Writing a journal

[misterreplicant]

After reading magnificent journals such as Sam Pepys' and reading legendary books such as The Odyssey (just finished) and The Aeneid (reading right now). I have been inspired to write.

I bought this awesome journal, it makes me afraid to write in it (fear of maybe screwing up.) Plus, I have little in mind to write about, and I need inspiration.

Maybe some pictures of your journals/diaries will help?
Or anything inspiring, thank you.

[hillwalker]

If you're just intent on recording your day-to-day observations and what thoughts go through your mind it's a case of getting on with it. I can't see a photograph of someone else's diary is going to be particularly inspiring. Just find something significant (or even trivial) in your life to write about each day.

As for being afraid to spoil the first page - if you have hang-ups about such things you're unlikely to become much of a writer. What does it matter if you make a hash of page one? I doubt that the words flowed from Pepys's pen without a scratching out or two.

But if you are just starting out to become a creative writer it makes more sense to get yourself a cheap notebook then spend at least ten minutes every day writing down the first thing that comes into your head. Eventually the garbage that has collected in your brain will have been cleared out and you'll hopefully begin to come up with useful stuff - inspiration for stories or poems or whatever medium you enjoy most. Again, don't make a big deal of it. If you're stuck on how to start just begin with "Today I'm writing this because...."

Like any skill, practice is the only way to improve. Buying a fancy journal and expecting to produce a work of genius is like a non-musician buying a Steinway piano and expecting to rattle off a concerto by supper time. Things don't work that way.

H

[Delta40]

I paste things in my journal as well as scribble this that and the other. I trust that the mood I am in when I write is the one I need at the time. I find it especially useful on public transport or in cafe's where I can lose myself and scrawl down what others around me are saying. Sometimes, I self-analyse but eventually I come up for air and make more practical observations too. On reflection, there is nothing in my journal that another person could not read. What I mean is that all my secrets are out and there is nothing for me to hide. I like the idea of a transparent journal. It enables me to share it with friends when I discover something interesting for example. I see my journal as the source of my inspiration. I write in it when I feel like it and trust that whatever I pen needs to be voiced at the time, so it is not possible to screw my journal up.

I recommend you trust in your own uniqueness to create a journal that will reflect that originality across time. Time being a crucial factor here.

good luck.

[Mariner]

If you're lost of inspiration start getting out of the house and finding it. Many times I write about the adventures I have with my friends with a twist. I ask myself, "If we would have stayed at that party longer, what would've happened? A fight? Cops showing up to bust the house? Would we have ran from the house? How would we get escape? Where would we end up?" That's how stories evolve in my mind currently.

Start asking yourself those questions and explore the realm of your imagination. Everything is waiting to be written about. What interests you? Did you know you could write about them?