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#atozchallenge : J is for Journaling #writing #fiction #quotes

 Theme: Quotes from Authors and Bookish People about Writing

 The second week of April, and I’m bravely venturing forth in the linky list, and visiting more bloggers than ever, way
more than in the last six months — and I’m meeting some awesome people, and renewing old acquaintances. I’m also enjoying the interaction with my fab team, Guilie, Anna, Samantha, Csenge, Vidya, Jemima and Mary! If you haven’t met them yet, you’re missing out– they’re one of the loveliest, most helpful, wisest ladies you’re likely to ever meet in the blogiverse!

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Today, we’re going to talk about writing and memory, and one of things that helps us preserve our memories, Journaling. Do you have a journal?

I keep a writing journal and a life journal, especially on the days when I’m neck deep in a fiction project. It helps me get back to the spark I was driving from and driving at when I first began. It helps me watch myself write, which I think is one of the biggest ways to write authentic stuff. We’re all to ready to gloss over bits we think might be unpleasant.

Honesty is a good thing in a memoir, but in fiction, it is priceless.

Here are the writing quotes for today:  

“If you want to write, you need to keep an
honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where
you just put down what you think about life, what you think about
things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair.”
 ― Madeleine L’Engle

 “A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a
writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every
scar
.”– Stephen King

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of her life, every quality of her mind is written large in her works.”–Virginia Woolf

Some things are hard to write about. After something happens to you,
you go to write it down, and either you over dramatize it, or underplay
it, exaggerate the wrong parts or ignore the important ones. At any
rate, you never write it quite the way you want to
.”
— Sylvia Plath

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Have you ever done Journaling?  When did you first use it ? Has it helped you? 

 

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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25 Comments

  • Susan Scott says:

    Great quotes Damyanti thank you. Journalling is useful for venting, writing maybe needs a little more detachment; no reason not to use the journal though in my view? Though not to keep the writing too detached – keep it raw and real. Notebooks, scraps of paper, jotttings down on napkins even .. all fodder. As is a dream journal.
    Garden of Eden Blog

  • Nice quotes. I've always held a romantic idea of keeping a journal but have never done so for very long. I'm currently keeping a sort of journal, but not a "personal" one because it entails writing about day to day stuff in French for my French prof…its a great way to improve my skills in that language, but at the same time it is a sort of "diary". I really like doing this, and of course, there is my new little blog. Thanks for the quotes and the interesting "J" topic.

  • Aah I've had a journal since forever now. One of the reasons why I started writing poetry to be honest 🙂

  • Nima Das says:

    I still write a diary every nite and i am 47!

  • Used to do it, but guess never was serious about it. More over, people used to think of it as a Joke. But over time, one realizes, a great repository for memories.. So moved to blogging, when I can 🙂

  • In one way i see my blog as my journal now…
    Liked the quotes!!

  • Eli Z says:

    I wrote as a crazy person in my diary – when I was a kid. Now, not on a regular basis, but I always stroll around with a notebook in my bag – wherever I go – just in case something grande:-) should pop up.. Love the quotes – and the read in general:-)

  • Writing in a journal is like getting a whole body massage… truly rejuvenating. It's been fifteen years and I still find them the much needed support on emotionally low days.

  • Beautiful quotes..Thanks for sharing 🙂

  • Sushree Dash says:

    Ya …I do write one secretly 😉 Thanks for the beautiful quotes on writing and for dropping by my blog finding out time from your busy schedule 🙂

    The A-Z Challenge is becoming an amazing experience 🙂

    http://drsushreedash.blogspot.in/search/label/A-Z%20Challenge

  • lillian888 says:

    Excellent quotations. I've kept a journal since I was in junior high. It's so important to have a place where I can say what I think the way I want to say it. So much of life is an obstacle course, maneuvering around other people's issues.

  • Romi C says:

    I started journaling at the age of eleven, and continued until I was eighteen.
    I wish I hadn't thrown away all those notebooks.

    http://romisdg.blogspot.jp/

  • I am not a writer in the traditional sense, but I always keep a journal to jot down ideas for creating lessons or activities for my classroom. I have been encouraging my students to keep a journal to write down thoughts, observations, or any interesting idea they come up with. Who knows, I may have future writers in my midst.
    2 Smart Wenches

  • I have always kept a journal since 2003. Although I admit I am not that religious in logging entries. I shifted from a conventional journal, to a blogger journal, and now to a secret e-journal — well at least I hope I don't mess up the settings on the online page and accidentally publishes everything. I am a subscriber to Madeleine L’Engle's quote above.

    Scribbling away err now, typing down my thoughts calms me down. That's why despite no matter how swamped I am with daily affairs of personal and work life, I still do my best to write down something even though it's not on a routine basis.

    Thanks for this prompt about journaling D! Visiting you for the A-Z April challenge. Happy weekend!

  • klahanie says:

    Hi Damyanti,

    Penny the Jack Russell has been typing to the point her paws can type no more. Keeping up with the alphabet challenge can be very stressful. So, while my beloved dog rests, I get to use the computer.

    I have never found the need to keep a journal. My writing and Penny's writing is spontaneous and that's the way we roll.

    Have a good Sunday, Damyanti. Evidently, you're allowed Sunday off for good behaviour. Sheesh! 🙂

    Gary

  • Spacer Guy says:

    Write and your talent will flourish. Thats my line and I'm sticking to it! (New follower)

  • I tried journaling in my younger days in the military, but I was much keener to socialise so it all fell away. I tried again about 20 years later, when I was involved in the first Gulf War. I kept some of those notes and they help me in two ways; to remind me of the days and the nights, and also the waste of life.

  • I really liked the one by Stephen King 🙂 Serves me with lot of inspiration, specially when I am down. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    IR Guy

  • Shaivi says:

    Wow! I loved the quotes! I used to keep a journal throughout school n college but since I began blogging, the blog has replaced the journal for I use it to express my views and feelings.

  • Madhu says:

    I used to keep a journal during my college days. But I never thought of it as something that would also help you in your writing projects. Interesting I will definitely try.

  • Ananya Tales says:

    I have never written one, as i didnt like what i was feeling and no point in sharing that but today my blog has become my journal 🙂

  • I kept diaries as a teen and wrote stories in those. I've never kept a journal for writing purposes, often said I would but maybe I'll get around to it. Another thing on my list as I write impulsely, even for this #AtoZ challenge.

  • cleemckenzie says:

    I'm with Sylvia. I can't get it down the way I want to.

  • I admit I've never kept a journal.
    Writing does draw upon the drama and angst of our own lives, which is a bummer for those of us who've had pretty good lives.