Saturday, March 5, 2011

Dear Journal...

Ah, and I'm late in posting again. So sorry for the delay and forgetfulness. It's been a pretty "off" week again.

Anyway...

If you have ever taken a creative writing class, you most likely have had to journal every day about a specific topic given by your instructor or about anything you want. As a writer, I loved having to journal because it turned the wheels in my head and generated ideas, ones I may never have thought of under "normal" circumstances. My teacher would always put a quote on the white board and we had the option of journaling about the quote. I always tried relating my entries to the given quote because, like most writers, I'm always thinking along the lines of, "What if this happens because of that", and I like taking a given scenario and turning it into something entirely my own.

Besides helping me get the creative juices flowing, journaling taught me that I should never be without a notebook and pen. Ideas come out of nowhere most of the time and those are the ones that I end up loving. By keeping a journal on me at all times, I never have to worry about that Great Idea slipping from my mind. I keep a notebook in my backpack, a journal by my bed and that same journal acts as my non-school travel journal. I also have three unused ones in case I ever run out of pages in the ones I'm already using. :-) I like to prepared obviously, haha.

So, fellow writers, do you keep a journal on you at all times to jot down ideas? What is the funniest/oddest thing you've written an idea down on?

6 comments:

  1. I don't and I know I should. I DO write down ideas while at home though.

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  2. I always carry a notebook. I used to journal when I was younger. I love being able to write ideas down, especially when I'm on the go. :)

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  3. You know, I've journaled off and on for years, but never once thought about using it creatively. I always just journaled my thoughts. Love the idea of using a quote to get going, and I'm definitely going to try this out! Thanks so much!

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  4. I always have to have at least some kind of paper with me in case I need to write something down, and collecting and carrying pens is my obsession.. Fortunately, I can just email myself from my phone if I don't have either of these things... :)

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  5. I always carry around little notebooks, and I've gone through a stack of them already. I don't really count them as journals, because sometimes I jot down the most pointless things (like when I need to find a book in a library, or when I need to remember the ingredients for something).

    I've kept an internet journal for nine years now, and it honestly has everything in my life in it. It's more accurate than my own memory at times, haha.

    I also always have my phone on me, though I'm glad I no longer have to fumble and text message myself something, I can just write a note.

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  6. I have a few notebooks around that I write things in from time to time. However, for the just-popped-into-my-head ideas? I use my cell phone's note function. It's ALWAYS with me and I can email the notes to myself if I want.

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