Ideas for journal writing; also checking in
Hello, Journal. Long time no see.
I've kind of neglected you for a while, along with the whole slew of people I've neglected for a while. Truth is, I've been seeing someone else. Her name unpronouncable, but she's a very natural feel to her, has hand-made paper, and closure by means of bamboo. She's absolutely beautiful. There's a certain feel to keeping a hard-bound journal, feeling the words as they form and letting them come that much more naturally and precisely. When I'm writing by hand, I never wonder what to say or have reason to pause. It slows you down, but it's very effective.
For this very reason I purchased a book a while back on the very act of journal-writing for some novel ideas. Found some. For those that ever do read this journal and would like some fun ideas for ways of journalling - on LiveJournal or elsewhere - check out these suggestions (some of which you can do on an online journal, some of which you can't:
JOURNALS TO GO: 19 WAYS TO WRITE FOR UNDER 15 MINUTES EACH
1. Keep a one-year diary. They come in an attrative assortment of cover designs; many have matching scrapbooks and photo albums. Because the format restricts you to around a hundred words, writing takes ten minutes or less each day. And keeping your one-year diary on the nightstand by your bed has a sort of Victorian simplicity that is madly appealing.
2. In the evening, write one adjective describing your day on your wall calender. Then, underneath it, write one adjective describing how you want tomorrow to be. This takes just one minute and it becomes a fascinating exrecize is creating your own reality.
3. The Best/Worst Thing Springboards are great for the one-year diary. Repeated use of these Springboards will give you a running commentary on the highlights and blackouts of your life.
4. Pick a theme word for a week or a month -- happiness, loneliness, confusion, clarity, anger, passion, change, etc. Spend 5 to 15 minutes each day writing about how you experienced the theme word that day.
5. Find a moment from your day to capture in poetry or prose -- the rainbow out of your office window, the elation when the home team won the game, the luxury of a bubble bath. If you can't find a moment to record, slow down a little. And start expecting miracles. They might just show up.
6. Set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes. Quit writing when it dings.
7. Write a description of a stranger -- the person across from you on the bus, the little blond kid in the bright red dress, sopmeone you'll never see again, someone you haven't met yet.
8. Jot down one-liners of philosophy, absurdity, or spiritual revelaqtion that wander through your mind. Hugh Prathner's Notes to Myself is a collection of such "random" thoughts.
9. Write a list of "10 Things I Want Off My List by Tomorrow." Keep this list with you throughout the day. Cross off items as you finish them.
10. Write a Win List of anything at all that went right during the day. (Yes, there are days when "getting out of bed" counts.) If you are in recovery from any sort of addictive behavior, be sure to list your recovery every single day as a win. Bob Trask of the ARAS Foundation says he strives to list at least 37 individual wins each day. And again, if you're not having many wins, invite them into your life. Expect a miracle.
11. Record a fantasy. Close your eyes and think about what it would be like if your job, relationship, children, or sex life were perfect. Then write about your inner journey.
12. Write your journal on three-by-five index cards. File entries by subject or date in a recipe box.
13. Write a memorandum of the Day in your business appointment book.
14. Write a postcard. Send it to yourself. (Here's the ultimate travel tip for journal writers on the go - write your daily log on the back of picture postcards!)
15. Draw a picture of your present moment with pencil, crayons, oil pastels, charcoal, water colors, markers, finger paints, ballpoint pens. Give it a name. Write about it if you want to and have time.
16. "Flow-write" for 10 to 15 minutes. Start anywhere, go anywhere you please.
17. Thumb through an old magazine until a picture "sings" to you. Clip out the picture and paste it in your journal. Write about it.
18. Doodle a cartoon.
19. Write a prayer. Write a letter to God, your Higher Self, Jesus Christ, your guardian angel, your patron saint, your inner guide. Let these entities write a letter to you. Trey this for 30 days. You'll be glad you did.
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So, my bright eyesore of a pixelie journal, I just wanted to check in and see how other people on here are doing. I feel pretty bad since I haven't kept up with any of my friends lately. The cycles I go through must throw other people for a loop twice as much as it throws me. I bet I piss a lot of people off, but I guess that's life and as dastardly as it may be, aloof is simply what I must be sometimes so that I may be that much more present and affectionate when I'm not being distant. I don't expect everyone to understand that; however I do feel compelled to repeat this as many times as is necessary since I know that if I were in anyone else's shoes, it'd be easy to forget.
I've kind of neglected you for a while, along with the whole slew of people I've neglected for a while. Truth is, I've been seeing someone else. Her name unpronouncable, but she's a very natural feel to her, has hand-made paper, and closure by means of bamboo. She's absolutely beautiful. There's a certain feel to keeping a hard-bound journal, feeling the words as they form and letting them come that much more naturally and precisely. When I'm writing by hand, I never wonder what to say or have reason to pause. It slows you down, but it's very effective.
For this very reason I purchased a book a while back on the very act of journal-writing for some novel ideas. Found some. For those that ever do read this journal and would like some fun ideas for ways of journalling - on LiveJournal or elsewhere - check out these suggestions (some of which you can do on an online journal, some of which you can't:
JOURNALS TO GO: 19 WAYS TO WRITE FOR UNDER 15 MINUTES EACH
1. Keep a one-year diary. They come in an attrative assortment of cover designs; many have matching scrapbooks and photo albums. Because the format restricts you to around a hundred words, writing takes ten minutes or less each day. And keeping your one-year diary on the nightstand by your bed has a sort of Victorian simplicity that is madly appealing.
2. In the evening, write one adjective describing your day on your wall calender. Then, underneath it, write one adjective describing how you want tomorrow to be. This takes just one minute and it becomes a fascinating exrecize is creating your own reality.
3. The Best/Worst Thing Springboards are great for the one-year diary. Repeated use of these Springboards will give you a running commentary on the highlights and blackouts of your life.
4. Pick a theme word for a week or a month -- happiness, loneliness, confusion, clarity, anger, passion, change, etc. Spend 5 to 15 minutes each day writing about how you experienced the theme word that day.
5. Find a moment from your day to capture in poetry or prose -- the rainbow out of your office window, the elation when the home team won the game, the luxury of a bubble bath. If you can't find a moment to record, slow down a little. And start expecting miracles. They might just show up.
6. Set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes. Quit writing when it dings.
7. Write a description of a stranger -- the person across from you on the bus, the little blond kid in the bright red dress, sopmeone you'll never see again, someone you haven't met yet.
8. Jot down one-liners of philosophy, absurdity, or spiritual revelaqtion that wander through your mind. Hugh Prathner's Notes to Myself is a collection of such "random" thoughts.
9. Write a list of "10 Things I Want Off My List by Tomorrow." Keep this list with you throughout the day. Cross off items as you finish them.
10. Write a Win List of anything at all that went right during the day. (Yes, there are days when "getting out of bed" counts.) If you are in recovery from any sort of addictive behavior, be sure to list your recovery every single day as a win. Bob Trask of the ARAS Foundation says he strives to list at least 37 individual wins each day. And again, if you're not having many wins, invite them into your life. Expect a miracle.
11. Record a fantasy. Close your eyes and think about what it would be like if your job, relationship, children, or sex life were perfect. Then write about your inner journey.
12. Write your journal on three-by-five index cards. File entries by subject or date in a recipe box.
13. Write a memorandum of the Day in your business appointment book.
14. Write a postcard. Send it to yourself. (Here's the ultimate travel tip for journal writers on the go - write your daily log on the back of picture postcards!)
15. Draw a picture of your present moment with pencil, crayons, oil pastels, charcoal, water colors, markers, finger paints, ballpoint pens. Give it a name. Write about it if you want to and have time.
16. "Flow-write" for 10 to 15 minutes. Start anywhere, go anywhere you please.
17. Thumb through an old magazine until a picture "sings" to you. Clip out the picture and paste it in your journal. Write about it.
18. Doodle a cartoon.
19. Write a prayer. Write a letter to God, your Higher Self, Jesus Christ, your guardian angel, your patron saint, your inner guide. Let these entities write a letter to you. Trey this for 30 days. You'll be glad you did.
----------
So, my bright eyesore of a pixelie journal, I just wanted to check in and see how other people on here are doing. I feel pretty bad since I haven't kept up with any of my friends lately. The cycles I go through must throw other people for a loop twice as much as it throws me. I bet I piss a lot of people off, but I guess that's life and as dastardly as it may be, aloof is simply what I must be sometimes so that I may be that much more present and affectionate when I'm not being distant. I don't expect everyone to understand that; however I do feel compelled to repeat this as many times as is necessary since I know that if I were in anyone else's shoes, it'd be easy to forget.