Journals: Getting Started
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not
sure how to begin? Here are a few ideas.
Are you interested in keeping a journal, but not sure how to start?
You may have already started your journal. Take a look, first, at other writing you've done: print a few of your emails to friends. Collect to-do lists, calendar pages, notes on projects, poetry or articles you've written.
Next, gather materials. You might try notebook paper in a binder to begin with. Ira Progoff used looseleaf binders for his Intensive Journal, and it's useful for beginners, too. Your writing system will be completely modular this way -- use dividers for dreams, daily (or whenever you feel like it) entries or for topics you want to consider. Move pages around or insert new pages.
If you prefer, buy a notebook or blank book. Find something you like, but don't spend so much time looking for the perfect journal that you never start writing. Don't spend so much money on a beautiful book that you're afraid to write in it. If you've always liked a particular kind of pen, buy an extra one to keep with your journal. Whatever you choose, keep in mind that this particular book won't be your journal forever. Experiment.
Number a few pages of notebook paper or all the pages in a bound book. Many writers find it helps if the page isn't completely blank. You might also want to set aside a few pages at the front or back of the book for a table of contents or an index.
Still intimidated by all those white pages? Try pasting or even stapling in some of your lists or emails.
Tristine Rainer, author of The New Diary, notes that, though there are hardly any rules for journal writing, you might want to date your entries. So write today's date on a page. It doesn't even have to be the first page.
Writing every day at the same time helps to establish the habit. But you don't have to write every day, by any means. Write when you feel like writing.
Kay Adams, author of Journal to the Self, writes: "Make a list of your desires ...We're used to resolutions setting us up for failure -- we try a change for a few days and then we quit and we've failed. So consider instead what you want for yourself...Use each item as a springboard: What do I need to do to make this change? Write it for 5 or 10 minutes."
You might also make a list of reasons you want to keep a journal. Make a list of subjects you'd like to write about.
text copyright Catherine deCuir