Journals, planners, and the new year

My pile of journals, diaries and notebooks is slowly growing. I've kept journals sporadically over many years, but it's only this year that I really started to get into a more regular journaling practice. Earlier this year, I read Tristine Rainer's The New Diary, which showed me a whole new way of using a diary, including many different journaling techniques, which were pretty much all new to me. And in September, I began a new journaling routine - writing in my journal every day. And with every new practice comes a new journal to suit that particular practice. I also like my 5 year diaries. I've kept them for the past six years, and it's fun to see, on one page, what you've been doing on a particular day over the period of 5 years.

I also like to take this time of the year to prepare for the new year. To sit down and reflect on the year that is coming to an end, and to write down my plans, goals, and dreams for the new year that is coming. This year, I'm also preparing a special book, a sort of guide to accompany me through the year and help me keep on track, as I tend to lose sight too easily of all the plans, intentions, goals, and dreams as the year progresses. I'm also trying out a couple of special planners to help me get organised and to get things done. I'm looking forward to see how and if they work for me. But most of all I want to take it easy this year. Over the past years, I've tended to put too much pressure on the new year. Too much of the "this year, everything will be completely different" attitude. I'm still going to write a big list of all the things I want to change, achieve, make come true, but instead of expecting big things to miraculously happen, I'll just get on with doing the work, step by step, and trying to do my best.

What's your practice? Do you keep journals, diaries, special notebooks? Do you have a special routine or ritual to prepare for the new year?

Journal writing

I have signed up for a new course at BigPictureClasses (well, it actually started 2 weeks ago, but as usual, I'm behind...), a different course this time than the courses I've been taking in the last few months - courses on photography, mixed media art, scrapbooking (which I discovered that it isn't really my thing but which led me to mixed media, which allows me to put all those wonderful patterned papers and stamps into good use), photo post processing, generally getting creative etc. This course now is about writing. Journal writing, to be precise. I'm not a great journal writer, never have been. I haven't got piles of pink journals filled with my teenage thoughts, fears, crushes etc. I have a handful of travel journals and another handful of half empty journals, documenting my attempts of getting into to habit of exploring my life, analysing my inner self and creating memories for the future me through journaling. I'm probably just a rubbish interpreter of my inner self. I simply never got anywhere with journaling. But I've been quite envious of those who are great at pouring their hearts into their journals, having all those wonderful pages filled with memories to go back to.

I always enjoyed writing though. I used to be top of class in essay writing all through my school years. At the end of university, however, my confidence was crushed forever by the words of my professor, when discussing my master thesis with me: "Well, Ms B., writing just isn't your strenght". Unfortunately, these words are all that stuck, every praise and positive remark I've ever received during all of my many school years, and even after my masters degree (he accepted it, at least) where wiped out by those few words. Even when doing something personal as writing into a journal, I'd find myself sitting there facing the empty page, saying to myself, 'who are you kidding? don't you know? you just simply can't write!'.

But now, after all those years, I finally want to forget, or at least ignore, those words, and start to write again. However, there remains the initial problem, that I'm just not good at creating memories by filling endless pages in a journal. I just never go back and read them.

Last year, during a workshop, we did a test to find out what kind of learning type each of us was - visual, haptic, auditive, textbased. I expected that I learnt best by reading (considering I'm a bookworm, librarian, having studied lingustics and literature). As it turned out, I'm not. I'm the visual type (closely followed by text though), which, when thinking about it, actually makes a lot of sense.

Art journaling, something I've only just recently discovered, therefore seemed to be the perfect solution. A visual memory, with just some few significant (what a great word!) to complement them, making it the perfect memory for me to remember. But oh, how often did I find myself sitting there, nib pen ready in hand, struggling to find the right words to jot down, getting up to make a cup of tea, coming back, head still empty of the right words, afraid of ruining my page by getting too many or too few words, phrases, lines, on the page, messing up the whole balance of my work. And ending up with just the 'art' bit, missing it's 'journaling'.

And that's where the writing class comes in. I haven't actually quite gotten round to doing the writing exercises, to be honest, but I definitely intend to do them. After all, there's no hurry. All in it's own time. I have been reading through all the pages of the handouts and prompts and assignments, though. And I realised something. Nothing great, just a little thing. But more often than not, it's those little realisations, which probably, are quite obvious to everyone else, but which have been bothering us, annoying us, frustrating us, until, at last, the solution strikes us quite unexpectedly, and everything becomes clear. And that's exactly what happened.

The thing is: I don't have to write the journaling part down right t here and then, nib pen in hand, expecting the perfect words to just flow out from my brain right into my hand in the perfect journaling, all effortlessly, and easy. Instead, I can write it all up on my computer, play around with it, rearrange it, shape it, until it looks right, print it out, and then, nib pen and ink bottle ready, just copy it on to my journal page. 'Well, yes, why, of course, isn't it obvious??' You might be thinking right now, when reading it. It is actually is rather obvious. So why, I ask you, or rather myself, haven't I thought of it before??? It would have made my journaling life much easier these last few weeks. But at least, from now on, it will. At least I seriously hope so!

And although I'm not the auditive type, a little background music can be very inspiring, calming, encouraging, when writing or painting, so here's what I like to listen to when I'm creating (or reading in the train in the mornings), one of my absolute favourites, Vivaldi's Concerto in B minor RV 580 from the L'Estro Armonico collection (I love violins, and I love the minor keys). It's not the best quality, but I liked this version, and the b&w just fits perfectly. (Click here for another, newer version).

{Day 5} ~ Intended For Everyday Use

Prompt for Day 5 for Picture Winter: Intended for Everyday Use

Last year on New Year's Day, I started a 5-year-diary. Five short lines a day to plot down whatever I consider note-worthy. I always use my favourite (and only) Caran D'Ache goldplated ballpoint pen which I got as a present from my Mum almost 15 years ago and which I love and treasure (and another thing I use almost daily). I try to turn the journaling into a daily routine but don't always manage.

At the time I started this, I was teaching myself to read and write the "Offenbach" script, an old German script which looks like this, and for some reason which I can't really quite recall, I started writing my entries in this script (though in English rather than German). I wonder if in 20 years time I'll be able to read it at all. Probably not...

Textures by les brumes and Pareeerica

{Day 19} ~ Make a List

Alternative title: ~ Procrastination Queen ~

Prompt for Day 19 for Picture the Holidays was "Make A List". I'm a master of the art of procrastination. Unfortunately. I make a lot of to do lists, and usually, they help me get things done which otherwise I would have left for tomorrow, or the day after that, or anytime later... I admire people who managed to do things immediately and often wish that I could bring myself to that as well and get more organised. But then - nobody's perfect. And that's okay :-)

Textures: Shadowhouse Creations

{Day 14} ~ Sincerely Yours

Prompt for Day 14 for "Picture the Holidays" is "Sincerely Yours": Appreciating handwritten cards and letters, and trying to represent this while creating a vintage look.

 A few years ago, a dear friend of mine and I have started to write good old old-fashioned letters (those in the pictures are from her) to each other occasionally, complete with ink bottle, dip pen, seal and wax and trying to produce a neat and pretty script. We love going shopping for new coloured inks, pen holders, nibs and sealing wax. We also write text messages and e-mails, but it is so nice to find a real letter in your letter box, to know that your friend has taken the time (and it takes a lot of time) to sit down, get out all the writing stuff and write the letter, and to curl up on the sofa with a lovely cup of tea and read it.

I keep all my letters and cards (I have another friend who frequently sends postcards with short messages instead of electronic messages) in my "letter box".

When I was taking and processing this picture, I realised that it was quite a while since I wrote a letter, so many things have come in between. But it has inspired me to take time and start writing again :-).

The texture used here is by Kim Klassen.