Do you write a journal/diary?

[Syed Najmul hassan s]

Writing dairy on daily basis is indeed a good habit that at the end of the day when you write a dairy its just the review of your whole day so you can easily findout who you are? What you have done ? Have you hurt someone ?etc . so you can better manage your next day and can have a good next day . beside these one major benefit of writing dairy is your writing skills goona be improve on daily basis which is the need of today's world.
I also write dairy but not on regular basis ,one must have to make it a regular habit to improve His/her writing skills.

[Amagine]

I use to keep a journal but I found it hard to write in it everyday. The reason was because it was hard to write in something if I have nothing of importance to talk about. If nothing happened in my day, I didn't see the point on in writing in it for the day.

[Libs_Books]

I found that in the past couple of years my writing skills have improved greatly, my diary-writing habit being a major factor. ...All in all, I think writing a journal, as frequently or infrequently as you like, is very beneficial for one's writing skills.

I'm sure you're right - and, as others have pointed out, it can also be useful spiritually. I don't think I have the self-discipline, though, and also, to be fair to myself, I have to do quite a lot of (not at all creative) writing at w*rk, so there isn't the time and the energy, and also not the same need for that kind of practice. I kept a diary for a while, for legal reasons, but it was a difficult time in my life and quite painful to return to - I doubt it will ever become a novel.

One thing I do find useful is that I keep a reading journal - the pages are quite small and I usually write half a page for each book - it's often pretty banal with very little incisive analysis, but it can be helpful to reflect, and it is more fun to look back on.

[Camille Turner]

I have kept a journal since I was about 8 years old (I'm 26 now) and it has been indispensable for me. However, I find that there are half-years here and there that I don't write so much. Still, having one on hand at all times is such a great thing!

[rave_2]

I've kept a journal since 2010. I basically write whenever something interesting happens, or my thoughts on certain topics. Looking back, I think it might have influenced me to write stories and whatnot. Since it's pretty personal, I refuse to turn it into a novel.

[Van112]

I used to have a diary in high school but i usually write the things that happened to me on a day to day basis. It was in college when i realized how cool it was to work on a journal. We were given topics to write about and i realized then that it was a very fun thing to do. I didn't just write about my usual daily activities from then on but my thoughts about everything, so i created my blog as a means to express myself, And i believe that it has influenced my way of writing.

[maggiechap]

I love these old journals of older famous people - letters of poets and such that are just flowing with such language, but lord if I can mange the same thing lol. My daily life is pretty dull and I don't find anything important enough to write down in my daily life. As far as I'm concerned, my fictional writing and my books are my journals lol.

[wilykit104]

I used to keep a diary as a teenager, the time of life when emotions run high and feeling need to be poured down on paper. Since becoming an adult and then a wife and mother of two I sadly haven't had the time to do any sort of writing!

The best diaries I kept though were my dream diaries. During certain times of my life I had the most bizarre and vivid dreams. Even if I only remembered a tiny fragment of a dream in the morning, putting pen to paper and writing down the bits I could remember helped me to remember more and more, until I could remember all of it in vivid detail, sometimes even down to the pictures on the wall.

This was definitely a useful tool for creative writing practice. But it took up SO much of my time. I used to jot some brief notes before I got up, write in any spare time I had before school, during lessons if I could get away with it (and I was a good student who always did her work as well ), in the library at lunch time... You get the picture. My dream diaries were chock-full of surreal novellas. I don't know what happened to them, I wish I still had them, and I really, really wish I still had time to write! As I currently breastfeed my 7 month old son through the night, my disturbed sleep is very conducive to vivid dreams at the moment!

If anyone is planning to write a novel but needs writing practice I would highly recommend keeping a dream diary. I am sure it helps to open up creative pathways as well as providing excellent writing exercises straight from your own subconscious.

[Tzara Drusak]

At boarding school I nicknamed my then favourite diary Dimitri. It started out as a medium for my routine teenage rants and was really something extra to do in my past time. The writing style was droll and rather hilarious (it more resembled rambled musings than anything) and I'd just document some rare funny event that would take place at school (dubbed "The Penitentiary") and often insert a comic rendition at the end. As I didn't input overly personal events or thoughts, when my friend found it and started cracking up, I didn't really mind. She asked my permission to reveal it to my dormmates, which was, as I mentioned, fine with me. Pretty soon Dimitri evolved into a comic relief for the poor, sheltered teenagers on the dorms, and held some pretty good memories for me.

Now, I keep a much more private journal, but truthfully, I miss Dimitri.

[WarBabyMoon]

I have tried for years to try and write a journal/diary. I could never stick to it. I just never really had enough to want to keep going, or I just mostly forgot what I would want to write down at the end of the day. It got frustrating so I stopped altogether. There's just no point in it at this point in my life. Oh well!

[lbhatters]

I've kept a journal since 2010. I basically write whenever something interesting happens, or my thoughts on certain topics. Looking back, I think it might have influenced me to write stories and whatnot. Since it's pretty personal, I refuse to turn it into a novel.

I used to keep a journal of my thoughts, but it has recently turned into an art journal. I have always been an artist more than a writer, and find a lot of satisfaction in learning and practicing art.

[Mildred Tabitha]

I used to write when I was in highschool but stopped years later. This is because I felt it had many sad stories and I did not want it to get in the wrong hands. I also wanted to move on from some memories and so I tore some pages and threw the pieces away. I still have the book but with no stories. I am not sure if I did the right thing.

[rave_2]

I've kept a journal since 2010. I basically write whenever something interesting happens, or my thoughts on certain topics. Looking back, I think it might have influenced me to write stories and whatnot. Since it's pretty personal, I refuse to turn it into a novel.

I used to keep a journal of my thoughts, but it has recently turned into an art journal. I have always been an artist more than a writer, and find a lot of satisfaction in learning and practicing art.

Nice!
I'm not that good at art, so I stick to writing more.

[Kibet Hillary]

Keeping a diary and a journal are two vital things that have to be cultivated by every individual. For me, I do not journal but I try to update my diary as often as possible. There are moments I would not like to lose hence I have to put them down on paper. Perhaps, some days to come I will look back and thank God for what He has been doing in my life or who knows, someone may be inspired by the events in future too.

[Hannah Mo]

I actually do write in a journal! Well, an online one protected by passwords. I find it easier to write everything in a sort of story ish way which is why its kind of themed around a character of one of my many stories. But all the rants and anger in there is true.