. I've worked out some difficult things through journaling. When I write, I can ramble about whatever I want with no judgment or subject-changing. I can work
I haven't always had a good relationship with my journal, though. In early 2012 I stopped journaling for quite some time. I'd discovered that someone I trusted very much had read my journal, and I couldn't bring myself to write in it after that.
Since then I've gotten back to journaling, and I'm thankful for it. I didn't realize how much, as an individual, I needed to journal until I wasn't doing it anymore.
I hope other writers will understand this--when I wasn't journaling, I was more irritable, held on to frustrations longer, and had more trouble getting started when I was writing for work. I'm the type of person who just needs to write in a journal frequently. It helps me sort through the chaos of my head to be able to move forward successfully in work and in my personal life.
I've talked lots here about the benefits of journaling. I think all writers should keep some kind of journal, whether it be to write ideas or chronicle the writing process or vent or whatever. Journals are a valuable tool for writers.
Now that I'm back to journaling regularly (finally), I want to once again encourage you to keep a journal, even if all you do is scribble story ideas in it occasionally. If nothing else, it serves as a place for you to keep ideas all in one place so they don't get forgotten or ignored.
Do you keep a journal? How do you use it as a tool in your writing career?
I do keep a journal; I like to write in cafes, and often people practically have to arm-wrestle each other to get a table near an outlet so they can plug in their laptops. So it's easier to just bring my notebook and write. I'm sorry that someone read your journal; that was wrong of them. Someone read my journal once and held what I wrote about them against me for years. They didn't even apologize for invading my privacy.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your desire to use a journal when you write in public. Much easier!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about someone's invasion of privacy being held against them. I am happy to say, though, that this person did apologize for it when the person realized how it affected me.