A Burgeoning of Journaling
Published on August 27, 2024
By Pete H.
When I first set out to tackle this blog article, I intended to foray into the world of bullet journaling. I started with the clickbait concept of committing to bullet journaling for three months and reporting my findings here.
I began earnestly, avoiding the selection of practically unused bullet journals sprinkled throughout my home: remnants of my previous trials discarded when my attempt at systematizing my life went by the wayside yet again. I purchased a new bullet journal, new pens, and vowed I was a new me. I was convinced that the bullet journal was to me as the Dewey Decimal system was to the library.
One month and one untouched bullet journal later, I wondered what had happened. So, I went in search of the evidence. The last time I set down a BuJo, I had tucked it in for a nice winter’s nap next to my bed (a nap that turned into a full-blown hibernation). When I picked up the journal, a familiar scene was found in the first few pages. There was the index, a long-range outlook into the next few months (now months past), the current month and tasks, some daily entries and notes from a meeting – then endless unused pages. My search was not fruitless, however. Scrawled in big bold letters prior to the unused remainder of the notebook, I found the phrase “BEGIN AGAIN” written in permanent marker. Though it had taken me a while to return to an attempt at bullet journaling, maybe that time NOT bullet journaling was necessary. And maybe my next attempt could still be a journal, but maybe it didn’t have to be a bullet journal.
What I thought was another inevitable defeat now had me reconsidering journaling and the part perfectionism played in my experience with it. It occurred to me that I had encountered this once before when I had taken a course in creative writing. Professor Patterson introduced us to Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, whose encouragement to let go of perfectionism was the key I needed to unlock a burgeoning of journaling. So, I returned to Goldberg’s classic guide to writing, and though the blog article “I started journaling last week” maybe isn’t the profound three-month trial wrapped in a clickbait title I had envisioned, I began again. Progress, not perfection.
Two of the tools I often return to in my writing and journaling include Goldberg’s use of freewriting and focusing on sensory details. When combatting perfectionism, freewriting is an indispensable weapon. Goldberg’s ability to break down the fear and paralysis that often accompanies the pursuit of perfectionism often allows me to just write. Another tidbit to keep you in writing mode, Goldberg suggests that you can write the same word over and over and over again. This trick has been valuable when I inadvertently begin editing when I meant to be writing!
I’ve been fairly consistent in my week of journaling, but even in that time, I’ve encountered writer’s block. Writing Down the Bones mentions that focusing on sensory details can jolt you out of a block and into the moment. One topic in particular that is ripe with sensory details for the picking is food. If you don’t have anything to write about, start with food. The texture, taste, and smell may jumpstart a memory lurking in the murk of your mind.
Beyond the Basics: Exploring Other Literary Journeys
While Writing Down the Bones provides a solid foundation, there are other books that can offer additional insights and inspiration.
Living The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron introduces a new tool to the writing guidance best known from her international bestselling book The Artist’s Way. Condensing the original 12-week program down to 6 weeks, Cameron reveals how writing for guidance is integral to her creative inspiration.
Letters to a Young Writer by Colum McCann is both practical and encouraging. McCann asks his readers to constantly push the boundaries of experience, to see empathy and wonder in the stories we craft and hear. Letters to a Young Writer offers examples and challenges to inspire a new generation and their art.
The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruwell chronicles the changes in the lives of both the author and the at-risk students in her classroom. Using examples from treasured books like The Diary of a Young Girl, students learned to see the parallels in their lives with the stories they read by recording their thoughts and feelings in their own diaries.
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran offers a rare glimpse into the mind of a literary icon. By examining her process, aspiring writers can learn about planning, character development, and the importance of revision.
The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel relates how Koppel, a journalist, finds a young woman's diary from the 1930s in a Manhattan dumpster. She tracks down the author, now in her 90s, and interviews her. The resulting book combines the diary entries with the author's reflections and the journalist's own observations about New York City.
By combining the practical exercises from Writing Down the Bones with the insights and inspiration from these other titles, you too may find yourself on a rich and rewarding journey of self-expression and creativity.