RYP Stories

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Journaling

As writers, it is critical for us to journal. We need to not only have a writing notebook, we need to journal about our lives. It forces us to analyze and self-reflect.

Our journals will most often lead us to writing projects, plot ideas, character ideas, and so on.

Stacy Duplease

Book Cover: A Writing Notebook

This is a blog series about writing your story of fiction. It is your writing notebook for your latest book.

You have a choice. You can read and do one of these each day and take a year to write your book.

Or, you can do multiple days and write that book in the time you choose.

READING SEGMENTS

1 a day = 1 year = 365 days (or you write 1 book in a year)

2 a day = 6 months = 182.5 days (or 2 books in a year)

3 a day = 122 days = 3 books in a year

4 a day = 91.25 days = 4 books in a year

6 a day = 61 days = 6 books in a year

12 a day = 31 days = 12 books in a year

EACH DAY

Each day will have two segments:

1 CRAFT: Something to do with inspiration and craft of writing. This is the how to write and why you write portion.

2 BOOK: Something to help you write your book. This is the hot-to write your specific novel portion.

Day 1 will start tomorrow.

Stacy Duplease
Prayer Warrior, Fantasy Author, and Journalkeeper
of Remembering Your Present, LLC
dba 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

365-Day Remembering Journal Project: Day 1: An Introduction

WELCOME!

Welcome to the 365-Day Remembering Journal Project.

This particular blog series is geared for those who have journaled before and those looking for journaling hints, starters, ideas, suggestions, etc.

Also this journal project is geared more for the serious, diving deeper, self-reflective, memoir style, self-discovery type of journaling. It is not meant to be a creative journal. (But, if you turn it into one, go for it and enjoy!)

If you are looking for a how-to journal book or resource, you might want to focus on the 365-Day Journal Your Story Project.

WHY DO THIS PROJECT? WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

The 365-Day Remembering Journal Project is to help you journal about your past, present, and future. It is meant to help you not only record your memories, but to evaluate your life. This journal project is meant to help you live intentionally, with constant awareness so you learn the most from your past, live the best today you are able, and plan for the best future. It is meant to help you discover who you are, who you were, and who you hope to be. This 365-Day Remembering Journal Project is meant to help you know what holds you back and what needs healing. It is meant to help you set goals so your future can be all that it can be. This journal will help you heal, give you vision, and help you remember in years to come what has happened and who you are as a person.

We change and transform through the years. But, what has led to the change? Has the change been for the better? When you journal you record where you are so you can look back later and evaluate the journey. That is another reason to do this journal project.

MEMORY AND REMEMBERING

I have had three people in my family who have been touched because of memory problems. One had Alzheimer's. Another had dementia. And another had a head injury. I journal so I can remember my memories and the memories of those around me. One day, these memories might be forgotten. But, if they are written, they are not lost.

I also realize as I age, I will not remember as many things. I journal to help me remember.

STORIES ARE WORTH REMEMBERING

My life is a story. Your life is a story. Our stories are intertwined. All stories are. This is why stories are so sacred. They are worth remembering. That is another reason to journal.

REMEMBER YOUR PRESENT

Too often, through the busyness of life, we tend to lose focus. Busyness has us, well...so busy that we cannot think with clarity. We tend to forget things. We lose perspective. We forget what matters most of us because we are so busy doing. We take the present for granted. We forget how time is fleeting. If you do not live well today, and with everything you've got, then the moment is wasted.

That is why journaling is so critical. It helps us to remember the present and not take it for granted. It helps us to live intentionally.

~*~ TO DO

Any time you see this symbol: ~*~ it means it is something you need to do regarding your journal.

~*~DAY 1 EXERCISES

Take out your journal answer the following questions:

1 What does journaling mean to you?

2 What do you hope to get out of the next 365 days and why?

3 What do you want to remember? Why?

4 List 10 memories from your past.

5 What three memories did you make today?

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.comBlog 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

Repetitive Book Covers

I know it might be annoying to see the same old book cover with most of the blog posts. There is a reason why I am using the book covers with blog posts. It is not to sell books. Rather, it is so you can easily identify a blog post series. We are visual beings and this is my attempt to make it so you do not have to do so much searching through this blog once some time has past. I hope this helps.

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

365-Day Journal Your Story Project: Day 5: Page 1 of Your Journal (Part 1)

IMAGINE A BLANK BOOK

I hope you bear with me if you are a digital journalkeeper. I will talk about opening your journal and turning to the first page. Use your imagination here. I love the imagery of opening a paper journal or a blank book and flipping through the empty pages and having the realization my life will be put onto those pages. Wow. There is something magical and sacred there. It is quite special. After all, a journal is my life reflected on the pages of what was once a blank book.

You just can't see that with a digital book. But, you can sure imagine it. Hence, I will make allusions of having a paper journal as we go along over the next 361 days.

YOU HAVE YOUR JOURNAL

At this point in time, you have bought your journal, pens, paper, paint, and anything else you need in order to journal.

You also have a plan of if you want to write, type, email, or paint (just a few examples).

Regardless of the type of journaling, they all begin with the first page. It is a blank page.

So, now what?

PAGE 1 OF YOUR JOURNAL

Do not let the blank pages intimidate you. I realize this is easier said than done, but hang in there. I will help you to start each journal off to the best start you are able.

Every time you start a new journal, do everything listed here today and in Day 6. Why? The way you start off your journal...and the first blank page...is what sets the mood and tone of the rest of the journal. Consequently, it is important to begin your journal well.

So, what are the components of a good page 1? I will list them below and then will go through each of them one by one and explain them to you.

ELEMENTS OF PAGE 1 OF YOUR JOURNAL

1 Name of journal (title)

2 Your Name (if it is not in the title)

3 Start Date

4 End Date and a blank line

5 Address and Phone

6 Inspirational Quote

7 Goal of journal

8 Quarterly Goal

9 Yearly Goal

10 Life Goal/Mission Statement

GO TO PAGE 3 TO FILL OUT PAGE 1 OF JOURNAL YOUR STORY

As you can see, this might be a couple of pages in actuality. Consequently, if you are doing a paper journal, leave the first couple of pages blank. We are going to start on page three of this journal in order to fill out page 1 of this journal. We need to do some exercises before you will be ready to fill out page 1 and 2.

~*~ Go to page 3 your your journal.

~*~ TO DO

Every time you see this symbol, ~*~, it marks something for you to do.

DATE, DAY, AND TIME

~*~ Other than on pages 1 and 2, every time you start a new journal entry, or at the top of every page, make sure to write at the very least the date, the day, and the time. I also put where I am writing. But, that is optional. You might find it cumbersome at first, but in time, you will appreciate it. Trust me.

PAGE 3: EXERCISE 1: NAME YOUR JOURNAL

It is time for you to come up with a name for your journal.

~*~ Jot down some ideas of names/titles for your journal.

Here are some examples. I will put my name in them as an example:

1 The Journal of Stacy Duplease

2 The Chronicles of Stacy Duplease

3 The Story of Stacy Duplease

4 The Life and Times of Stacy Duplease

5 My Story

6 My Life

7 Use the date. For instance: January 2012.

8 If you are Christian, here is an idea: His-Story, My Story

9 Use a word you want to focus on: Love. Peace. Joy. Patience. Serenity. Etc.

TO DO ON PAGE 1

~*~ Pick a name. You can change it in your next journal if you want.

~*~ Write the name at the top of page 1 of your journal.

~*~ Write your name if it is not in the title on the second line of page 1.

~*~ Write today as the Start Date on the next line of page 1.

~*~ Write: END DATE on the next line of page 1 and leave a blank for the end date.

~*~ Write your address and phone on the next line of page 1. You might want to put your email address as well.

NEXT PAGE: WHY JOURNAL?

~*~ At the end of the ideas of titles you wrote for page one, and at the next blank space, write all the reasons why you are journaling. We will look at more reasons on Day 7 of this book.

NEXT PAGE: INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE

~*~ At the end of the reasons why you journal you wrote for page one, and at the next blank space, write several inspirational quotes. Look them up if necessary.

~*~ Pick the inspirational quote which speaks most to you in this moment. Star it or underline it.

~*~ Write the inspirational quote on Page 1 on the next blank line.

That is enough for today. We will finish with Page 1 tomorrow.

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.comBlog 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

365-Day Journal Your Story Project: Day 4: The Choice

Today is the day for you to make the choice.

1 How do you want to journal? Paper or digital? Make a list of pros and cons of each from your perspective.

2 Make the choice.

3 Buy whatever you need.

4 Prepare whatever you need.

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.comBlog 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

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 have 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