The Value of Writing a Diary or Journal – Part One

People write journals for many different reasons, sometimes a journal will be written with no intention of publication while others write with publication in mind. The point is that you make the rules, it is your journal and you can decide what you write and when you write because you are writing to please yourself. Mae West once said  ”Keep a diary and one day it will keep you” that may be true for celebrities and politicians but it is rarely true for the rest of us. If you write with publication in mind  it is bound to influence the way you write and the subjects that you choose, and the things you leave out will be just as telling as the things you include. I suspect that for many the writing itself is the important thing, it provides a way to get into the habit of writing and to try to improve the writing style, it is enjoyable and just a little bit addictive.

I began writing a diary soon after I got married, in those days it was a diary rather than a journal, a written document in which I recorded an account of each day’s events. It was limited by the space available in the diary and it was in essence my conversation with myself. I think the subtle change to a journal happened when I had children, I wanted to hold on to every moment and my diary enabled me to do that. I became aware that I was no longer just talking to myself, I was also writing for my children who may one day relive little episodes of their childhood through my diary.

Here is an extract from my diary, I had forgotten about this little episode but I am so pleased that I was able to recall it through the pages of my diary 

As we were coming back from Music School at lunchtime Sam said “I have my usual maths and English homework, but there is something else this week; I have to catch a worm because Monday is take a worm to school day” He went on to explain that they are making a wormery. Surely my life is complicated enough without having to go out and dig for worms! I urged Sam to wait until Sunday afternoon before collecting his worm, but being Sam he just couldn’t wait and when I was working in the kitchen he brought in a large worm and put it into my hand. I was prevailed upon to provide a suitable container for it, and over the next hour or so I was introduced to five or six more worms in assorted sizes.

At teatime all my efforts to change the subject were thwarted and we were treated to a lecture from Sam on the reproductive habits of the earthworm. His understanding of the term hermaphrodite was rather sketchy, and my distant memories of `O’ Level Biology were too limited to be useful. Sam concluded in his deep and serious voice (which always makes me want to laugh) “I think it really means that they don’t enjoy themselves very much!”

We had a bit of a disagreement at bedtime when I realised that Sam had taken the worms to bed with him. I refused to allow him to have them on his bedside table. He said “mum, you can’t put them outside, they are part of the family now” We compromised and they are spending the night in the shed (in their container). I must remember to thank his teachers for completely disrupting our weekend.

Image by George Eastman House via Flickr

Oscar Wilde said “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” Unlike Oscar Wilde I don’t aim to be sensational, I don’t shy away from risque subjects if it seems appropriate, but I don’t aim to cause offence and I hope I know how far I can push a boundary without lapsing into bad taste.

I am starting to think that there is a streak of insanity running through our town. A couple of days ago I was driving through the center of town when I caught sight of an odd looking man. A second look revealed that he was holding a lead and he was taking his ferret for a walk! The poor creature must have been terrified of the traffic. This morning I was driving through town not far from the place that I saw the ferret when I pulled up at traffic lights. The passenger jumped out of a van that was slightly ahead in the lane next to me, I didn’t take much notice of him, until I suddenly noticed that he was mooning! I have no idea why he felt the world needed to be treated to that view so early in the morning, it certainly blighted my day! It reminded me of my visit to the zoo a couple of weeks ago, a baboon did something similar – but it had more reason to be proud!

There is something very special about reading an old diary and being transported back in time to a long forgotten moment, each entry is a tiny time capsule, so for me the main reason to write well is for myself. However the discipline of writing daily is good for a writer and it is a safe place to try out writing styles and to find your voice.

There is only a week until we are due to go on holiday in Norfolk. Sam informed me that he was packed and ready to go. I was somewhat surprised as I had just ironed a lot of his favourite clothes and they certainly hadn’t been packed. On closer inspection I found that our aspiring spy had packed all the essentials – a listening device, a mini voice recorder, invisible ink, an intruder alarm, assorted catapults and several sharks teeth. No clothes at all had been packed not even a change of underwear!

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