I'm feeling good about myself today because I'm about 10 pages shy from filling up the notebook I use for my journal. So I'll need to start looking around for new one. The one I have now is nice; it's a smaller size with a leather cover, unlined pages. I may go that route, or I might look for something a little odder. As a back-up I have a stack of those Mead Composition books in a desk drawer at home.
I know some writers think journals are evil, because they can take away time from writing fiction, articles, whatever. Mine's a big hodge-podge, though. Sure, it's a journal covering what's happening to me, but I also use it for basic writing exercises, drafts of reviews, story ideas, small fragments of stories. If I were to ever lose one, someone would find a notebook detailing the politics of my office followed immediately by some horror piece with no warning. That idea always amuses me.
Anyway. I don't know what others think, but if I didn't keep a journal I probably wouldn't write at all.
Excelsior
3 comments:
Journals are cool, and it's nice to have a nice one, like you say. I don't journal every day by any means, but I do have a nice hardback journal that I use now to jot down story ideas (or blog post ideas) and I've started jotting down dreams if I wake up and think they might be anything that could be turned into a short story.
Interesting, the whole idea of writers thinking journals take away from actual "writing time" -- one could argue blogs do the same thing. (Like William Gibson's "farewell to blog" last year when he posted that he had to dedicate all his time to his book.) I don't know, I think they can be instrumental in keeping the creative juices flowing, or writing down ideas that are too easy to forget (that happens to me all too often).
Office politics --> horror story -- ha!
I've never been able to keep a journal. Well, not a written one. Always looked at my sketchbooks as my journals (but then again, you'd just roll your eyes at me, since you know how good I've been at keeping them lately). Going to try and go to an open model session at the Creative Alliance Saturday morning. Don't really have the proper supplies, but I know it's important to revive the drawing/painting juices. You're allowed to tsk tsk me if I don't go.
For those living in Baltimore, Creative Alliance is http://www.creativealliance.org
-L
Hey there anon. Maybe I'll look into getting you an id of your very own, just so people can attach a name to you. Good luck with drawing today.
And Lady, I agree with you. I might feel differently if writing were my full-time occupation, but I don't think so. I never know where ideas will come from, and hate to limit them to one area. At least right now.
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