Most writers try journaling at some point in their lives. Some keep it up all their lives. Others come and go from the practice. While some flounder at the very idea of keeping a journal. There is no rule that demands writers keep one, but they can prove helpful. The trick is to figure out what kind of journal would benefit you and which you are likely to keep over time.
The best way to begin is to decide what you want to gain from your journal. This will help you figure out the best way to approach journaling. It can take many forms. Here are some ways to journal that go beyond the “Dear Diary” model, although that is a classic:
Bullet Journal
Bullet journals can take many forms. There are some amazing examples on Pinterest and Instagram to inspire you and give you ideas, but don’t let the perfect lettering and decorative elements intimidate you. The best part of a bullet journal is the succinct nature of it. Unless you are artistic and want to create a keepsake of your life, give up the idea of perfection and get down to keeping track of what matters to you. Use bullets—short sentences that capture the essence of what you are committing to paper. Keep charts, lists, reminders—whatever will help you achieve your journaling goals.
Novel Journal
A novel journal follows a writer on the journey of writing a novel. Write about your process, your challenges, and your daily efforts as it happens. Include any and every aspect of your novel. Some writers like to try out dialogue, setting ideas, scenes and other technical aspects of writing. Others like to use the journal as a place to track their emotional journal. Whatever path you chose (and you can choose any or all of them), the point is to use the journal to connect more deeply with your novel as you write.
Scene Journal
This takes fiction writing to a new place. Instead of writing about your novel, approach your life as a series of scenes. Write one scene each day to capture a key part of your day. This is great writing practice and makes for a wonderful diary of your life. Try different fictional elements, such as setting, changing POV, dialogue and tension to bring your life to…well, life on the page.
Muse Journal
This is like a mood journal that tracks your emotions over time, but instead of tracking how you feel, a muse journal tracks your writing mood. What brings out your muse? When is writing easier? What did you do to let the words flow easier? Can you find patterns to make the process easier? The ultimate goal is to see if you can change your habits or environment to attract your muse. This means you have to track what you are doing, saying, feeling, eating, and how your writing goes on a daily basis. Were those pages easy or hard? Do you write better after a walk or if you get a good night’s sleep? Or is your muse completely fickle and nothing matters? That’s good to know too.
Progress Journal
This is the type of journal for those who can’t bear the idea of a daily practice. If you are someone who knows you can’t manage that, then try a progress journal. Set a weekly or monthly time to write about what you are doing in life or in your writing. Basically, you are picking milestone dates to write about your progress to that date, instead of keeping track on a daily basis. This allows you to capture the bigger picture and assess where you have succeeded and failed in reaching your goals for the year.
Epistolary Journal
This is the “Dear Diary” form of journaling. Write letters to yourself, your future self, your diary or someone else about your life at random or pre-set intervals. Sometimes writing to someone else helps free up the words. You don’t have to share the letters with anyone, it’s just a device to help you distill your life on the page.
Prompt Journal
This is a journal of ideas that come from writing prompts. There are so many sources for writing prompts from websites to books. Pick one a day (or week) and write. The more you practice, the better your writing will be. This type of journal is your way to look back on your writing practice and see your progress.
Traditional Journal
Another classic journal is one that simply captures what you did in a day. Your life, work, fears, victories laid bare on the page for posterity’s sake. Many writers use these to remember specific times and places from their life.
Morning Pages Journal
This is an idea found in Julia Cameron’s books and workshops. She urges writers and artists to keep morning pages—three pages of longhand writing that can take any form the writer wants. The point is to write first thing in the morning and write for three full pages without electronic assistance. For more information about morning pages, visit Julia Cameron’s website or books.
Artists Journal
An Artist Journal expands the classic idea of a journal to include drawings, paintings, collages or anything creative you can think of. Add words, poems, letters, or entries of any kind. Let it be a creative masterpiece or a mess that reflects where you are at any given place in time. There are no limits on an artist’s journal. Do what inspires you.
Clip Journal
This type of journal is not about what you have to say, but what speaks to you. A Clip Journal is a place for articles, photos, ideas and other things you collect. Make it a hodgepodge that matches your creative mind. This is similar to an artist’s journal except that it focuses on things you collect instead of create. Or you could create a hybrid of the two.
Observation Journal
This is exactly what it sounds like—record overheard conversations, lines of dialogue, setting descriptions, character ideas derived from real life. This is a great way to capture all those ideas you get from living, walking, observing. It is journal dedicated to description, dialogue and character. Or go all in and record your ideas for plotting too. The point is to capture what you sense around you to help inspire finer detail in your writing.
The type of journal you select doesn’t matter as much as keeping one. Here are some journaling tips to help you succeed:
1. Don’t expect it to be perfect.
2. Don’t worry about your handwriting. This isn’t a lettering project, unless it is. It’s up to you.
3. Don’t worry about what form it takes. Maybe one week you want to write letters, but the next you prefer bullets. It’s okay either way. This is your journal. Take ownership and make it what you will.
4. Don’t worry about your audience. This is for your eyes only. Go deep and personal. Don’t temper your emotions, observations or opinions. Allowing others to read it will influence how and what you write.
5. Don’t stop. Sometimes keeping a journal is work. It takes discipline. Just keep going and eventually you will find a method that works for you.
6. Don’t beat yourself up if you find that none of these journaling methods work for you. This should be a fun, cathartic exercise, not torture. If, after giving it a fair shot, you realize it’s not for you, stop. Forcing yourself won’t help you or your writing.
7. Don’t beat yourself up if you have a lapse in your journaling practice. Just pick back up where you left off and keep going. It’s common for this to happen if you haven’t established a strong routine.