Journal or Diary: Write the Story of Your Life

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History with Heart

What's the difference between a journal and a diary--or is there? According to Quinn McDonald, a certified creativity coach, there's a distinct difference.

A journal is a tool for examining your life, "a GPS system for your spirit." A diary, on the other hand, is a detailed report about your day. It's a bit more lighthearted than a journal, because it's like reporting the news instead of analyzing progress or keeping up with a new challenge.

Want the story behind this lens? Read the blog entry.



Journals are more insightful than diaries. Journaling is an effective way of monitoring personal growth and helping you reach a goal. Either is a good step towards writing down your thoughts and feelings, and keeping a recorded history that makes for good reading in the years ahead.

This lens will look at the process of recording the tapestry of our lives. We'll look at various types of journaling, as well as enjoy favorite types of diaries and journals on the Web. As someone who has kept a journal for 48 years (count 'em), I want you to know that this topic is near and dear to me. As far as I'm concerned, journaling can be summed up in three words:

History with heart.






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Time Passes Quickly 

Why not begin journaling today?

What You'll Need 

Tools to get you started...

Keeping a journal or diary isn't expensive. Sure, you can buy blank books fancied up with beautiful leather covers, special binding, and other features that up the price. OR you can watch for sales of spiral notebooks like I do at back-to-school or clearance sales, and you're set.

Here are the bare-bones basics you'll need to begin:

1. Notebook
2. Pen or pencil.
3. Felt markers if you want a little color

With tools this simple, what are you waiting for?

My Very First Diary 

My life as a diarist began at age ten. I wrote all about life as a fifth-grader, then locked my little red diary with its gold key and stashed it under my pillow. It held secrets I'd never told a soul--tidbits about the cutest boy in class, about friends and problems and silly things I experienced along the way.

When an ornery brother stole my diary one day, I thought I would die.

Rather than guarding my words, I found a better place to hide it next time. I figured, If I have to watch what I write for fear of somebody finding it, I might as well not write it down. That's the true spirit behind a personal diary--feeling free to record whatever's on your mind.

What are you up to today? Have you thought about recording it in a diary?

Amy's Diary is a website created by someone who found her childhood diary, and has used crayon and simple graphics to create something fun and nostalgic. (Note that her original spelling was like this: "Dear Dairy".)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is Greg Heffley's Journal, Grade 7.

Do You Keep a Diary or a Journal? 

Describe it here!

1

Vote Up

Gratitude Journal

I started a Gratitude Journal a couple of years ag more...1 point

2

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Art notebook/diary

I like experimental art and this is a good format more...1 point

3

Vote Up

Workout Journal

It keeps me accountable.1 point

4

Vote Up

Gratitude Notebook

This is a diary I keep of everyday happenings and more...1 point

5

Vote Up

prayer journal

My pastor challenged us to do this. I tried it and more...1 point

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School journal

I keep track of my class notes, due dates, and sch more...0 points

Aunt Marie's Travel Diary 

...the next-best thing to being there!

My aunt Marie is pushing ninety. She became a widow about six years ago, but has plenty of happy memories to warm her.

One of the nicest things she did during her busy life with her husband was to create pictorial diaries of every trip they took together. Uncle Max would roll his eyes when she showed me one of her fancy creations, because he didn't "get" why she needed to record every detail. She was a wise woman. "I won't have my sharp memory forever," she said, so I'll have my collection of trip diaries instead."

When my aunt is long gone, her children are going to treasure their mother's efforts. But for now, she enjoys choosing a diary from her collection and traveling through its pages to bygone years.

Some would call them scrapbooks, but her long blocks of text seemed more like diary entries to her. She collected receipts from plays, concerts, and hotels where they'd stayed on a trip, which she glued into a blank book. Below each memento, she wrote a caption:

"What a beautiful concert under the stars. It was magical!"
"I slept like a baby!"
"If Max would have agreed, I could have stayed a week or longer."
"Tired. Heading home."

In the margins around each page, Marie wrote details about her days on the road--people they met, places they stopped to visit, impressions of a region. Her writing was sensory and full of enthusiasm, which is a good description of her approach to life, too.

How-to Resources 

Learn to journal on specific topics

Howcast - How To Start a Garden Journal
You'll feel so smart next year when you pull out your garden journal, and know exactly what worked and what didn't, what you loved and what you don't want to try again. Perfect your gardening with every passing season using your trusty garden journal
Baby Book Journaling
Creating a baby book out of a journal. - Baby Book Journaling - Journals is a personally written site at BellaOnline
How to Keep a Quiet Time Journal - Journals
How to keep a quiet time journal. Helping you gather the needed resources to have a quiet time with your journal. - How to Keep a Quiet Time Journal - Journals is a personally written site at BellaOnline
PREGNANCY BLOG: Free Pregnancy Journal.
BabyCrowd's free blogs allow you to create your very own online journal with 20 MB of free storage space. Our online journals can be personalized; share your emotions, write about your pregnancy symptoms, track your stages of pregnancy and upload pregnancy photos - all on a choice of stylish templat
Keeping a Devotional Journal: 15 Prompts for Christians
Start a devotional journal to record spiritual insights, prayers, and daily inspiration from the Bible.
The Online Diary - Join today, it's free!
Everyone can have their free personal diary or journal at my-diary.org - Choose to have your diary private or public

If Your Handwriting is Atrocious... 

Here's a great solution for you!

Did you know, it's easy to keep a diary or journal on your computer? You don't need to write by hand. There--are you relieved?

I started a grief journal in MsWord, mostly because it was something I wanted to keep private. At times I thought it might have been better to write by hand, so my kids and grandkids could read it after I exit this world someday. It's raw and honest, and details how with God's help, I journeyed through through each stage of losing my parents.


*Note: If you're memory-challenged like me, write your password down somewhere safe. Just don't forget where you recorded it!



A private format won out, though, and I'm glad I had that freedom to express myself without thought of anyone ever reading my personal ramblings. If you'd like to create a private password-protected joural in Word, here's how:



1. Open up a new blank document.
2. Go to File, and click Save As.
3. Click Options. (It's usually on the opposite side of the form from "Save")
4. When the new screen pops up, click Security. Choose a Password. Click OK.
5. Name your file and choose a folder where you'd like to store it.

That's it! When you write an entry, simply find the journal, type in your password at the prompt, and continue where you left off last time.

Stories of Settlers 

Immerse yourself in history...

I am fascinated by the stories of pioneers who left everything familiar to head out West. Because I live in Oregon, their stories resonate even more, because I'm familiar with the areas in which they settled.

I have collected several books of pioneer diaries, and love their strong resolve to carve Home out of their newly adopted land. Their trip was filled with tragedy and joy - deaths and births along the way. Once they arrived, they didn't waste time looking back. They were here, and they sank roots and dove head-first into their new lives.

Across the Plains in 1843 is a candid look at life on the trip from Missouri to Oregon. An excerpt: "The early pioneers were forced to live mosly on bread and boiled wheat and drink pea coffee. They lived in log cabins, slept on blankets wore moccasins and buckskin pants, and endured many trials and difficulties."

Across the Plains in '64" recounts the story of John Kelly Vanderburgh, and his family crossing the plains from Iowa to Oregon in a covered wagon in 1864. It was transcribed for web use by his great-great granddaughter.

William Porter's Oregon Trail Diary details what he paid for food and other services along the way, including ten cents for three horses.

Tree-of-Life Leather Embossed Journal 

 

Choose your favorite color!

Beautiful Tree-of-Life Leather Embossed Journal@ Amazon.com

* Handstained with a rich, dark brown dye highlights the true grain of the leather!
* Criss Cross Binding is hanstitched with super-strong doubled waxy nylon cording.
* 320 Pages (160 sheets) of lined archival writing paper.
* Sturdy and rustic 5mm matching strap closure.
* 100% Acid-Free paper will last a lifetime.

Start a Gardening Journal 

I don't claim to be a pro when it comes to gardening. In fact, my definition of gardening might even differ from yours. I grow a few tomato plants, strawberries, and cucumbers. But that's about it.

The majority of my gardening involves flowers, most of them perennials I've chosen in the past couple of years since my infamous Backyard Makeover. Because I knew few names of flowers, I decided to keep track by writing them down. Using just a simple spiral notebook, I recorded the date of each planting, and taped the informational tag from our local nursery next to each plant's information.

If they died, I noted it. If they thrived, I added a nice big star next to it.

Not very technical, but hey...it works for me!

Locked Diaries for Kids 

Children generally enjoy diaries and journals. Whether it's a simple diary with an attached key, or one of the digital beauties below, it's great fun for them to have a private place to record thoughts and dreams, problems and solutions.

Classroom teachers are providing opportunities for group journaling, as well. The Web provides tools for teachers, such as Landmarks Class Blogmeister and Wikispaces. Examples of effective classroom journals can be found by a simple Google search. For example, one teacher encouraged students to create a Sarah, Plain and Tall blog, where they could discuss the book as a group. Here's the blog template.
Wild Horse Lock & Key Diary-3711

Wild Horse Lock & Key Diary-3711

by: Peaceable Kingdom Press

List Price: $12.00

3967 - Fairy World Lock & Key Diary

3967 - Fairy World Lock & Key Diary

by: Peaceable Kingdom Press

List Price: $12.00

My 1st Amazing Diary

My 1st Amazing Diary

List Price: $12.99

3846 - All About Me Lock & Key Diary

3846 - All About Me Lock & Key Diary

by: Tracy McGuinness-Kelly

List Price: $12.00

Invisible Ink Secret Diary - Hearts

Invisible Ink Secret Diary - Hearts

List Price:

A Home for Your Thoughts & Dreams 

Green Embossed Tree of Life Leather Journal - Lined

Green Embossed Tree of Life Leather Journal - Lined

Amazon Price: $13.89 (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now
List Price:

Japanese Screen Journal (Notebook, Diary) (New Journals)

Japanese Screen Journal (Notebook, Diary) (New Journals)

by: Peter Pauper Press

Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $13.99

Smythe Sewn Faux Old Leather Wraps, Handtooled, Lined

Smythe Sewn Faux Old Leather Wraps, Handtooled, Lined

by: Blank Journal, The Paperblanks Book Company

Amazon Price: (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $15.95

The Mommy Journal: Letters To Your Child

The Mommy Journal: Letters To Your Child

by: Tracy Broy

Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $16.99

Leather Writing Journal with Strap closure

Leather Writing Journal with Strap closure

Amazon Price: $49.50 (as of 11/28/2009) Buy Now
List Price:

Leave a Footprint 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this lens has inspired you to begin a journal or diary. Please take a moment to add to the two Plexos if you haven't already.

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  • Reply
    xoLemony xoLemony May 13, 2009 @ 10:21 pm
    Great lens! I made a lens about journaling online. I even put up the same green tree journal on my Amazon module! Haha! I'm going to link your lens on mine- you have a lot of great info here!
  • Reply
    Midnight_Alchemist Midnight_Alchemist Feb 18, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
    I love writing in my diary. Except, if you're going by the definitions at the top, I guess it's really a journal. I try to write in it every day; I have also tried getting my family to write, but they don't seem so enthusiastic...I'll have to show them this! Maybe that'll get them interested. ^-^
    -M.A.
  • Reply
    kellywissink kellywissink Feb 12, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
    Well done!

    Welcome to the Squidoo 50 Club!
  • Reply
    ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Jan 26, 2009 @ 6:52 pm
    Welcome to The Totally Awesome Lenses Group.
    Lizzy
  • Reply
    Marilyn Finnemore Marilyn Finnemore Jan 18, 2009 @ 6:15 am
    I use my journal as my Holy Sutra; when I'm having a tough time, I can look at my journal and read inspirational bits of poetry, quotes from my favorite writers, and my own observations during conscious times. I can see that I've been here before and that things turned out OK. I can rediscover what's important in my life, and what isn't. I think we all have the power to be our own best teacher, our own highest inspiration; journals help us rediscover what we already know but so often forget.
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