Everyday Canvas

My Journals

Prompt: Journaling
Do you keep a daily journal? What do you write in it such as what happened to you during the day or what you are grateful for or your successes in writing or anything else? Why do you think a journal could be important for a writer?

-----

Yes, I actually keep three journals, all as physical notebooks, but not all of them can be called daily, except one. The one I write in daily is a small 4x6 inches but 250 pages thick. It is my gratefulness journal. I have so far filled three of those notebooks and I am about 1/3 along on the fourth one. Luckily they came as a six-pack from Amazon.

The other journal is a five-section spiral notebook where I write whatever I want, which usually means personal stuff. I have always used such notebooks for such personal ideas and events. Several of them I had to do away with when we moved, which I have regretted ever since.

The third notebook has more to do with finances and I don't really count it as a journal but something in which I jot down important stuff in case my old brain mixes up things.

In my everyday-gratefulness journal, I write each night and only on one page. This keeps my will to survive and my mood up. Sometimes, many pages in it are almost alike, but so be it. Gratefulness lets me embrace the flow of events and opportunities and see and appreciate negative or positive events and people with a lighter spirit.

In the second journal, I sometimes write daily, but I write in it whenever and whatever I want to write and as long as I wish to write. One entry could be ten pages long while another could be half a page. This journal is, in fact, a deeply personal practice, attached to no rules or specifics. Over time, when I turn the pages back, I find significant insights that might have passed me by at the time I had written them. This may be because I have no expectations or judgments when I write in this journal as I free myself from perfectionism. I am probably using stream of consciousness writing, in this one.

I heard that some people are more adventurous than me and they incorporate other forms of expression into their journals, such as sketching, doodling, collaging, or even pasting in mementos like ticket stubs and photos. I don't do those, but who knows, if I live long enough I might try them, too.

Over time, I think keeping a journal can become more than a personal thing for writers, for it may have its uses as ideas for stories, novels, and poems, although I have never checked into my journals for ideas. But it is possible that just savoring the everyday moments, sad or happy, subconsciously may produce ideas for strong pieces. At least, I hope they do.


.