Wednesday, August 06, 2008

A Journal of Thought


"Journaling ~~~~ a place where soul and words convene." ~joni

A lot of times you’ll be riding down the road looking at the beautiful scenery passing you, drinking in the sun-swells of the road. Looking and listening to the alluring trees whispering from afar, inhaling the newly-fallen rain and from out of nowhere comes an idea for a story!

Do you impede traffic and dig out a notepad and pencil? Do you cause an accident by pulling off the side of the road to dig in your purse? NO! You have already had in place a Personal Voice recorder. Voice activated so that you can ensure your idea is not lost in the wind.

Now journaling doesn’t always have to be on a recorder. Sometimes you can be sitting on the sofa relaxing with a cup of tea, staring off into space as an idea comes to mind. You have your journal on hand, (because you’ve placed many of them throughout the house) and you write the complete thought down into your little journal.

A journal can also be used to write your day-to-day activities. A diary is different from a journal (in my mind’s eye) because a journal holds story ideas and the potential for articles or novels. A diary will hold all my deep dark secrets and will more than likely be hidden from daylight so as not to be ‘accidentally’ read by unwanted prying eyes!

My journal however SHOWS all the wondrous activities going on around me throughout my day! If I see a squirrel running up a tree, holding an acorn tightly in his mouth, my mind can think of an entire story out of just that whimsical event. Maybe the squirrel has family, maybe he is going to be selfish and hoard the goodies for himself. Maybe a kid with a BB gun is going to pop that running squirrel right in the stomach and I’ll have to watch him fall to the ground,(and think of yet another story.)

Journals are also a good thing to take with you on a lunch date with the girls. You know how we all love to gab and basically have a gabfest at every sitting? Well, your journal can be the window that you look out of and highlight the lunches gossip. It doesn’t necessarily need to be from your table of gossip maybe you overhear a couple breaking up? Maybe Arthur has died and now the elderly woman is all alone?

Whatever the case may be, behind every word there lies a story, and YOU need to be ready to get the idea down so you can turn it into a masterpiece! Whether it is on a recorder placed in your vehicle or pocket, a notebook in every accessible place in the house (including a small pad in your purse), or whether it is one square of toilet paper that holds your idea. Get the idea out!


Build a story, construct a piece of art out of words

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Good ideas as always. I find myself walking around talking to myself all the time. Maybe I should just turn on the recorder and see what happens. :-)

granny

joni said...

Good idea gran!
You never know if what you're telling yourself could be the makings of a story! :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Joni

June said...

Excellent advice to all people, writers and non-writers alike.

There are so many advantages to journal, no matter what the reason or focus.

Take care,
June