journal writing :: tips

Quick, easy steps to recording your life experiences for posterity, future generations - or just for the fun of it all!

These days, there are more options than ever when it comes to chronicling your life story for posterity - or for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. Obviously, the most important advice we can give you is to get started. Often, that's the most difficult step to any endeavor. But sometimes, it can be hard to know even where to begin, let alone knowing all the best steps to take for success. That's why we've compiled this FREE list of the top journal - writing tips to help you get started and enjoy your adventure:

Diary vs. Journal - understanding the difference.

While it's most important that you get started, it's also important that you understand that there are two different definitions for what you're about to undertake. A diary, essentially, is a personal daily record of your life. Simple enough, right? It includes your thoughts, feelings, reactions, experiences, dreams and other interests (as you deem appropriate). A journal, on the other hand, may include such items as poems and jokes you've heard and enjoy, photographs, mementos or other souvenirs. Either way, you'll be best off using "thinking, feeling and doing" verbs - usually in the past tense. (Examples: "I suspect the new supervisor at work already has his favorites among the staff..." "I'm worried about my errors on the test..." "I drove to the beach and buried my toes in the sand...")

Why keep a journal?

There are as many motivations for writing journals as there are journal writers. Regardless of your age, you may decide to keep a daily record as a method of expressing your feelings, talking yourself through the various problems and challenges of life, and/or simply making yourself feel better about (and make sense of) the things that happen in your daily life.

At what age should you start?

People of every age keep diaries and journals. Men and women, girls and boys, and just about everyone in between enjoys an opportunity to chronicle thoughts, express feelings and discover life's experiences more thoroughly through careful introspection and personal writing. Sometimes, simply writing about an experience can be especially therapeutic, and often (on re-reading) sheds perspective on what seemed like a greater problem than actually existed. Whatever your age, it's a great way to keep track of what's happening in your life - not only for your own reference and enjoyment, but also for generations to come.

How to write a journal.

It's also important to understand that you're not exactly tasked with writing a top-selling novel; you're just recording your personal experiences. So, you need not be overly concerned with correct grammatical structure (i.e., paragraphs or even full sentences). You can use abbreviations, symbols, emoticons, sketches and/or anything else you want to tell your story. Use a casual style and simple language, as if you're talking to a close friend. Use the words "I" or "me" often.

What do I write about?

Again, with all due respect, Shakespeare isn't the goal here. You can write about ANYTHING you want. Someone who's on your nerves. Someone you find especially attractive. Your job, your career, your baby, your goals - nothing is off limits, as long as you're comfortable sharing it with your current and potential audiences. Again, the important thing is to start (and continue) writing.

Protecting your journal from unauthorized prying eyes.

Naturally, as mentioned above, your journal will ultimately contain your thoughts and writings about other people, places you go, what you see, and the things that you do. If you want your journal to remain private, you can make sure it's password-protected (online) or secured by lock and key (offline) - in addition to being well hidden. Another strategy: create code names, change times and rename places in your writings such that only you can decipher the truth behind the words.

So, what's best - online or offline?

Ultimately, the choice of journal format is up to you and your preferences. You can keep a journal using pen and paper, or - especially today - you can take advantage of the various online journal-writing tools available to help you. These online solutions can make a big difference in journal consistency and quality by helping keep you on track, motivated and reminded as often as daily to add entries. First, make sure to check out all the available online tools that can help you more quickly and easily start your diary or journal writing.