on one for the blogs I read recently, the author (who shall remain nameless not because I’m trying to protect her, but because I can’t find the link, so I don’t actually remember her name) said that journalling is not writing.
*gasp*!
I know! Because most writing advice websites and books and instructors strongly advocate journals. “Carry a notebook at all times!” they say. “Jot down things!” “Do this writing exercise!”
But the blogger I read before said all this is crap (not her words). “Writers WRITE”, was the basic tenor of her advice. “They don’t fool around with ‘jotting.'”
And I have to say, I agree with her. And I keep a journal.
But those two things are very different–I keep a journal because I like it.
Available on Etsy, some lovely leather-bound journals. Some are quite embellished, but I like the look of the plain brown leather ones the best. And at $17, these seem very reasonably priced. You can even get free monogramming!
Another good idea is to write down your feelings about school in a journal. You can use a journal or diary or just write in an ordinary notebook. It’s a great way to let out emotions that may be stuck inside you. And you don’t have to share what you’ve written with others.
But if you’re a kid who’s the outcast at school, be careful what you do with that notebook! You don’t want to end up like Harriet the Spy, with everyone reading what you’ve written about them! I remember being completely distressed as a 7th grader when I lost a wonderful notebook. I hadn’t written anything nasty about my classmates, but I was just dying thinking someone might reveal embarrassing things I’d written about myself!
Funny to see that everyone has a blog now. I used to use Quo Vadis planners for a couple of years when I was in college. I loved them, but who would have guessed I’d be reading their blog 20 years later!
