How To Pick The Best Journal For Writing

What is the difference between a diary and a journal?

A diary includes personal feelings, thoughts, and actions from that day.  A journal is a repository of your inspirations. 

In a diary you would put down you had lunch at Kateri’s Café.

In a journal you would write down the atmosphere around you, or the setting.   Type of seats, smells, waitress, other patrons, this would all go into your journal.

How to Get Started.

My first suggestion would be to purchase a portable notebook.  You don’t want something that is so big that you lug it around everywhere.  I have two notebooks.  One is about the size of my hand and easily fits into my purse.  The other is a little larger but once again, no so large that it gets in my way.

Lined or No Lines?

This is a great question. 

Are you more of a free spirit? Try a notebook with no line.  This allows you to be more creative.  Draw free form pictures, layouts, even doodles without the constraint of lines.

Do you like your writing in a strict format?  Lines pages are perfect for you.  Lines still allow you to be creative, but more structured.

What do I use?  I use a combination of both.  My small notebook has lines, basically because I can’t find on without lines.

My moleskin notebook pages are large graph pages like from math class.  I do a lot of pictures in my description, but I like straight lines. J 

I Am Still Not Sure

That is completely fine! Next time you in a bookstore, check out the different journals that are offered. When you open the journal and see lines, how do you feel? Like it, buy it, confined, put it back.

This also gives you a chance to hold it.  Too heavy? Nice color?

Yeh!  This goes for the men writers out there too!  Do you carry a messenger bag?  Maybe you use just a wallet.  You still need somewhere to write your thoughts, and a napkin gets tossed out too easily!

 

Start writing!

Kateri