Writing: A question for the journal-ers

[PerditaPickle]

I wasn't sure exactly where to put this, but anyway... do you journal?

If so, what do you journal about, just in general terms?  And is there a specific way in which you do your journaling?

I've just started a dream journal, and I'm obviously writing a little account of what happened in the dream and then listing any obvious symbols or themes that cropped up in it (also the date, what day of the week, what I'd been doing the day of the dream -working or not- and something about whether I'd consumed anything that evening which could impact the dreams I had, such as alcohol, cheese or spicy foods).

Is there anything else specific that you'd include in any dream journal entries?

[Kylara]

I wasn't sure exactly where to put this, but anyway... do you journal?

If so, what do you journal about, just in general terms?  And is there a specific way in which you do your journaling?

I've just started a dream journal, and I'm obviously writing a little account of what happened in the dream and then listing any obvious symbols or themes that cropped up in it (also the date, what day of the week, what I'd been doing the day of the dream -working or not- and something about whether I'd consumed anything that evening which could impact the dreams I had, such as alcohol, cheese or spicy foods).

Is there anything else specific that you'd include in any dream journal entries?

I don't dream journal, but I definitely journal. 

I tend to journal my way through divinations, so I'll draw cards or cast runes, and then do a quick sketch of the layout.  I'll either journal it out right then or let it sit for a day or two, and then come back and journal it out.  I write down my first, obvious impressions of each card/rune and it's position, but then I'll go for deeper meanings, and finally a "the whole reading at a glance".  For me...writing it out like this helps me actually go deeper.

I also did monthly reflections this past year, so each month, at the end, I'd look back and see what I did and write about it.  I journal about Sabbats (both "I just reread my Sabbat notes, and here are my thoughts on the themes of this Sabbat" but also, "I just did my Sabbat ritual, and here are my reflections on it.").  I do a new moon divination (for what my plans are for that moon cycle) and journal that out.

I also journal when I'm stuck on something.  I just grab a journal (because I have many) and start writing until I feel like I've said what I need to.  Sometimes I'll come back to those and read what I've written and then journal about what I read.  I also like to work through journal prompts and workbooks, so I'll find one online I like and journal my responses (right now I'm working on the Core Desired Feelings workbooks)

[Morag]

I wasn't sure exactly where to put this, but anyway... do you journal?

If so, what do you journal about, just in general terms?  And is there a specific way in which you do your journaling?

I've been journalling off and on for...oh, gods. 26 years? I think I started when I was 6. I'm not as consistent about it as I'd like to be, but I keep coming back to it.

My journalling used to be just accounts of my days and feelings; for a while I tried to dream journal, but I've never been able to stick to it as a regular habit. I tend more to write down my dreams when they seem Important in some way or I just can't shake them.

Lately I've split off my journalling, recording different things in different notebooks, and I've adopted Bullet Journalling as a way to keep lists of things or track certain things. So it's expanded beyond accounts of my days and basically become an external brain for me.

I have a writing notebook to keep track of my manuscripts, story ideas, word counts in certain months, ongoing writing projects; a work notebook to keep track of publishing projects, social media postings, and more; a Grimmerie that uses bullet journal techniques to record magic ingredients, spell work, correspondences, etc; and a general, all-purpose bullet journal where I record goals for the year, books read, movies watched, make lists of things I want to accomplish.... The list goes on.

In addition to my physical, ink-and-paper journals, I also try to write in my Dreamwidth on a regular basis -- that is more "accounts of my days" but it's also venting, rants, noodling out ideas to try to figure them out, updates on my goals, goal lists, etc....

One of my goals for 2019 is to get better about being more consistent on Dreamwidth in particular, and to work on journalling more in my ink and paper journals.

[Jenett]

If so, what do you journal about, just in general terms?  And is there a specific way in which you do your journaling?

I do - I started right around the time I started group witchy training because it was encouraged, and it turns out to be useful.

I do mine online - on LiveJournal originally, these days on Dreamwidth. I found that having a default 'writing for an audience' helps me articulate some of it, though I also make private posts for things that I want to note but not have other people see. (Both sites have options for 'anyone can read this', 'everyone I've given general access to can see this', custom filters for sub-groups of those access lists, and private posts only you can see. Most of my stuff is access-locked, but I also have some custom filters, for writing, for things with my priestess hat on, etc.)

I don't write every day, but I do try to do it often enough I can look back and figure out what was going on in my life (and I generally do a summary of doctor's appointments and things like that, as well as other major events.)

My dream posts are almost always private, and I just tag them as being dreams. That way I can go back and peer at them if I need or want to. I don't remember my dreams very often (usually a handful over about 10 days, every three months, and very scattered ones in between), so I try to note if there's anything obvious going on in my life, and then what I remember.

[PerditaPickle]

Another version of this thread ran for a bit on the temporary .org TC site earlier this year, and I wanted to capture those responses so (with Darkhawk's okay via Discord), I'm about to copy and paste them here.

First, here's my own update from the initial post in that alternate thread:

Do you journal?

If so, do you have a particular format that you favour? And where did you learn it (E.g. a book such as The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron, or maybe an internet site, or word of mouth? Or perhaps you came up with it yourself.)

For myself, I've started up a dream journal this year - I've refined my technique a bit since I first started with this, too

I start by recording the date then write up the dream in prose and having done this I go back over it & underline any features which seem as though they may be symbolic or significant (cigars, for instance).

At the bottom of the page I list those symbols, any themes which stand out, and the mood/s of the dream. I also make a note whether if I'd done anything the night before which might've affected my dreaming such as alcohol (or cheese!)

Finally, I go back to the top of the page and give a broad title (say 'party' or 'train journey') to the dream, for ease of reference when I'm flicking back through at a later date.

Would you include anything else, besides the above, in a dream journal if it were you?

(Disregard if not interested.)

[PerditaPickle]

Jenett replied to me as follows:-

I keep a general journal (in the sense of 'what's going on in my life', not generally externally guided questions) via Dreamwidth. (I am generally amiable about adding other people, and my posts are a range of 'what I've been up to' and rambles about things of interest.)

I've found that's the approach that's actually sustainable for me. (Though sometimes vary: I'm working around to writing up what I spent the last couple of days doing, because the doing was exhausting.
Would you include anything else, besides the above, in a dream journal if it were you?
Some people find it helpful to include the weather (I use a sleep tracking app, and I do notice some differences depending on the weather.)

I remember dreams (or even dreaming) fairly infrequently, and I actually find it much more helpful to have it electronically searchable. I do them as private posts on Dreamwidth, tagged with "dream" so I can pull them all up and look quickly for similarities or thematic things.

[PerditaPickle]

Eclecticwheel then said:

I keep a bullet journal. For the bullets there is a triangle for appointments and places to go, a square for things to do (these get filled in when I've accomplished the task), a bold dot for thoughts, ideas, things to remember, and events which are written in a summarized form without complete sentences, a heart for memorable moments or things that I don't want to forget, a star for urgent notes, and an arrow with a number to show that I've moved some information to a fresh page.

Beneath the bullets I make a >> sign and beneath it write in complete sentences if I want to, expanding on thoughts, ideas, things to remember, and events. Beneath a P>> sign I write out spontaneous prayers, sometimes as part of the entry.

It includes an index so that I can title and mark things I want to find later. Some pages may have various information -- bills I'm keeping up with, lists, and not have any bullets, but they're marked in the index.

I write out dreams like I would any other entry. The dreams are not compiled into one area in the journal. I merely write one down when it is significant to me. But I have a special dream index where all the dream titles are written down with a page number so that I can easily find them. They're written down in the index and dated in the order in which they occurred.

I read various bullet journaling styles online and adapted this technique from the resources I read. With bullet journaling one is encouraged to adapt. My journals used to be merely long or short entries with no summaries, notes, or indexes, and they weren't suitable to keep practical information like To Do lists or bill records.

This form of journaling is much more satisfying and practical. Most of it just consists of my thoughts and reflections, but there's quite a bit of other stuff, too. The wonderful thing is that I can include everything in one notebook -- reflections, dreams, lists, practicalities, and so forth. Sometimes I use it just to work out thoughts like a calendar I'm working on, and if I don't need to refer to that page later because it's a bunch of scribblings and random notes I don't index it.

You would think such a journal would seem disorganized, but with the index it's really not. I can find anything I need easily. I usually progress in numerical order on the numbered pages and just write on the next blank page, but sometimes I put some things in other sections of the notebook such as stories I'm working on. With the index I can write anywhere in the notebook without losing track of where everything is.

It has been really cool for me.

[PerditaPickle]

Followed by Sefiru who said:

I've tried journalling; I've tried blogging; every time it rapidly petered out into nothing. Heck, I barely take any vacation photos when I travel. I guess 'documentation' type writing is not my thing.

I do write fiction pretty steadily though. I like to write on loose paper so that I can work on whatever story or scene I feel like and then put them in order later.

I also keep a variety of notebooks for recipes, music, magics and so on but I wouldn't call them journals because they're organized by subject and not updated on any sort of schedule. For those I get bound notebooks, usually unlined, and then I often have the problem that I think the books are too nice to write in.

[PerditaPickle]

I found that having a default 'writing for an audience' helps me articulate some of it

I was just re-reading this thread as I'm about to link it elseforum, and I've found that the above is true for me too, having since started a (random) blog.  I'm kind of pleased that my blogging is (unexpectedly, as I hadn't set out with this as a goal) is helping with my goal of improving my critical thinking 'skills', somewhat.