Exploring the Art of Journal Keeping
by Jen Payne
 
 

Ok, so I tout myself as a writer. Give me an idea for a poem, an article or essay to write, a creative assignment? I am right there! Words and sentences flowing enthusiastically across the page. It's like there's an energy pouring through my fingers as they glide along the keyboard. It's magic. It's why and when I know I'm supposed to be a writer.

However, sit me down in front of my journal? Forget it.

A few weeks ago, my friend DeLinda read me an entry from the journal she kept during our trip to France. It was simple and elegant. A couple sentences, but lovely. And funny. And just enough to remember that moment, that day.

My journal entry for the same day?

"Today we went to Sacre Coeur. I had a croissant for breakfast."

Flat. Dry. Stale. And I'm not talking about the croissant.

I hate my journal voice.

I think I've always thought of my journal as a record keeper. Notekeeping, perhaps. Tell the day and forget the nuances that make it a day, a moment. It's never felt like real writing to me. If I wanted to write my feelings about something, I'd write a poem. If I wanted to make an observation or tell about an event, I'd write an essay. That's real writing.

And writing by hand? With no delete or backspace buttons? no spell check? Besides, two or three pages into a journal entry and my hand gets tired. How can one compose writing properly when your equipment fails?

So I keep wondering: is there a way to expand my journaling experience? Challenge myself to do more than "today was a good day" writing? Make it more interesting. More reflective of the day, the moment. All that, and still keep it manageable and approachable--not requiring hours of time, a dictionary and a work table full of art supplies?

So, I've been practicing...and playing...and wanted to share some of the ideas I've discovered along the way.
Write Small
My friend Doug Mathewson has introduced me to a writing style called "flash fiction." It is short story in nature, but shorter, smaller. Think 500 words, 100 words, six sentences! Imagine! Or try it! At first, it's difficult. Say what you want to say in 100 words? Ah, but that's the beauty. Like a good reduction sauce, you allow the extraneous ideas to evaporate, and you're left with this rich, thick broth of words.		  

[Check out Six Sentences
for examples of "flash fiction."]

 
  Cut and Paste (or tape, as the case may be)
DeLinda recently told me that she'd started taping things in her journal. Things she'd read or seen that made her think or just made her happy. I really liked that idea and immediately began taping things in my journal--the week's horoscope, a copy of the Tarot card from a recent card reading, an inspirational quote from a tea bag.
 
Type and Tape
I'm on the computer an awful lot. All day, actually. Sometimes, an idea will walk in when I'm in the middle of this project or that. So, I open Word and type--little things like a list or a poem or some words. But, there's never been a "place" for them, until now. Now, I print them out and tape them in my journal!
 
Why Not Color?
I'm a blue pen person. There's a red pen for editing, and not a black one in sight. (I throw them out, actually--bad luck or something.) But, no one ever said you could only write in the one pen color of your choice. So, next to my journal now, I keep a box of colored pencils and markers. It livens up the pages--imagine "Today I had a croissant!" in big purple letters across the page. Not so flat anymore, right?		  

[An example of a recent journal
entry, with color!]

 

Illustrations by Jill Butler,
www.jillbutler.com.

  

And Why Not Art?
About a year or so ago, I discovered a book by Gwen Diehn called The Decorated Page. It illustrates, quite brilliantly, the myriad of ways you can liven up a journal--pens, paints, stamps, collage. The book includes lists of supplies, different techniques, and lots and lots of examples. You can't help but want to draw and paint and paste in colored papers and such!

Think you can't draw? I didn't either. But try it. It's a fabulous exercise in concentration and patience. (And not being too hard on yourself.) Feeling a little resistant to the drawing concept? Take a cue from Jill Butler, author of one of my favorite books, Wandering Paris, whose sketch I saw in a recent issue of the ShoreView newspaper. I cut it out and hung it by my work table to remind me. The caption? "Actually, I can draw--just look @ it and draw it and stop saying I can't - it's a lie."
All of that said, do you want to see what I'm talking about?
Check out the 1000 Journals Project. Launched in 2000, the 1000 Journals Project is an ongoing collaborative experiment attempting to follow 1000 journals throughout their travels. Journals are passed along randomly--to a friend or stranger--and each new person adds something, like a story or drawing. In 2007, they published a book with examples from the project. Check out their website to peak at what other folks do in their journals--it's kinda like snooping!
 

Find Out More...
While I may be relatively new to all this, these enhanced journals are more than a precursor or bi-product of the ubiquitous scrapbooking fad. Actually, illustrated books, or "illuminated manuscripts," date back to the sixth century, when stories and ideas were hand-copied and hand-painted by artisans and monastic scribes. Safely guarded in museums and monasteries throughout the world today, these historical examples of writing combined with art serve as inspiration to historians, scholars and artists alike.

  
 
Want to learn more? Here are some excellent books on journals, journaling, and my all time favorite illustrated journal, Sara Midda's South of France. I've owned it for 20 years and never tire of flipping through the pages. Wouldn't it be great to say that about your own journal someday?
 
   
1000 Journals Project
The Artist's Way
by Julia Cameron
The Decorated Journal
by Gwen Diehn
         
   
The Decorated Page
Gwen Diehn
Wreck This Journal
by Kerri Smith
South of France
by Sara Midda