On journals

MAKE magazine asks about how your notebook is organized. First, I pick a journal.

Sometimes I buy a nice journal. This boygirlparty journal is my current one, although it's all pink now because I spilled juice in my bag:



but usually I use a simple moleskine :



The journal must have at least some lines, because I like the structure of a lined page. With blank pages, my writing goes all over the place. I may doodle or draw a graph, but since I can't draw, I don't mind the lines. I find graph paper really satisfying sometimes. I like to make little charts using the squares, and of course, that can also serve as lines to direct my writing.

When I actually start to write in my journal, I always date and then start writing. Mostly it's complaining or an extensive list of everything I have accomplished that day. When I was in school, I'd write observations on the lecture that I did not need to memorize for the test, such as how Adlerian therapy could be used in various ways, or to write down books mentioned by the professor. I'll write down story ideas and to do lists. I'll write down quotes, although I do have a special journal for quotes. It's a ringdex- a bunch of index cards connected with a metal ring.

When I'm in the library, I write down the Dewey decimal numbers of the books I am trying to find in my journal. I heard that young folks don't know how to do this, and therefore can't find books in the library.

Anyway, to me, a journal is essential to life. The only problem is what to do with a filled journal. I keep them, but I have so many that space is an issue. I love the tactile feeling of writing on paper, so I'll probably journal forever.