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How to Be an Improper Journal Writer
25 Nov2009
Don’t worry, the post isn’t about keeping a diary of the racier parts of your life…
No, it’s about getting rid of the baggage that says there’s a “proper” way to write a journal.
I did an exercise recently looking at the rules or expectations we associate with journal writing. I realised that I have three unhelpful limiting beliefs that run something like this:
1. I can’t commit to keeping a journal every day. Therefore I’m not a proper journal writer.
2. I prefer typing to handwriting. I get into a mess when I’m using pen and ink (unlike those graceful women who can craft beautifully hand written, legible pieces.) Therefore I’m not a proper journal writer.
3. I can’t stick to one medium. I jump between different kinds of software, notebooks, scraps of paper. I jump about and it’s scattered. A journal should be kept within the pages of a … well a journal. Therefore I’m not a proper journal writer.
Grrr.
Who made these rules? No-one!
Do I believe them? No!
Do I think they’re helpful? Definitely not!
Banished shall they be.
I’ll do it my way, proper or not.
I’ll write improperly if I have to 
There’s only one rule I’m going to stick to: to get to the truth, to the heart, to the essence, as quickly as I can.
How about you: do you carry around unhelpful rules or expectations about how journaling ‘should’ be done? What happens when you let go of them and write the improper way instead?
- In: Journaling
- Tags: journal writing
3 Responses to How to Be an Improper Journal Writer
Mr Uku
November 26th, 2009 at 11:43 am
You are so right with this.
Rules can be very restricting and, in some cases, can actually stifle creativity. I know because I spend a stupid amount of time trying to work out the best way of planning a piece when I could be just writing it.
The lesson is, just write.
Don’t worry about doing it the proper way, especially for such a personal project as a journal. Do it your way. And if you’re unsure what your way is, try a few ways. I bet a journal would look great if it had random bits of paper glued in with your thoughts on them. Like a cross between a diary and and a scrapbook. This would work just as well in an on-line version. I bet something like Posterious would be perfect.
Write now. Worry later. Have fun.
Ulla Hennig
November 26th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Joanna,
a very important post. It is strange, but there are periods in my life when I prefer handwriting to typing, and there are periods when it is the other way round. It is journaling nevertheless!
Joanna
November 27th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Hi Mr Uku I know just what you mean, it’s bad enough having these (self-imposed) rules in relation to writing, but they really don’t have a place in journaling… just doing it makes a whole lot more sense. I like the idea of random bits of paper glued in to a diary… though I doubt I’d ever stick with it
Thanks for the reminder to have fun… hope you can apply same to your writing 
Ulla now you mention it… me too! I think it’s because the different mediums stimulate or connect to different parts of our brains (maybe also different parts of our hearts?) And those different parts of us come into play more or less strongly at different times / events in our lives. Thanks for sharing your experiences… it’s so interesting to learn how other people journal.