365-Day Journal Your Story Project: Day 3: Paper or Digital (Part 2)

Today is the third day of an introduction to journaling. We are going to look a little more at paper journaling and digital journals.

PAPER JOURNALING: A VARIETY

Let me make another note regarding paper journaling. We discussed them during Day 2 and this is an extension of that information. It is regarding one of the benefits about paper journaling is you have a great deal of variety. This is priceless, let's admit it. But, with that variety comes a cost. You have to also digitize it if you want it to be permanent. That is another step in the process. This is something to keep in mind. 

ADVANTAGES OF PAPER JOURNALING

Let me recap about the advantages of paper journaling:

1 It offers the most variety.

2 You do not have to have electricity to do paper journaling. 

3 Tends to be a little more creative. 

4 It's more attractive to the eye. 

5 If you like drawing, scrapbooking, or crafts, this is the best of both worlds. 

DISADVANTAGES OF PAPER JOURNALING

1 The paper journal itself can cost a lot of money. If you want to keep a constant supply, that costs money to keep the supply. The cheapest blank journal you can get is at Barnes and Noble and it costs $3 + tax a pop. If you write every day, it will last you about three weeks.

2 Pens, paint, scrapbook paper, color pencils, etc. cost. If you only write with a pen and write every day, the average pen will last two weeks or so. 

3 You have to go to the store often for supplies.

4 It is not permanent. They can be lost or destroyed.

5 Ink and paint fade over time. Paper also starts to turn to dust and yellows.

6 It takes up storage space.

7 If you have poor penmanship, you might not be able to read it and others might not be able to read it. 

8 Difficult to write in a car or on an airplane.

9 It can break your back lugging it around everywhere.

10 It can take longer to do a daily entry because you have to write by hand. 

11 You can run out of supplies--and at the most inconvenient time.

12 Anyone can peak at it at any time. Not very private. 

PAPER JOURNALS CAN BE LOST:

THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO

The reason why I stress the permanent aspect of digital journals is because I lost some of the recently. In the space of one month, I lost some and almost lost all of them, believe them or not. First in the course of moving across country six months ago, the movers lost a box of my paper journals. (They were not saved digitally.) Ten years span of journals lost in one shot. Bam. I cannot even begin to tell you the heartache that brought and still brings in my life. 

I try not to imagine strangers reading through them... Do I need to mention the feeling of possible violation? 

Then, to add to the drama of losing those journals... Less than a month later, Hurricane Irene came through and we were forced to evacuate. We only have so much room in our car. I had to leave every single one of my paper journals behind. Thank God, the house was protected and wasn't flooded. But, can you imagine?

So, when you think that you never have to worry about your journals... Think again. I do not care how much you despise comptuers. Find a way to fall in love with them. Force yourself to do so if you must. Otherwise... You could lose 10 years--or even 27 years worth of journaling. 

Chew on that for a while. The worst case scenario really does happen. And, it can happen to you twice in a month.

MORE ABOUT PAPER JOURNALING IN THE FUTURE

There will be paper journaling days in the future. This is hardly the last discussion. There are many types of paper journals that we can do. I find it necessary to do some paper journaling every week. Paper journaling in an invaluable resource. It can inspire us and force us to look at things from a new perspective. It frees the imagination and let's face it. They are quite attractive to the eye. But, I make sure to save them in a permanent way as well. 

DIGITAL JOURNALS

The different types are:

1 Document on your computer. Start with a blank document. You can use different types of backgrounds, colors of ink, fonts, etc. Just make sure to email yourself a copy of the journal periodically so that you have a permanent file of it. If your computer is lost or broken, and you do not do this, you might not be able to retrieve it from your hard drive. I save a copy of each journal to my computer, to an external hard drive, to my email, and to Google Docs. The email and Google Docs are permanent versions.

2 Email yourself a journal entry each day. After you get a month's worth, save them to a blank document. 

3 Keep an internet journal. There are several different types and websites you can choose. You can keep it private or can allow the entire world to read them (a blog). The choice is up to you.

4 On your cell phone, you can use a notes app and journal. Just make sure to email a copy of it to yourself and eventually turn it into a document. 

5 Use a scanner of your paper journal, art journals, scrapbooks, photo albums, etc. Then, turn them into a document. I scan everything from movie tickets, to brochures of places we visit, receipts, etc. and turn these into a journal as well. 

ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL JOURNALS

1 They are very convenience. I can journal with my PC, laptop, Amazon Kindle Fire, and cell phone--and I do. Also, I can use anyone else's to access my journals and journal as well. Hence, it is ultra-convenient. Hence, I can journal any time, anywhere (provided they have electricity and 3G when needed.)

2 It saves a broken back. It beats carrying around a bag of stuff that is heavy, can get lost, stolen, or damaged.

3 They are permanent--provided you save it over the internet (i.e. email or cloud drive).

4 They are quick. Typing is quicker than writing by hand. 

5 Easy to change ink color, page color, add photos and clip art. It's easy to change fonts as well. 

6 Password protected. Hence, secure and private. 

7 They take up NO storage space at your house. 

DISADVANTAGES OF A DIGITAL JOURNAL

1 The original set-up costs are quite expensive. A computer, laptop, cell phone, tablet all cost a lot of money upfront. But, they have multi-purposes. This is convenient. 

2 Can be less creative than paper kinds of journaling.

3 Electricity can go out.

4 Internet can go down.

5 Might not 3G.

Stacy Duplease
Prayer Warrior, Fantasy Author, and Journalkeeper
of Remembering Your Present, LLCdba USAGC 2026 * Kingdom of Lethana

Email: usagc2026@gmail.com or lethanastories@gmail.com
Blog for USAGC 2026: http://usagc2026.blogspot.com
Blog for Lethana: http://kingdomoflethana.blogspot.com
Blog for Journaling: http://journalingchronicle.blogspot.com
Blog for Writing: http://writingchronicle.blogspot.com
Find my books at/store: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/hisfiction