I've decided to start journaling again. I haven't in the longest time, and I realized it's because I'm too self conscious to be truly honest, and when I wasn't being honest the words weren't flowing. My problem was that I couldn't write fast enough by hand, and writing in a Word doc felt too dangerous because so many people use my computer regularly. I also got overwhelmed by trying to write everything that happened, which read like a play-by-play completely devoid of feeling, or by just writing my feelings without any details of the circumstance, and then it ended up vague and stream-of-consciousy.
So I decided I will write my thoughts as they come but not get overwhelmed by trying to write EVERYTHING.
The event that inspired me to do this is re-reading I Capture the Castle. I'm not quite done, but I think I'm enjoying it as much as I did the very first time I read it. There are so many profound simple truths hidden within that I don't remember noticing the previous times I read it. It is also much better written than I recalled.
Good luck with the journal! I love journaling but go in waves--currently am not doing any sort of a journal but when I lived in Wisconsin, I journaled almost every day. Privacy is so important though--if I don't feel like my journal is safe, it wouldn't be worth writing because I would censor everything too. It's so cathartic though, that if you are able to journal well, it is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI journal probably once a week, and my entries vary--bits of things I've been thinking about, strange, random experiences, what I did, how I felt, etc.
ReplyDeleteI finished I Capture the Castle on Sunday! It's inspired me to start yet anohter novel...