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• Journal Writing

How to Write a Journal Entry

Last Updated: February 21, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Nicolette Tura, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA . Nicolette Tura is an Empowerment Expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a decade of experience creating change in various non-profits then went on to operate her own wellness business for 10 years. Most recently, she worked as a Therapy Associate to a chiropractic neurologist for 15 months working hands-on with patients, helping them heal from neurological disorders like concussions, long covid, migraines, and more. Nicolette guides groups and individuals on transformative meditation journeys and game-changing mindset management workshops and retreats on empowering everyone to keep expanding beyond past conditioning and self-limiting beliefs. Nicolette is a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher with a Psychology & Mindfulness Major, a NASM certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and an expert in psychophysiology with experience in nervous system regulation and breath work. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree is Sociology from San Jose State University There are 16 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,834,830 times.

Keeping a journal allows you to record what’s happening in your life and to work through your thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, you might write a journal for school to help you deepen your understanding of what you’re studying. Fortunately, writing a journal entry is a simple process. First, choose a topic to write about, like what's happening in your life. Then, write an opening for your entry and express your thoughts.

Choosing a Topic

• This is a great way to help you document things you want to remember.
• For instance, you might write about something funny that happened at lunch, scoring the winning goal in a soccer game, or a fight you had with your friend. The events can be positive or negative.

• Let’s say you’re feeling sad because you’re going through a breakup. You could write about how you feel and what you’ll miss about the relationship. This will help you release your feelings so you can start to feel better .

• Write about what you’d like to do this weekend.
• Discuss a place you’d like to visit.
• Pretend that you found a fantasy creature.
• Write about something you want to change.
• Write from the perspective of your favourite book or movie character.

• A summary of a reading or lecture.
• Your analysis of the course material.
• Connections between topics you’ve studied.
• Personal connections you made with the coursework.
• Questions you have about the text or lecture.

Tip: Keep a journal for school focused on studying and analyzing your course material. For instance, you might summarize your coursework, record your reflections on it, and write down questions you have. Leave out how you feel about what you’re reading or studying.

Opening Your Journal Entry

• Your instructor has assigned journaling to help you deepen your understanding of your coursework and to improve your writing skills . Following their instructions will help you best achieve these goals.

• For instance, you might write, “July 24, 2019,” “07-24-19,” or “24 July 2019.”

• For instance, you might write “Good Beans Coffee House,” “School,” “Paris,” or “My bedroom” for your location. For the time, you could write the actual time, such as “12:25 p.m.,” or the time of day, like “Early morning.”

Tip: You usually don’t include a salutation when you’re writing a journal for school.

Expressing Yourself in a Personal Journal

• If mistakes really bother you, it’s okay to go back and correct them after you finish writing your journal entry.

• Turn a memory into a story.
• Record what you dreamed last night.
• Write a list, such as what you did that day or what you’re grateful for.
• Doodle or paste pictures into your journal.
• Record song lyrics or quotes that mean something to you.
• Write your own lyrics or a poem.
• Write in stream of consciousness.

• For instance, you’d write, “I went to lunch with Sari today,” not “Amy had lunch with Sari today.”

• For instance, let’s say you’re on vacation at the beach. You might include details like, “sea spray hitting my face,” “the smell of burning wood from bonfires on the beach,” “the taste of salt on my lips,” “the sun glinting off the surface of the water,” and “the shouts from other beach goers having fun.”

• With journaling, it’s more important to write often than to write a lot.

Drafting an Academic Journal Entry

• If you’re telling a story, try to follow a narrative structure to give it a beginning, middle, and end.
• Read over your journal entry before your submit it to check that it makes sense.

• For handwritten journals, your instructor may require that you simply fill up a page. Make sure you know the exact requirements so you can do your assignment correctly.
• If you’re struggling to think of something to write, make a mind map about the topic to help you brainstorm some new ideas.

• If you’re struggling with your grammar, visit your school’s writing center or ask your instructor about tutoring options. Additionally, you can find online programs that help you with grammar.

• This is especially important if you’re keeping your journal as a graded assignment.
• If you’re typing your journal entries in an online portal, there may be a spellcheck tool you can use. However, you should still proofread the entry to look for other errors.

Journal Entry Template

Community Q&A

• It’s best to write regularly so that journaling becomes a habit. To help you remember, write in your journal at the same time everyday. [19] X Research source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• You can write about anything you want, so don’t feel like you can only write about how you feel. You might instead prefer to write about your daily accomplishments or what you enjoyed that day. Thanks Helpful 24 Not Helpful 4
• While you can use a paper journal, there are journaling apps and websites you can try. Additionally, it’s okay to use a word processor like Google Docs or Microsoft Word for journaling. Thanks Helpful 15 Not Helpful 8

• Since your journal is private, prevent people from reading it by keeping it in a safe place. If it’s a digital journal, you might even password protect it. Thanks Helpful 25 Not Helpful 3

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/title
• ↑ Nicolette Tura, MA. Empowerment Expert. Expert Interview. 23 January 2020.
• ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/
• ↑ https://www.readingrockets.org/article/journal-writing
• ↑ https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/writing/writing-resources/journal-writing
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/assignments/writing-an-abstract-for-your-research-paper/
• ↑ https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide/reflective-journals-and-learning-logs.shtml
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/blog/ready-set-journal-64-journaling-prompts-for-self-discovery
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-health-benefits-of-journaling
• ↑ https://www.bates.edu/biology/files/2010/06/How-to-Write-Guide-v10-2014.pdf
• ↑ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1081806.pdf
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/style/connectingideas/
• ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/writing-therapy/
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/capitalization
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/proofreading
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/modern-minds/202301/10-good-reasons-to-keep-a-journal

About This Article

To write a journal entry, first find a quiet, comfortable spot where you won’t be disturbed. Take a moment to brainstorm what you want to write about. You can journal about anything, like your day, your dreams, work, school, friends, or an upcoming project. If you’re not sure, choose a writing prompt for your entry, like “What was your earliest childhood memory?” or “What is your biggest secret?” Open to a new page in your journal and write the date at the top. Then, start writing. Let your thoughts flow and don’t edit yourself. Write whatever comes to mind. It’s okay to be honest since nobody else will be reading what you write. Draw pictures if specific images come to mind while you’re writing. Try to journal for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes every day. The more you journal, the easier it will become! Keep reading to learn how to write a journal entry for school! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Write A Journal Entry: Unleashing Your Thoughts with Power and Clarity

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on July 22, 2023

Categories Writing

Whether you’re looking to capture precious moments, explore your deepest thoughts, or simply jot down daily happenings, journaling can be a powerful tool.

It’s personal, it’s therapeutic, and most importantly, it’s yours. However, starting a journal may seem daunting if you’ve never done it before. You might ask yourself: ‘What should I write? How should I begin?’

Don’t worry! This guide will help you understand the basics of journal writing. From choosing your journal and setting it up to developing a regular routine and overcoming common challenges – we’ve got you covered.

So grab that pen and prepare to embark on an exciting journey of self-discovery through words!

Key Takeaways

• Journaling is a personal and therapeutic practice that helps with self-discovery, mindfulness, and reducing stress.
• Choosing the right journal medium and personalizing it with decorations and a cover that reflects one’s personality can enhance the journaling experience.
• Developing a regular journaling routine by allocating dedicated time each day and treating journaling as an important task in the daily schedule is crucial for consistency.
• Journal entries don’t need to be perfect or lengthy essays; instead, they should reflect thoughts and emotions genuinely and honestly.

Understanding the Basics of Journaling

You’ve probably heard about journaling, but do you really understand what it means to pour out your heart onto paper, sifting through the noise of your mind and finding clarity in those quiet moments?

Journaling is a key tool for self-discovery and mindfulness. It’s not just about recording events or ideas; it’s more personal, a way of connecting with your thoughts and feelings.

Diving into the benefits of journaling, you’ll find that it can be therapeutic. It allows you to declutter your mind, reducing stress and improving mental health. You get to understand yourself better by reflecting upon your experiences and expressing emotions freely. Additionally, journaling enhances creativity as you explore different thoughts without judgment or fear.

There are many journaling styles to choose from – traditional diary entries, bullet journals for task organization or gratitude journals focusing on positive aspects of life. Your style should resonate with you personally; after all, this is about understanding yourself deeply.

So go ahead, pick up that pen! Start writing without worrying about punctuation or grammar errors. Remember it’s more important to record your raw emotions than aim for perfection!

Choosing Your Journal

Don’t fret about the perfect notebook or digital app for documenting your thoughts and experiences; it’s more crucial that you find a medium that suits your style and comfort. Your journal aesthetics should reflect your personality, whether it’s a simple lined notebook, a sophisticated leather-bound diary, or an easy-to-use app on your smartphone. It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy—what matters is how much you enjoy using it.

Consider these factors when choosing between traditional versus digital journals:

Material selection is also important in a physical journal. Are you drawn to thick paper that can hold fountain pen ink without bleeding? Or do you prefer thin pages that make the journal lighter?

You’ll realize there isn’t one ‘right’ answer when picking out your journal. The goal here is to create an environment where you feel free to express yourself honestly and openly – this will keep you inspired and motivated to maintain regular entries. So go ahead, pick what feels right for you!

Setting Up Your Journal

Starting your new diary isn’t as intimidating as it may seem, and there’s no ‘right’ way to do it. Let’s dive in with a few tips to get you started on setting up your journal.

Firstly, grab your chosen journal. It’s time for some fun! Journal decoration allows you to personalize it and make it truly yours. Use stickers, doodles, or whatever sparks joy for you. This personal touch can enhance the overall experience of writing in a journal, making each entry more enjoyable.

Next comes the cover selection. While some prefer minimalist designs for a clean look, others might opt for vibrant colors or patterns that reflect their personality—it’s entirely up to you! But remember, choosing a cover that resonates with you will make this journey more inviting.

Now let’s talk about format. You can choose whether to date every entry or not; write long form or bullet points; keep it strictly text-based or incorporate sketches and photos too. The freedom is all yours!

You see? Setting up your journal doesn’t have to be daunting at all! With these simple steps, you’re ready to start crafting those entries now! So go ahead—dive into the world of self-expression and exploration that is journaling.

Tips for Writing Your First Entry

Embrace the blank page before you—it’s your canvas to pour out thoughts, dreams, and everything in between. When writing your first journal entry, remember that it doesn’t need to be perfect. You’re not being graded or judged—this is your personal space for reflection.

Start by defining an Entry Structure. Whether it’s a recap of your day, a reflection on something specific, or thoughts about future plans—it’s up to you. But having some sort of structure can help guide you through the process and keep your thoughts organized.

Next, breathe life into your entry with Personal Voice. Your journal is an extension of yourself; it should reflect who you are and how you feel.

Don’t get too hung up on grammar or punctuation—concentrate more on getting your ideas down on paper. Make sure each entry feels complete in its own right—like a mini story within the larger context of your life.

Most importantly, let go of any expectations and just write what comes naturally to you. This is where honesty meets creativity—your journal entries should be genuine expressions of yourself without any filters or pretenses.

Over time, these pages will become invaluable snapshots of moments from your life—a testament to who you were at different stages along the way.

Developing a Regular Journaling Routine

Cultivating a habit of daily musings and reflections can seem like climbing a mountain at first, but remember, even the mightiest Everest was conquered one step at a time—a metaphor for how consistency in your routine will gradually build up to an enriching narrative of your life.

How do you go about developing this regular journaling routine? Here are some steps that may help:

First, identify the right tools for journaling. This could be as simple as pen and paper or more complex like digital apps and software. The key is to find what works best for you—remember, comfort is king.

Secondly, dedicate specific times each day to write in your journal. This helps create consistency and turns it into a habit over time.

Lastly, don’t fall into the perfectionist trap! Your entries don’t have to be lengthy essays—they just need to reflect your thoughts.

Time management plays an essential role here. Allocate dedicated slots in your daily schedule exclusively for journaling. Treat it with importance—it’s not just another task on your checklist but rather a rendezvous with yourself.

Remember, this journey isn’t about achieving literary brilliance—it’s about self-discovery through candid expression. Keep going at it every day—you’ll soon see how rewarding it can truly be!

Making Your Journal Personal

Breathe life into your daily musings by making them truly yours, as unique and intricate as the thoughts swirling inside your mind. You’re not just jotting down random notes, you’re infusing a piece of yourself into each journal entry. Personalizing Techniques are significant tools to make this happen.

Start by choosing a theme that resonates with you. Are you passionate about travel? Then make every page an exploration of places you’ve been or wish to visit someday! If cooking is your thing, use the pages to record recipes, describe tastes and aromas. For those who find tranquility in nature, paint vivid landscapes with words; let the chirping birds fly off your page!

Emotional Expression is another critical aspect of personalizing your journal entries. Don’t shy away from expressing feelings – joy, sorrow, confusion, or excitement – they all add depth to your narrative. Pour out your heart on paper and let it be a cathartic release.

Remember to be genuine and authentic in each entry. This journal is yours alone – it should reflect who you are and what matters most to you. Be creative, be expressive but above all else – be true to yourself when writing these personal narratives!

Dealing with Writer’s Block

As you continue to make your journal more personal, you might encounter a common issue: writer’s block. Don’t worry, it’s normal and happens to everyone at some point. But what do you do when the words just won’t flow?

There are several methods that can help get those creative juices flowing again. Engage in activities that provide creative stimulation such as painting, photography or even cooking. These endeavors can spark new ideas and perspectives for your writing.

Utilize unblocking techniques like freewriting where you write continuously without worrying about grammar or punctuation. This method helps clear mental blocks by letting ideas flow freely.

Change your environment. Sometimes, a change of scenery can inspire fresh thoughts and ideas.

Remember, it’s crucial not to pressure yourself too much – stress often contributes to writer’s block. Keep in mind why you’re writing this journal – for self-expression and reflection, not perfection. And sometimes, stepping away from your journal for a short while can also be beneficial. A little break revives your mind and when you come back to it later, you’ll have a whole new set of experiences to share!

Maintaining Privacy and Security

Just because you’re pouring your heart out on paper doesn’t mean it has to be an open book for everyone. As a journal writer, maintaining privacy and security should be top priorities. You wouldn’t want your deepest thoughts and feelings falling into the wrong hands.

Start by considering physical security. Keep your journal in a safe place where others can’t easily access it. For instance, consider using a lockbox or even a locked drawer to store your journal when not in use.

Digital safeguards are equally important if you’re keeping an electronic journal. Use strong, unique passwords that can’t be guessed easily. Consider encrypting your entries or using password-protected documents. Regularly update your software and devices to ensure they have the latest security updates.

Remember, the confidentiality of your journal is paramount. These steps will help protect it from prying eyes. The key is to take proactive measures towards ensuring both physical and digital security of your journal’s contents without compromising its accessibility for you. After all, this personal record serves as an emotional outlet. Let it remain private and secure just like the thoughts within it.

Review and Reflect on Your Entries

While keeping your journal entries secure and private is crucial, it’s equally important to take time to revisit what you’ve written. This brings us to our next key area: reviewing and reflecting on your entries.

Reflective techniques are a great tool for this. As you read through past entries, consider the feelings and thoughts that prompted those words. Do you notice any recurring themes or patterns? Has your perspective changed since writing them?

This process of entry analysis helps you understand yourself better over time. Take note of significant growth points or shifts in thinking; they can serve as guideposts in your personal journey. It’s like having a conversation with your past self, lending insights that might have been overlooked otherwise.

Don’t rush the review process. Let it be an opportunity for introspection, learning from past experiences, and acknowledging progress made. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to reflect on your journals; what matters most is that it resonates with you personally.

So as you flip through old pages filled with scribbled emotions, remember – each word tells a story about who you were at that moment in time. Embrace this chance to connect deeper with yourself through reflection.

Encouraging Growth and Change

In the garden of your self-awareness, each penned thought is a seed, sprouting over time into patterns and insights that encourage personal growth and transformation. Your journal entries are more than just words on a page; they’re glimpses into your soul, an exploration of who you truly are.

Embracing vulnerability in your journal can be one of the most empowering things you do. It’s about stripping yourself bare and confronting all aspects of your being – the good, the bad, and everything in between. This openness with oneself encourages inner growth.

Here are some tips to encourage this change:

• Approach each entry with honesty: don’t shy away from difficult topics.
• Write regularly: consistency helps build momentum for change.
• Reflect on past entries: see how far you’ve come.
• Make note of lessons learned: use these as stepping stones for future growth.
• Chart progress: keep track of your evolution over time.

With every word written down, every emotion expressed, every reflection made – you evolve bit by bit. Your journal becomes a testament to this evolution. So keep writing, charting progress along the way; not because it’s easy but because it’s worth it.

Tips for Long-Term Journaling

Maintaining a long-term record of your thoughts and experiences can be quite the challenge, but with some practical tips, it’s more than doable. Journaling rewards you in countless ways, including promoting self-expression, emotional release, and memory improvement. It’s like having a conversation with yourself that also sharpens your mind.

To start with, set aside dedicated time each day for your journaling routine. This doesn’t have to be an hour; just five or ten minutes will do. Find a quiet space where you can focus on your writing without distractions. Also, remember that there’s no right or wrong way to journal; write what feels natural and true for you.

Continuity is key in long-term journaling. Even if life gets busy or throws curveballs at you, keep up the habit. You may find shorter entries during tough times are manageable and still beneficial.

Embrace the evolving nature of your entries as they reflect changes over time in perspectives and personal growth. Make it fun by using colorful pens or stickers — make the process enjoyable so it never feels like a chore.

The essence of long-term journaling lies not only in recording facts but also capturing emotions and thought processes – moments that enhance memory improvement and create rich records of personal history over years to come.

Therapeutic Benefits of Journaling

You might not realize it, but your pen can be a powerful tool for managing stress and improving mental health. When you pour your thoughts onto paper in the form of journaling, you’re actually practicing an effective form of self-care.

You’ll find that this simple habit can serve as a free therapy session, helping you navigate through life’s ups and downs while keeping your mental well-being on track.

Stress Management

Feel the tension melt away as you scribble down your worries onto the blank canvas of your journal, transforming them into tangible words rather than overwhelming thoughts. Journaling can be a powerful stress management tool, helping you unmask stressors and their physical manifestations in your life.

To make this process more effective, consider these tips:

Identify what causes you stress: it could be work-related issues or personal matters.

Pay attention to physical signs of stress like headaches, digestive problems, or sleeplessness.

Write about your feelings openly and honestly without fear of judgment.

Explore possible solutions to manage or eliminate these sources of stress.

Reflect on what you’ve written over time to track any patterns or improvements.

The act of writing helps untangle complex emotions and brings clarity.

Improving Mental Health

Navigating life’s ups and downs is no easy feat, but penning your thoughts can be a beacon of hope in those stormy times. You’re not alone; many individuals struggle with their mental health, often due to societal stigmas.

By acknowledging these harmful stigmas and embracing the benefits of journaling, you’ll see vast improvements in your mental well-being over time. Keep writing; it’s one step closer to better mental health!

Inspiring Journal Entry Ideas

Ready to elevate your journaling routine? Let’s dive into some inspiring journal entry ideas.

From intriguing writing prompts that’ll ignite your creativity, to themed entries that let you explore different aspects of your life, these are sure to make every journaling session a fulfilling and rewarding journey.

Writing Prompts

You’re probably wondering where to start with your journal entry, so why not try some writing prompts to unleash your creativity and thoughts? These prompts can be categorized into different themes for easier selection.

Selecting a prompt based on your mood or interest can stimulate deep self-reflection and make your journaling experience more meaningful and engaging. Create an environment that inspires creativity, grab a pen, and let your thoughts flow freely!

Themed Entries

Moving on from writing prompts, let’s dive into another interesting and creative approach, known as ‘Themed Entries’.

This method revolves around the concept of thematic exploration where you pick a specific theme or subject matter to write about in your journal. It could be anything from love, travel, self-improvement, to even seasons of the year.

It’s not just about words though; consider incorporating visual elements too. Include drawings, photographs or any image related to your chosen theme for added depth and personal touch.

This way, your journal becomes more than just a diary; it transforms into an artistic chronicle that visually represents your thoughts and experiences pertaining to the chosen theme.

Remember, themed entries can make your journaling journey more engaging and insightful!

Overcoming Common Journaling Challenges

Facing common journaling challenges can be tough, but don’t worry, you’re not alone; many people struggle with finding the time to write, maintaining consistency, or even knowing what to say.

One of the most daunting hurdles is overcoming your journaling fears. It’s natural to feel anxious about expressing yourself freely on paper. Remember though, this space is just for you—there’s no judgement here.

Emotional vulnerability can also be a barrier in journaling. You might find it hard to confront and articulate your feelings. But consider this: allowing yourself to be honest and open in your entries helps you understand yourself better and promotes emotional growth.

If time is an issue, start by setting aside just five minutes a day for writing – you might surprise yourself with how much you can express in such a short span! To maintain consistency, try making journaling part of your daily routine – perhaps first thing in the morning or last thing at night.

Bear in mind that there’s no right or wrong way to keep a journal; it’s all about creating space for self-discovery and reflection. So shake off those challenges and let your thoughts flow onto the page!

Celebrating Your Journaling Journey

–v 5.2 –ar 16:9

Embarking on your personal voyage of self-expression and introspection is truly a cause for celebration. Journaling has the power to transform your life, one entry at a time. As you continue on this path, it’s important to stop now and then, acknowledging your progress and celebrating your journaling journey.

To make it even more fulfilling, consider these four steps:

Set Journaling Milestones : They can be as simple as successfully writing for a week or filling up an entire journal.

Celebrate Achievements: Whenever you hit a milestone, do something special for yourself—maybe buy a new journal or take time out to read through past entries.

Share Your Journey: If comfortable, share some aspects of your journey with trusted loved ones—it may encourage them to start their own.

Recognize the Rewards: Acknowledge how journaling rewards you—from stress release to improved clarity of thought.

Remember that every entry adds value to your life story. You’re not just penning down thoughts; you’re creating an intimate memoir filled with reflections, dreams, and experiences unique to you alone. So celebrate every word written—each one signifies growth in this enriching practice called journaling!

How to Write a Journal: 6 Tips to Get Started

by Pamela Hodges | 61 comments

Writers are collectors of ideas, and where do we keep them? On scraps of paper, napkins, the notes app of our phones, and sometimes in journals. But as anyone who's started a journal can attest, sometimes it's hard to begin and even harder to keep one going. So how to write a journal? What to write in a journal? Let's look at some simple ways to start capturing ideas. 

There are a number of ways to capture ideas, from keeping a gratitude journal, to a reading journal, to a project journal. No matter what type of journal you keep, let me share with you some tips from my journaling experience for how to keep a journal and why a journaling habit pays off for writers.

4 Advantages of Keeping a Journal

Julia Cameron, acclaimed author of The Artist's Way and more recently a 6-week program outlined in a book called Write for Life, begins the writing and artistic life with a practice she calls morning pages. In essence, she suggests writing three pages each morning to explore ideas and life, and to clear the mind.

The benefits of journaling this way are numerous. Writers who establish regular journaling time may find it helps them clear their minds and explore new ideas.

There are many reasons why it is a good idea to keep a journal. I want to share four big reasons this daily habit may help you with your writing process and develop your writing skills.

1. Remember details

When I traveled to Europe in 1978, I kept a journal of my daily life. I have notes from the trip to Greece where I wiped out on a moped, weeded sugar beets on Kibbutz Reshafim in Israel, and hitchhiked through occupied territory in the south of Israel.

There were several details of my trip that I had completely forgotten until I re-read my personal journals.

Recording the details of your life can enrich your stories. One year when for The Spring Writing Contest at The Write Practice, I wrote a story about when the IRS called me to say I owed money.

In my first draft, I wrote that the amount they said I owed was, $638. After I had completed the first draft I went back to the notes I had written in my journal, and the correct amount was over six thousand dollars: $6,846.48 to be exact. Well, maybe there are some things we don't want to remember.

Thankfully, I didn't send the money. It wasn't the real IRS. But it was even better than a writing prompt for a story idea.

2. Find old friends

Keeping a journal can help you find old friends. One of the women I met on November 26th, 1978, wrote down her address. I found her on Facebook and just sent her a message. (Social media and Google can also help, but the journal did remind me of her name.)

We'll see if she responds to my Facebook message. It has been almost forty years since she lent me a pair of gloves when I scraped my hand on the pavement when I fell off my moped.

3. Help process feelings and ideas

When you keep thoughts in your head it can be hard to know how you think and feel. Writing down how you feel will help you process your emotions , as feelings become words, which can be then be edited.

Processing your feelings and ideas can lead to personal growth and peace, but that's not all. Expressive writing can be therapeutic, but it can also help you flesh out characters later. 

4. Preserve the writer's history

When you are dead and a famous writer, your journals will give your readers insight into your life, thoughts, and process.

You may never sell more than one hundred copies of your book, you may never publish your writing, or your journals may only be read by the mice that crawl through your basement. Or your journals will be read by zombies after the zombie apocalypse, sharing insight into your life and daily routines.

If you don't want anyone to read your journal, keep it in a locked box and swallow the key. (Please don't really swallow the key. It would be unpleasant to have to find it again, and you might choke.) Put the key in a safe spot, and then remember where you put it. 

6 Tips for How to Keep a Journal (and What to Write in a Journal!)

Now you know why journaling can be helpful. But how should you journal? It is very personal, and you should do what works best for you. But I will give you some tips to help you get started on a journaling practice.

1. Choose your kind of journal

You have several options for how to keep your journal.

A book, where you write with a pen or pencil onto paper:  Write in a book that is not so pretty you are afraid to write in it. Keep the size small enough you don't mind carrying it in your messenger bag, and big enough you can read your handwriting. Do not try journaling at night when the only paper you have on your bedside table is a bandaid. The next morning I couldn't read my writing on the band-aid, and the idea I wanted to journal was lost.

The advantage of pen to paper is you can write without having to be plugged into an electronic device. You don’t have to worry about a dead battery, and you can write even when the sun is bright or the airline makes you turn off your electronic devices.

The disadvantage to a paper journal is if you lose the journal and you didn’t make a copy of it, you have lost all of the writing. But either way, the journal writing helps you pay attention and record the moments of everyday life that will fade with time otherwise.

Software: There are several software applications and journaling apps on the market you can use to keep a digital journal. Be sure they sync to the cloud, as you don’t want to lose your entries because you fry your computer's hard-drive. 

Journey and Day One can add photographs and text, and export all of your entries into a PDF. You can also journal in Google Docs,  Microsoft Word, or Scrivener and save your files to a cloud-based program that will keep your files safe if you lose your computer or pour water on your keyboard.

2. Date your entry

You think you will remember when it happened, but without a written date, you might forget. Make it a part of your journal writing routine to date the entry.

3. Tell the truth

The journal is a record of how you felt and what you did. Telling the truth will make you a reliable storyteller.

If you haven’t cleaned the seven litter boxes for a week, don’t write that you clean them every day simply because you want your readers one hundred years from now to think you had good habits. The beauty of journal writing is that you can record things honestly for yourself that you might not otherwise record or share. 

4. Write down details

Record details like the time, location, who you were with, and what you were wearing. Details will help bring the memory alive when you record using your five senses .

To this day, if I smell a certain kind of Japanese soup, I can remember vividly the day I flew to Korea to renew my Japanese visa, only to discover the Japanese embassy was closed for a traditional Japanese holiday.

5. Write down what you felt

What you were thinking? Were you mad? Sad? Happy? Write down why.

6. Write a lot or a little

A journal entry doesn’t have to be three pages long. It can be a few words that describe what happened, a few sentences about the highlight of your day, or it can be a short description of an event from your day, where you describe details to help you remember what happened. What time of day was it? What sound do you remember?

Your journal entry might be a drawing, a poem, or a list of words or cities you drove through. It is your journal, and you have the freedom to be creative.

You can use journal writing prompts or simply tap into a memory that floats into your mind. 

Bonus tip: How to write a journal entry

Aside from the date, you can write your journal entry in a number of ways. You can write stream-of-consciousness, try bullet points written rapid fire, you can use various art materials, or any form that speaks to you.  Try a list or a mix of writing and doodling, or even dialogue exchanges. 

The most important thing is just to take the journaling time and make a regular habit of it, even if it isn't on a daily basis. The words will show up when you do. 

When to Journal

There is no right or wrong time to write in a journal. Write when you will remember to do it. Do you always brush your teeth before you go to bed? Have writing in your journal be part of your bedtime routine. Perhaps put it on your bedside table, or beside your hammock, or on the floor beside your futon.

If you are a morning person, consider keeping your journal on the table where you drink your morning coffee, tea, water, milk, or orange juice.

These are only suggestions. You don’t have to write down your feelings or why you felt a certain way. I hate being told what to do. Even if it is a good idea. But I hope you'll give it a try and see if you find it unlocks your own writing. 

Do you write in a journal? Why is keeping a journal a valuable practice? Please tell us in the   comment s.  

Do you write in a journal? Do you think writing in a journal is a good idea for a writer, or a bad idea? Please tell us why in the comments .

Write for fifteen minutes about some aspect of your day as though you were writing in a journal. Your journal entry might be a drawing, a poem, a list of words, or a list of cities you drove through.

Please share your writing in the Pro Practice Workshop here and leave feedback on someone else’s practice today. We learn by writing and by reading.

Pamela Hodges

Pamela writes stories about art and creativity to help you become the artist you were meant to be. She would love to meet you at pamelahodges.com .

61 Comments

I found writing a journal to be a learning experience in itself. When I started, I soon realised I didn’t really know what I was trying to achieve. It seems obvious now but I had to keep at it a while for that to become apparent. Everyone has to find their personal journalling style. A few pointers certainly help, so thanks for your post. I completely agree about the sensory aspect. It’s not the result of a to-do list we’re writing, it’s shades of what gave meaning to our day.

Hello Saul Marchant, I love your description, “shades of what gave meaning to our day.” So, not just a list, but what has meaning. Best, xo Pamela

I also like your “shades of what gave meaning to our day.” Sometimes I find myself lamenting that I want more meaning in my activities—as evidenced by my journal entry above. I need to remember that the purpose and the meaning come from my perspective of the experiences, in all the various colors and shades. Thank you.

I agree with Pamela I to love your description “shades of what gave meaning to our day. I think I fall more into a listing journalistic style but time has lead me to include more meaning as I progress.

Pamela, Thank you for a great article on journaling. I started out writing a diary when I was twelve years old, then moved into journaling as an adult, which I did for twenty years, and dropped off for about five years. I renewed my journaling practice in September 2002 and began daily journaling shortly after that. I record the date and time of the entry and number my pages. I am now on page 6515 (since 2002). Some days I journal just a paragraph—other days, I write up to ten pages. It depends on what is happening in my life, and how I am feeling. The time of day and my energy level also play a part—sometimes, I am too tired to write much, but I arrange my day so that I journal every day. I am in the process of reading previous entries and harvesting them for prompts for my fiction writing and blog posts. The depth and wisdom of some of my entries amaze me. Journaling enriches my life and allows me to process my feelings and emotions which contribute to my well-being.

Hello Billie L Wade, Thank you for sharing your journaling experience. I love the idea of numbering the pages. I regret not keeping a journal when I lived in Tokyo, I have some of my letters a friend saved, but there is so much I don’t remember. Would you like to share a short excerpt from when you were twelve, or something more recent, in the comment section on The Write Practice? xo Pamela

Hi Pamela. Unfortunately, I no longer have my journaling prior to 2002 (long stories). The following entry is indicative of a frequent experience with me in which I start out with with a challenge, problem, or issue and come to some resolution by the end of the session. This entry spans pages 6447-6449. This is not edited except to remove names of people. Thank You.

Monday, 3/20/17, 9:38 p.m. I’ve been afraid I’ll die before I’m ready, before I feel fulfilled, before I’ve done what I want to do, before I’m successful, before I’m “self-actualized,” before I’m joyous. At the same time, I hear of young people—22, 35, 38—with plans and futures and young children, dying of cancer and strokes. I’m 67. I’ve lived to see my son grow into adulthood. Really puts things into perspective. I’m not financially wealthy, but I have enough—my bills are paid; I have life, car, renters, health, and supplemental insurance; I have food; I enjoy dining out with friends; I can afford my medications; I have a car; I have books and magazines to read; I can think and feel and love; I can see and hear; I have my natural teeth; I have a new cell phone; I have leather-bound journals and hand-crafted pens; I drink bottled water that is delivered to me; I live in a beautiful apartment with a nice, green view; if I’m frugal, I can afford a few extras each month. I have people in my life who care about me; by many standards, I’ve had three successful careers, I’m educated and articulate; I can taste and smell and feel the sensuousness of touch; I can write; I have challenging projects to work on; I have a therapist who “gets” me and respects me; I have [my family]. The future is uncertain—always has been—and I sometimes feel frightened when I hear the prospects. I read an article within the past few days in which the author wrote something similar to “our acceptance and behavior in the present moment are predictors of our future.” When I am joyful and grateful and fully alive in the present moment, I have a better chance that I will do so in the future. The more I cultivate an attitude of gratitude, faith, and hope today, the more likely I will feel those attitudes in the future. And, how great it would be to die as [my partner] did—with joyful anticipation and expectancy; with gratitude; with hope; in peace. I can feel fulfilled every day by bringing acceptance and awareness and appreciation to everything I do.

…exquisite … and inspiring

thank you for your gift of words and reflection

Thank you Susan.

I started keeping a journal in the third grade, after reading “Harriet the Spy.” I have a drawer full of them, dated and numbered, and I get them out to browse whenever I’m working on a kids story or something YA. It’s a great resource for me to be able to see how a twelve year old mind worked. I’m so glad I kept them. My five year old keeps a drawing journal of the things he sees during the week, which I hope will eventually grow into something he does for a lifetime.

Hello Amanda Niehaus-Hard, Wow! How exciting to have writing from when you were twelve. I am happy you kept them too. What a treasure. A drawing journal is a great idea, a way to journal for children who might not be writing yet. If you would like to, please share a short excerpt from one of your third grade journals with the date, and/or one of your child’s drawing, if they don’t mind. All my best, xo Pamela

Hi Amanda, I am impressed that you have your journaling from age twelve, organized so you can easily use them. Everything I wrote before 2002 was destroyed, and I miss not having all of my writing. I am glad you can use your journaling to inform what you are writing now. Happy writing to you.

Hi, I did not want to do it this way, but this is regarding my guest post submission idea that I proposed on 31st March. I got the email of confirmation from the automatic mailing system, but did not recieve any manual response for the idea that I had submitted. What has brought me here today is that just six days later, a guest post was published on this very website titled “Show, Don’t Tell : How to Inject Drama Into Your Writing.” This did not seem to be a coincidence, since when I read the article, most of it seemed to be derived from the idea that I had proposed to you, and got no response to. I wrote another email, and that too has not recieved a reply regarding the state of my query. I know that this is not how this matter is appropriately resolved, but since I have got no response from your side, I am becoming both ancious and disappointed. The publication of the guest post resembling my idea might have been a coincidence, albeit a strange one. But the fact that I have recieved no response troubles me. All of us are writers here, and I think that beyond a moment of doubt, all of us would agree that it isn’t in the best interest of the art of writing and all the virtues which come with it. Again, I know this is not the way things are supposed to be dealt with, but right now, I seem to have no other option left to retrieve the creative right over what is beyond a doubt my own idea, credited to someone else right now. Thanking you, and hoping for a legitimate response, Abhijato. (I would have provided my email here, but I do not want any spam. I request you to kindly respond to my enquirery.)

Great article. I have tried in the past to journal but have never kept it up. Perhaps my life is not interesting enough or I’m not disciplined enough to form the habit. I’m going to start again and not put so much pressure on myself thanks to this article.

Hello Marieca Lashawn, I don’t journal every day either. I treasure the journals I have from my trip to Europe in 1978. It never occurred to me that every day life also had value. I am going to start again too. We don’t have to be perfect, and there are no rules to keeping a journal. I will floss all of my teeth, and write something every day. A new habit for me too. xo Pamela

Hello Marieca; I think one for the reasons I journal is that I feel I don’t have to be interesting. Sometimes years go by before I reread what I have written. Some is boring, so what? Now if I am writing a story, and article or a memoir,, I try to be literate and interesting. But journaling, hey the pressure is off and at least I am writing.

The great travel writer Tim Cahill just taught a writing class in Morocco, which I was part of .. and the biggest take away I got (he said if you only remember one thing..it’s this) : “take copious notes” (as life happens, whether traveling or whatnot). Great post and in the exact same vein as Mr. Cahill’ instructions!

Hello Jacqueline Gu, Morocco, how fun. A writing class with Tim Cahill. “Take copious notes.” I love this. It is worthy of a tattoo. Or at least writing it on my chalkboard. Thank you for sharing your adventure, and the lessons you learned. Now I will look up Tim Cahill, I am not familiar with his work. Do you have a favorite book written by him? What book do you recommend I read first? What do you like to write? xo Pamela p.s. Where in Morocco were you? I was Casablanca in 1989 talking photographs for a Japanese client.

Hi Pam – nice to meet you. always great to be acquainted with a fellow writer. I’m reading Tim’s “Pass the Butterworm” but I also heard good things about “Hold the Enlightenment”. I do creative nonfiction/travel/memoir writing but I haven’t shared my stuff with many ppl yet so i’m working on becoming published. I was in Fez/Moulay Idriss/Sahara/Chefchouwen for my 2 week trek in Morocco. So much material (so much copious notes) now to write from! And 1989? That’s awesome – sounds like a trip too! Did you ever write about Morocco?

Cheers to you Pam! I will look up your blog and url now. Jackie

Writing a journal is the only consistent form of writing I have done for the past few years. My journal consists of Writing down which of my 12 daily disciplines I have accomplished and which ones are left to do. I began this practice when I retired and found my days slipping by without accomplishing much and giving into a lifelong leaning towards depression. After some time I changed the disciplines around and found the exercise helped me in many ways. Life, however intervened and heart attacks, strokes, and major moves intervened in the practice since my life priorities changed. So to the twelve disciplines I added a daily description of the foods I eat in a day; the physical activity and exercise I have done; and a spiritual insight along with five things for which I am grateful on each specific day. Today’s post is timely, because I was thinking the practice was getting me nowhere; but I think I will continue since so many successful writers do journal. Thanks for the timely post.

I like the sound of daily disciplines. Life has begun to slide recently. A reformed depressive, a serial dropper outer, I love writing but have not allowed myself to recently, ditto dancing and yoga. I love lists and the daily disciplines sound list like, something with a big tick beside it to feel like achievements until they build up into something big and can count as such. I used to blog and make copious entries and notes and have let that slide too. So thanks for the timely post and for contributions, and here’s to getting back to good habits.

Hello Maryjhowell, Yes, here’s to getting back to good habits. There is a yoga class I keep meaning to get to, I am a serial do it tomorrower. Wishing you all the best, and hope you find time to dance, stretch and journal. Please share your url for the next blog post you write, as you find your way back to yourself. xo Pamela

Hello retrogeegee, I love the name you use here, very creative. I hope you are feeling well, I am sorry to hear you have experienced heart attacks and strokes. Thank you for sharing how you write in our journal with your daily disciplines. What did you eat today? Today I will also write down five things I am grateful for. Sometimes I lean towards depression too, exercise has helped me. Looking at what is good in my life will help too. Thank you for sharing your life. I appreciate your honesty. xo Pamela

I have kept a diary since childhood, although those are long gone. It was a good habit, and I have been journaling since I am an adult. Now I am writing Our Story – 45 years in Japan – and some details that I needed were in there. My son thought the dog under our house gave birth to eight puppies. I checked my journal – it was only six! I have separate loose page journals for the visits we made to our missionary kids in Zaire (now Congo), and the ones in Nepal volunteering for six years with MCC. Wonderful memories preserved.

Hello Mary Derksen, The journals sound really helpful in remembering details. “45 Years in Japan”, sounds like a great title for a memoir. I lived in Tokyo for seven years, and wish I had kept a journal when I was there. What happened to the puppies? That must have been a fun memory. Hope you are well. So nice to meet you and hear of your and your children’s adventures. xo Pamela

Hi Pam, great inspiring article. I have been journal writing and keeping diaries for years. For some reason I started this practice in the 5th grade. I went back to read the first entry in this diary hoping to find why I started this practice, but unfortunately I didn’t write the reason Why. You are right, journaling helps people keep personal records of their life. Mine have taken me from grade school to high school, to college. Through dating, marriage, kids, divorce, death and now back to a long term relationship, that I could probably turn into a never ending novel.. Some things that were too painful to write about, I put them in these journal writings as short stories to make it seem as if these were things that happened to someone else. To date I have 38 diaries/journals. Most recently I started a journal for my writing ideas and a personal one for my everyday happenings. So really I now have 40 journals.

Hi Cheryl, Yes, our journals get us through so much. Mine are a constant repository of self-nurturing as I wrestle with the gamut of feelings and emotions, challenges and resolutions. Rereading my entries validates my perseverance and resilience. I am up to 18 journals now, lots more to go. Best to you.

Thank you Billie, all the writing instructors always say write daily. So when I’m not writing on a story, I make it a habit to write something in my journals. So that’s my way of writing everyday.

Hello Cheryl Sams, Your approach of writing the hard parts of your story as short stories is a great idea. A record of what happened, but keeping the pain in the third person. I hope your story has more sunshine in it today, and in your tomorrows. I wonder what your 5th grade self thought. How special that you have all of your journals. Wishing you all my best. xo Pamela

Sorry to get back to you so late Pam, but you had me wondering about what did I write about in my first diary. Well I dug it out of my pile of journals, and my first entry was dated January 1, 1979. I introduced my immediate family, my grandmother, mom, aunt, uncle, stepdad, siblings and half siblings, and my 5year old cousin. It was the deep south and on that day it was windy, wet, cold, and there was a chance of snow. Christmas vacation was over and I was ready to go back to school. I didn’t want to be at home, school was more exciting(I stayed in a very rural area). Well I caught a cold and I was miserable, and I stated “I’m tired of writing now, I’m going to bed.” Well I guess I went to bed for a very long time, because my next entry was dated January 1984 and I was in college getting ready to go out on a date with an upperclassman. This was a one year diary, but I wrote in it throughout the years. My last entry Jan.2016. I updated my life. Three more pages left in this 38 year old diary. So I’m going to finally close it out on a very positive life update. Just needed to share. thanks.

Yes! Creativity doesn’t recognize boundaries or rules! I write, am an artist too, many mediums for both. I think it’s a pretty healthy, natural condition. Haven’t had the rich overseas experiences, but lived in a good many U.S. states and Canada, amassed 37 addresses so far, leaving fingerprints and/or words/artwork in my wake. Many journals created, some with people whose names I’ve forgotten but whose sketched faces I recognize. Hope to check in with you often. Cheers! 😀

wow … “whose sketched faces I recognize.” … I can just imagine the lovely nature of your journal with sketches intertwined with your written thoughts.

Definitely do come back to The Write Practice to visit … it’s a welcoming place, as is Pamela Hodges’ wonderful website!

Thx Susan. I’m a fan of The Write Practice, visited Pam’s site as well. My site’s a bit wonky at present–but c’mon over if you don’t mind stepping over the mess! { kdadams.com }

I thought I might have been making a wrong assumption based on your “check in” phrase. Nevertheless, I’m glad I commented and got your response so I could visit your website. LOVELY! Looks like you do remarkable, meaningful work. Loved, for instance, reading the glowing feedback from your memoir workshop participants. I’ll visit again.

Sorry for delay- my digital myopia caused lapse in finding your note. Have not yet launched newsletter but hope to find reliable tech soon! What’s your writing?

Hello Kristine Adams, Love your description of leaving fingerprints in your wake. Words and artwork. You have lived in a lot of places, so many memories. Where in Canada? I grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Hugs to you. xo Pamela

Sorry for delay- email folder used w/ Write Practice exchange was misplaced. I lived just into southern Ontario–first near Petrolia, and later near Sarnia. Shared communal houses with friends who now are in B.C. Wow, with our bogus potus, Canada’s appeal is skyrocketing!

I absolutely LOVE this article. I’ve been writing journals since i was a kid but quit writing for a very long. I’ve again started to write down my journals. It’s the best thing I’ve discovered. I’m more aware of my thoughts and myself now. It’s the best practice for a winter of any sort. Be it a beginner or a published author. I’m not sure if I want to share it with anyone but i just enjoy the whole process of writing my journal

Hello shiwangi agarwal, Thank you for confirming that journal writing has helped you be more aware of your thoughts. You don’t have to share your thoughts. I like having a private place to write and think. Now to find a safe spot to hide a key, where no one else will find it and I can remember where I put it. xo Pamela

This doesn’t relate to this post, but feedback is greatly appreciated.

Mara shivered, pulling her ratty, practically obsolete sweater closer around her torso. Tevrah was cold this time of year. And drizzly. A drop of rain landed on her nose, freezing and unexpected. She wished she had warm pants instead of her school dress and her mother’s cardigan.

Her younger brother, Deo, tugged on her hand and pulled her off-course toward a stand selling jewelry. A young woman was standing behind the tables, smiling benevolently at her customers. She eyed Mara and Deo. “We don’t have long,” Mara warned him in their language, trying to smile innocently at the shopkeeper. It wasn’t as if they were going to steal something, but they certainly had the stink of poverty around them, accentuated especially by their thin, dark features. Deo’s hair was sticking up all over the place, his face the only inch of cleanliness on his body. Their mother was quite persistent about the need for washing your face twice a day, even if nothing else was clean. “It is important to make a good impression,” she had warned. Mara could only imagine what the people of this town thought of her and Deo, as she surely looked just the same as her six-year-old brother. She wished she hadn’t disregarded the necessity of neatness that morning. Every sort of person on earth could be observed in this market. The rich, the seedy, the fine, the poor, the gaudy, the drab. And Mara and Deo looked like beggars.

She still had a few coins left in the pockets of her sweater. Her bag was filled with day-old bread, bruised apples, and several rolls of bandages. They still hadn’t found someplace selling sponges for cheap, which was unfortunate since the younger kids cried when you scrubbed them with the rougher brush. And that was Mara’s job. She would have taken a used oil cloth by now to avoid Skya Menyon’s sharp glance whenever she heard the wail of her toddler, who was the whiniest child Mara had ever met.

It had been her job back at the village, at least three hundred kilometers from Tevrah’s town of North Market. They were three hundred kilometers from the place Mara had never left in her life– until now. The people were different here, even not so far away. The area was drizzly and brown and green, filled with grays. The people here had lighter hair, while the skin on Mara’s arm was dark as a macadamia nut’s shell. Her village was all but disappeared, nothing but ashes on the gods’ gentle breeze.

The day after the fires, the women of the village had shorn their hair to shoulder length, Mara included since her fifteenth birthday had passed two weeks prior. She wasn’t used to it. She liked to twirl strands of her hair, mindlessly twist them together as a nervous habit, and with it so short it was hard to wrap her black locks around her index finger. She kept reaching up only for her hand to stop short and sink back down to her side.

Deo was gawking at a gold necklace. The shopkeeper’s hawk eyes stayed locked on him, drawn as a moth to a flame. She was clearly suspicious. “Deo,” Mara hissed. He barely looked up.

“What?” he muttered. “Stop it.”

Mara tugged him a few feet away from the necklace, the shopkeeper still watching them. “Stop looking at that like you’re going to grab it.”

“I wasn’t going–” “She doesn’t know that!” Mara protested. Deo frowned, looking at his grubby hands curiously.

“Is it time for lunch yet?”

“Deo!” she chastised. The woman had begun to emerge from behind the booth. Mara turned toward her, widening her eyes. “Yes?” she inquired politely, switching to Tevranian for the shopkeeper’s sake.

“You kids like my jewelry?” she demanded.

Mara smiled shakily. “I apologize, miss, but my brother, he is not so smart,” she said, patting Deo’s hair and shushing his protests with a hand over his mouth. She tried to adjust the bag on her hip so the woman could peer into it and see there was nothing out of the ordinary inside.

“Oh?” the woman said, raising an eyebrow.

“He does not know how much the necklace does cost, you see?”

She grunted again.

“The cost is too much for us, anyway, because you see–” Mara saw something out of the corner of her eye. A glint of silver. A flash of crimson red. She stopped short, aware of the shopkeeper’s eyes trained on her dubiously. A girl had slipped in behind the stand, wearing vibrant red pants and a gray shirt, hair that must have been white as ivory when it was clean hanging in strands down her back.

“Yes?” the woman prompted.

“Yes…” Mara forced herself to look away. “I, um, we were not taking the necklace.” The fair-haired girl’s hand danced out of her pocket and hooked the bracelet onto a finger. She stuffed it into her overcoat.

Mara stared for a second before coming to her senses. “Hey!”

The shopkeeper whirled around. “What–”

The girl’s green eyes darted up to meet her accuser’s, and then she nimbly slipped into the crowd, that white hair a blur behind her. Mara began to run after her, leaving Deo and the shopkeeper behind, but stumbled over a man’s shoe. He sneered at her. “S-sorry,” she stammered. “Sir.”

A warm, dry hand grasped Mara’s hand in its grip. She looked down to see Deo staring up at her, his hair wet from the rain. “Deo,” she said , trying to see over the crowd’s heads, “go… go find Thyme and Yuri.” She shoved the basket of goods into his hands.

He began to whine, but Mara was already gone. She darted around a fruit cart, a few berries falling to the ground as she bumped it. The boy selling the fruits cursed at her in a language she didn’t understand. Mara kept going. Where had that girl gone? And why hadn’t she yelled “Thief!” and left other people to take care of it?

She was an idiot, Mara reminded herself, that’s why.

She tripped over her own shoes, a size and a half too large, not once but twice. Her gray dress was small on her, barely modest as it ended a few inches above her knees. The only reason Mara could get away with it was because she didn’t look her age. She’d kept a bit of baby fat, and she hadn’t shot up like a bamboo stalk. At least, not yet.

Ah. Under that bridge over there, stretching across the rushing river below, its banks mossy and wet. Mara saw a flash of blonde hair and those strange red pants the girl was wearing before she took off again. By now, the rain was coming down hard, clumping Mara’s dark eyelashes together and blurring her vision. She stumbled over the muddy ground beyond the market, the sounds of the city disappearing from her ears, and ducked under the cover of the old bridge.

It was quiet but for the sound of rain pattering the stone above.

“Hello?” Mara called out softly. There were no footprints in the mud leading off into the forest on the other side of the tunnel, but she couldn’t see where else the girl could have gone. Perhaps she’d disappeared, like in the Yaba’s stories back home. “Hello?” Mara said again, louder this time. She took a tentative step forward, then froze in her tracks when a voice responded.

“It’s not worth that much.”

Mara startled, whirling around. No one. “What?”

“The bracelet,” the voice explained. “Didn’t cost as much as that lady was selling it for.”

“Ay.” Mara didn’t know what to say to an invisible person. The distant sounds of shouting salesman only just reached her ears.

“You can leave and pretend this never happened.”

Mara seethed. “No.”

“Why not?” the disembodied voice challenged.

“You took it!”

“I stole something deserving of a halved coin.”

“What in ny anaran’Andriamanitra is a half coin?” Mara retorted. She wrung the rainwater out of her hair, and it splattered on her already-soaked dress, hanging limp around her knees. She wasn’t sure where to look, as she couldn’t see the person she was talking to.

“Oh, you know.” Mara didn’t. “A copper. Not even a single silver. She was marking it three times its worth.” They didn’t have much of silver where Mara was from.

“And who are you,” Mara said, “to judge?”

“And who are you?” the voice echoed.

“I–” Mara started, then cut herself off. “You are a criminal.”

“Hm.” The girl’s body dropped from the top of the bridge, and she landed perfectly balanced, wearing that red sweater and brown, unfitted pants. Mara stumbled back, surprised at the girl’s entrance, and almost tripped over a rock behind her. “I disagree,” the girl said.

“Are quite good at climbing things,” the girl said. She stared at Mara unblinkingly, her green eyes startling against the gray of the day. A gust of wind picked up her wispy blonde hair on its wings. “I’ll tell you what. You let me go, I’ll give you this bracelet.”

“That is not a deal!” Mara said, indignant. “You took it! Here is the idea: give it back and I will not… tell. Tell the police.”

The girl chuckled, flashing a crooked smile, dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth. “Let me guess. You aren’t from around here?”

Hello, Pamela. Nearly every journal I’ve ever written starts with, “Well, I’m not good at journal writing, but I’ll try again” or some such lame thing, and invariably that entry is followed by a handful of dated entries, followed by some more six months or six years later. I try to let go of that feeling of “defeat before I’ve even started” because what’s the point? I tell myself, “Let go of thoughts of perfection because it ain’t coming to my doorstep any time soon.”

I’m going to include here an entry in my journal from the month after my mother passed away in 2014. I’m guessing that I was using your writing style as part of my inspiration because I included a level and type of detail that I may not have previously.

I was reflecting on why I am thankful. It reads, …

The piece I’m going to start with is the sweet gesture that Mehrzad [my husband] made yesterday, showing me his deep love and such a respectful honoring of Mom. We sold her car yesterday at Carmax [2003 Lexus ES 300 silver/light blue, “wood” steering wheel and other trim areas, 40,708 miles bought for about $30,000 new – mom’s decision with no consultation – sold for $7,000] Carmax gave us back the license plate [NWSTOY] and license plate frames [“I’d rather be stitching”]. I’m thinking, “OK, What do we do with these? Should we keep them? No, we’re trying to declutter not reclutter.” A bit later on, Mehrzad lovingly says, “Shall we hang these up in the garage? It’s part of your mom’s life and we want to keep that history. We’ll need to find a place to hang it.” WOW! … THANKFUL! —- [I just now took a picture of the license plate on our pegboard in the garage to include here, but I guess an upload option is not included; forgot that.] —– As always, I’m thankful for you, Pamela.

Hello Susan WA, Thank you for sharing the excerpt from your journal about your mom. The detail about the car, including the milage brought me emotionally into the story. Life is made up of concrete details. Little bits of reality that allow me the reader to feel the story. I am so sorry your mom died. And, so thankful to read of the kindness of your husband who hung the license in the garage. So nice to hear from you Susan. I am thankful for you also. xo Pamela

One of my biggest heartaches is that I accidentally threw out a notebook that I thought was empty … turns out it was my son’s reflections on quotes from when he was in 8th grade … it was a daily exercise by his history teacher, a man who inspired my son deeply, and is his favorite teacher of all time. Love those amazing connections when a teacher has such an impact on a student’s life.

Hi, Pamela! Here is a way to have both the handwritten and the electronic record: https://store.moleskine.com/usa/en-us/Moleskine-/Evernote/C26

I haven’t tried this system, but it looks pretty interesting. I also like the idea of using Scrivener. I prefer to journal with pen and paper, but am currently doing a hybrid: early morning brain dump online at http://750words.com , and then a notebook and my pretty new purple fountain pen throughout the day.

Hi GirlGriot, So nice to see you here! Thank you for the suggestion to combine the handwritten and the electronic. Maybe I need to get a pretty purple fountain pen too. Something to remind me to take notes on my life. I will check out the 750 words site, and dump out my brains too. Hope you are well. xo Pamela

(FYI, 750 words is a paid site now. Not sure what it costs. I joined when it was free and was grandfathered in when they switched over.)

Hello TerriblyTerrific, You could always swallow the key. (This is meant to be funny, and is not a real suggestion, in case you do swallow the key, and then want to hire a lawyer and say we told you to eat a key) How old is your daughter? Maybe she needs to find a safe spot to hide her journal. 🙂 xo Pamela

I started writing journals when my children grew up and went to college. I felt lost in myself and wanted to get the emotions out of my system. I then began to cycle long distances with some friends. We cycled from coast to coast in various countries including Australia, Vietnam; parts of Europe and the Himalayas. I have recently been expanding some of my journals and one thing I noticed is that, throughout all the scary parts of the journeys; when we thought we were in dire states, someone came out of the blue and saved the day. When the bike broke, when we ran out of food or water on the mountains, or when we had no shelter. I call them the Angels on my journeys all of which I am deeply thankful for.

The journal in 2014 helped me deal with a lot of sudden deaths of close family and friends, there was almost one a month that year. When I look at that year I realise we are all challenged and no matter how hard that challenge with a bit of help we can get through it. Journals can be lifesavers reminding us to be grateful and how lucky we are.

Hello Elizabeth McKenna, You have lived some amazing adventures. I love your perspective on how “journals can be lifesavers reminding us to be grateful and how lucky we are.” I am sorry about the sudden deaths of family and friends in 2014. That sounds like a hard year. Sending you hugs and sunshine, xo Pamela

In Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way,” she teaches her students to writing their “Morning Pages,” as a way to get back their creativity. Sometimes they are referred to as our “Mourning Pages,” because we mourn the ills of our life. I wrote faithfully for about a year then quit. It’s something that cleansed the soul and helped me dig down deep to the heart of my frustration with a certain family members and clear out some junk. Journalling is so important to our mental health and to bring us clarity. It can help us clear our mental blocks to our creativity as well. Thanks for the post.

April 20, 2008

We had breakfast with Uncle Jerry today after church. He made waffles, and we brought the side dishes: sausage, fried potatoes, cheese soufflé, and crunchy cantaloupe. It was nice to be together. He’s having more trouble with his breathing, but he isn’t taking any treatments for it. He’s refused what treatment the doctors have offered, although for his condition—interstitial lung disease—there really isn’t much they can do. He is allowing the disease to run its course. It’s strange seeing it happen to him because I know that I will follow soon.

In truth, I’m simply afraid. I have always had a horror of drowning, of suffocation, of being unable to breathe. Since I’ve got late-stage pulmonary hypertension, that’s exactly how I’ll die: one gasp at a time. I might get lucky, though. People with this disease often die of sudden cardiac death. The heart just stops, and they’re dead before they hit the ground. I like Door Number 2 much better than Door Number 1.

“Writing is the only way I have to explain my own life to myself.” Love that. Must try it, but I need to be ‘plugged in’. I thought I’d never write again after the shakes got me. Now I can even read my writing!

Hello Pamela, Many thanks for your article on keeping a journal. Very handy. I wrote a journal in the past, for a year, when I was grieving. There was no one to confide in, and writing my feelings and the events that filled my day, brought a little solace. Now I write daily, (in longhand, in a small blue booklet) to record my husband’s medication, (the names of his medicines and the hour in which he took them) his moods, and in brackets, a little about myself. The journal is a verification of what we did. My husband contests me on many things, declaring that ‘we did not’. Out comes my journal to satisfy his verification. I’m glad I recorded it on paper. In the blue booklet, I write the day, then the date, and below, the weather and mean temperature. I record where we went and why, like, shopping for shoes, meat, presents, etc:. I write of guests who came to lunch or to visit.

I write a line about Minnie and her friends. Yesterday I recored that she vomited… a bunch of grass.

Please give our love to Harper and the users of the other six litter boxes.

With love, Lilian

I love journaling and have even taught journal workshops. It is what helps untangle my thoughts and make sense of life. I make a practice of re-reading (currently once a week). That’s when I’m reminded of things I need to follow up on. It’s about the only time I use paper and pencil now, which really sets it apart from all other activities.

Great article. I took a trip to Europe a few years ago and I was so happy when I came across my travel journal. All the details that I had forgotten are in there! I’ve now converted to a digital journal since it’s accessible from anywhere and I usually have my phone on me to jot down entries when I have a few minutes. (Disclaimer: I blog for JRNL.)

I have an urgent need to journal, and I do so, but always with a feeling of trepidation because am afraid my kids will judge me poorly when I’m gone. Haven’t committed crimes or anything like that but am somehow ashamed of the strong feelings of insecurities that come up again and again. But I need very much to write them. Anyone else have this problem?

Yes. I sometimes feel like you as well. That is why, I write a lot and then get rid of it. This helps me with my self awareness. When you write everything down as true as it has happened and you read back to yourself, you somehow judge yourself and that would become very valuable to you for many reasons. 1) you might realise, it was not as important, good or bad or even important as you first thought. 2) You can realise what went wrong or right in that occasion and you might have the opportunity to make it better or try to accept it and draw a line under it. 3) you have become your own best imaginary friend whom you can talk to in confidence and get help without any worry of it going further or be judged. The list of benefits are endless and can go on and on and on, but I am sure, you got the gist of it. 🙂

I love this articular because it explain how writing journals makes you a better writes. it help you express your emotions also your daily lifestyle. I never really writing a journal before but I starting to write down my thought in my journal. it’s the best way to practice writing or express yourself for example I wake up seven in the mourning eat breakfast brush my tooth and wash my face.I get dress walk out the front door to wait at the bus stop.

Journaling leads to growth, which is especially important for a writer. Benjamin Franklin had the habit of keeping a journal, which helped him to become healthy and wealthy: https://constantrenewal.com/keeping-a-journal/

Great post. I have journaled ever since junior high and maybe even a bit earlier. As time goes on I think I’m writing down better things, descriptions and such and digging deep into my real feelings about things and life. It’s a good way to explore and figure out who I am and what I’m thinking. 🙂

I started journaling few months ago and I think it really improved my mental health a bit lol. Usually, I write at night and sometimes, I forget what just happened hours ago (which I have to reopen my gallery to find some specific photos that have to do with my “day”). Anyways, it’s a great and a helpful article btw!

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Module 1: Success Skills

Assignment: writing in college journal entry.

https://youtu.be/RH95h36NChI

The video above discusses beliefs students hold about college and demonstrates how those beliefs relate to test performance. Consider how beliefs might also impact a student’s performance on writing assignments.

Develop a 200–400 word journal entry that identifies three beliefs, mentioned in the video or discovered through your own observations, that relate to a student’s ability to write academic essays. Explain how these beliefs might be adjusted through the practice of metacognition to improve writing results.

Worked Example

Journal entry assignments tend to be more flexible than other types of writing assignments in college, and as a result they can be tailored to your own experiences as long as they answer the primary questions asked in the assignment.

One model of a successful entry about this topic can be found below. Feel free to include your own experiences and examples from real life as they pertain to the issue at hand.

Writing in College Journal Entry by Sandy Brown Belief: Learning is fast Related to writing essays, I could see how I could easily fall into this trap of thinking that fast is good. I have such limited time in the day to work on school assignments, that I think that whatever I can manage to get done must be the best possible work that I’m capable of doing. I should allow myself more time, though that’s easier said than done. Even with smaller writing assignments, like this one, if I give myself a day or two to sketch out ideas for what I want to say, and then reflect on it before writing it, I think I’ll do a much better job in the long run. Belief: I’m really good at multi-tasking This one is very related to the “learning is fast” idea. Watching the girl in the video do a million things while she’s studying is just like watching my own kids at night! And I’m pretty guilty of this, as well. If I can set aside a quiet part of my night, and just focus on only one assignment at a time, I think I’ll do a lot better with my writing overall. And I’ll be happier with the results. Belief: Being good at a subject is a matter of inborn talent This is actually not a belief I personally hold. I always loved to read growing up, and I still do read fiction as much as time allows. But working as a business administrator for the past 15 years has shown me that I’m pretty good with numbers and bookkeeping, too, which I wouldn’t have guessed before this job. One of my daughters is very drawn towards English and writing, and another struggles with it. They both seem to feel this is a matter of fate. I’m going to share this video with them, because I think there are ways that my daughter who struggles can be empowered to think that she CAN get better at writing, if she just keeps practicing. (This is also something I’m going to do myself…I’m very out of practice with writing for school!)

• Revision and Adaptation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Writing Strategies. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.candelalearning.com/lumencollegesuccess/chapter/writing-strategies/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1 of 5, Beliefs That Make You Fail... Or Succeed. Authored by : Samford Office of Marketing and Communication. Located at : https://youtu.be/RH95h36NChI . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

• How to Cite
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How to Write a Journal Entry in APA Format

The American Psychological Association (APA) style began as a way to simplify scientific writing. APA is also used by many college professors and students when submitting academic essays. APA style incorporates a set of rules that guide the writer in such tasks as formatting a reference list. Journal citations in particular must be entered in a certain fashion to conform to APA style. Knowing the APA guidelines for citing journal entries is important for the credibility of both your sources and your article, book or essay.

Format journals with continuous pagination using these items in this order: author last name, author first initial, author middle initial, year of publication, title of work in full, name of publication, volume number, and pages referenced. For example:

Loftus, E. F. (1993). The reality of repressed memories. American Psychologist, 48, 518-537.

• Note that in an actual citation, the name of the publication and the volume number would be in italics.

Cite non-paginated journals using these items in this order: author last name, author first initial, author middle initial, year of publication, title of work in full, name of publication, volume number, issue number, and pages referenced. For example:

Hubel, D. H. & Wiesel, T. N. (1979). Brain mechanisms of vision. Scientific American, 241(3), 150-164.

List a referenced journal article accessed online using these items in this order: author last name, author first initial, author middle initial, year of publication, title of work in full, name of publication, volume number, issue number, pages referenced, and DOI number. For example:

Ku, G. (2008). Learning to de-escalate: The effects of regret in escalation of commitment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 105(2), 221-232. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2007.08.002

Enter journal articles from a subscription database using these items in this order: author last name, author first initial, author middle initial, year of publication, month of publication, day of publication, title of work in full, name of publication, volume number, issue number, pages referenced, name of website, and URL. For example:

Colvin, G. (2008, July 21). Information worth billions. Fortune, 158(2), 73-79. Retrieved from Business Source Complete, EBSCO. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com

• When there are more than seven authors, list the first six authors followed by an ellipsis and the last author. For example:
• Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Jeitner, C., Burke, S., Stamm, T., Snigaroff, R., . . . Weston, J. (2007). Mercury levels and potential risk from subsistence foods of the Aleutians. Science of the Total Environment, 384, 93-105. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.05.004
• Cornell University Library; APA Citation Style

Johnny Kilhefner is a writer with a focus on technology, design and marketing. Writing for more than five years, he has contributed to Writer's Weekly, PopMatters, Bridged Design and APMP, among many other outlets.

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Why Journalling Became So Popular

Write what you know.

This quote has been attributed to both Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway. Regardless of the original author, these words have been pushing writers to explore their own experiences for decades.

One of the best ways to explore our own experience is through personal journal writing. These are stories and thoughts you capture for an audience of one — yourself.

I’ve been journaling in various formats for over a decade. Throughout that time, entries have evolved from quick thoughts and memories to full essays exploring ideas, experiences, and emotions.

Journal entries are not meant to be published. They shouldn’t be polished or edited. They’re stream-of-consciousness dumps that help us understand ourselves better and improve our ability to get words out of our heads and onto the page.

A journal is a living thing. Returning to previous entries can show growth as a human and as a writer, and can provide new perspectives on experiences of the past.

Before we get into what to journal if you’re new to the concept, let’s explore a few tools for journaling.

Journaling Tools

What to journal, paper notebooks.

As more things move digital, the act of physically writing is becoming a lost art. Paper notebooks provide a true time capsule of yourself at the moment pen hits paper. A physical journal is a great option, especially if you want to include boarding passes, receipts, or other trinkets to help enhance the entry.

Popular paper journal options include classic composition books, Moleskines , or those fancy leather bound notebooks that tie up.

While paper notebooks are great options to preserve your personal history, they make returning to older entries difficult. This is where digital options can truly shine.

Day One Journal

This is my preferred method. As of writing this, I’ve logged 2,263 entries over six years in Day One . Each entry is dated, stamped with location and weather metadata, and over a thousand have embedded photos.

What a digital journal like Day One does best is remind you of past entries.

Each evening I open Day One and look at the various entries posted on that date in the past. This daily walk through my private history allows me to explore memories and thoughts. I’ve frequently linked to past entries and reflected on past moments with current experiences.

There are many similar options to Day One Journal, including Journey , Momento , and even the Notes app on your phone.

Whatever method of journaling you decide upon, knowing how to begin can be intimidating . Don’t let it be. Remember, a journal is not meant to be read by anyone but yourself. You’re not trying to impress anyone so write what you know: yourself.

When writing about yourself for an audience of yourself, there’s no right or wrong thing to include. Everything is a good idea.

Here are some options to get you started.

Ask Yourself Questions

Each day I ask myself three questions :

• What was significant today?
• What did I learn today?
• What is my goal for tomorrow?

These three questions allow for introspection and exploration of myself in wonderful ways. If you’re just starting with a journal, asking yourself questions creates private writing prompts to get the words flowing.

Gratitude Journal

One great option to journal is capturing moments and people you’re grateful for. Not only does a gratitude journal help you capture wonderful moments that might otherwise get overlooked, it has the added benefit of training ourselves to look for things to be grateful for. This makes us more thankful and patient.

Writing Journal

If you're a professional writer, writing can start to feel less of a pleasure and more of a 9 to 5. It's easy to keep producing content and forget that writing is fun! Writing is something you can always get better at, and keeping a journal is a great way to practice. You can write short stories, articles about things that have interested you, the list is endless. But whatever you write, make sure you're writing it for you.

You can also use a writing journal to see how your writing has progressed over time. If you have a mind for figures, you could run your writing through a tool like ProWritingAid.

The Summary Report will help you learn more about your writing, and it's not all about grammar. You'll be able to see which words or phrases you use (or overuse) most often, whether you favor a particular sentence start, or if you tend to write in long sentences rather than short.

Learning more about your writing can be a fun place to start a journal. You can set yourself goals, or just see how your writing style changes over time.

Travel Journal

If you’re going on a trip, capturing the daily happenings is a great way to chronicle the experience. Including pictures, maps, and commentary on the trip generates your own private travel log.

Beyond just stating what you did, tell the story . Include people you met, smells, feelings, and other details unique to the experience. Capturing these additional details will help enhance your writing outside the journal as well.

Returning to these entries long after travel help bring you back to that place and relive the experience over again.

Be it a product, a movie, a book, or a TV show, reviewing something is a great way to just write.

Along with my daily questions, I also include a short review of all content I watch and read throughout the day. As a result I actively engage with content rather than mindlessly consume it.

Read something inspiring? Hear something you want to remember? Put it in the journal.

We’re the subject of our own lives and instead of just getting by day to day, journaling allows us to explore our experiences and ourselves. Writing about what we know gives us the opportunity to grow as a person and as a writer.

Do you think your journal could be a bestseller? Download this free book now:

The Novel-Writing Training Plan

So you are ready to write your novel. excellent. but are you prepared the last thing you want when you sit down to write your first draft is to lose momentum., this guide helps you work out your narrative arc, plan out your key plot points, flesh out your characters, and begin to build your world..

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Justin Cox is a writer, minister, and donut eater. His words are available online at Wired, Film School Rejects, The Writing Cooperative, The Coffeelicious, and more. Besides writing, Justin is an avid traveler and foodie. He lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Carla, and their dog, Mac. Connect with Justin on Twitter @justincox or at JustinCox.com.

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How to Create a Good Journal Entry

Introduction: How to Create a Good Journal Entry

What can be called a journal? It's a kind of chronicle you write to express your thoughts, to make a summary of your activities, to compose a plan or important steps to remember and follow when it comes to different writing assignments, etc. It does not matter what you are going to chronicle, but when you write a journal you'd better know the following guidelines to start and make your journal look and sound good.

Step 1: Find a Thing That Will Become Your Journal

Have you decided what tool you will use to write your journal? It can be your laptop, a notebook, some mobile applications created with this goal, a blank book or a collection of some sticky notes. Whatever you choose to create your journal entries, your first step should be finding a tool to use for it.

Step 2: Choose a Writing Tool

If your journal lives online you can skip this step: it's obvious you'll use a keyboard to write your journal entries. But if you've decided to have an old-fashioned journal, a paper one, you will need a nice pen! Or maybe even several pens of different style for your writings to look cool.

Step 3: Establish a Writing Habit

Do you want to bring your journal with you everywhere? Or do you prefer to set a particular time for writing? Set up your daily routine to make your writing comfortable for you; make this routine a habit, and it will be much easier for you to create journal entries.

Step 4: Set Up a Good Writing Place

Environment plays a very important role when it comes to creative process, as it can motivate and inspire you to write your entries. Think of the best place to fit your writing mood. Is it your quiet room? Or maybe you will feel yourself better in a cafe? Choose a place that will be conductive to everyday writing : for example, when I write entries for my personal blog, Omnipapers , I lock myself in my room to avoid distractions. Classical music helps and inspires me too.

Step 5: Keep Your Every Entry Dated

Putting a date to every entry of your journal might be really helpful. It will be easier to systematize your writings and find them quickly when needed.

Step 6: Write Your Entry

Just write your thoughts and ideas down as soon as they occur. If it appears difficult at first, try writing about your day, the things you've done during this day, the feelings you experienced, etc. The point is to start writing: every topic might lead you to interesting thoughts to write down. A few tips to consider:

• D o not worry about structure. Write as you feel, without thinking of grammar and punctuation rules.
• Will it be only you who reads your entries? Do not worry about what other people can think of your journal: you write for yourself, and you express yourself with your journal.

Step 7: Be Creative

Do not think of your journal entries as simple text. It's so easy to be creative and make beautiful and diverse writings: try poems, lists, collages, artworks, etc. Make your journal unique and beautiful.

Step 8: Feel the Best Moment to Stop

Stop your writing before you feel drained and exhausted completely, and get back to your journal when you have enough ideas, inspiration and energy to write good texts again.

Step 9: Reread Your Journal Entry

You can do it once you've completed your entry or after a while: rereading your journal might help you improve your writing, systematize your thoughts and learn yourself better.

Step 10: Conclusion

As far as you can see, it's not very difficult to create good journal entries: write about what you like, white how you feel and think, make your entries look beautiful and pleasant for your eyes, reread them to understand yourself better. I hope this article will be useful to read for all people interested in writing; if you plan to write journal entries it might help you understand what to start with.

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How to Write a Journal Entry

Have you always wanted to express yourself but you just would not like to share it with somebody? Then writing journal entries can be of great of help to you especially if you want your thoughts materialized into words. Plus, you do not have to be worried about having another person knowing about it.

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Understanding Journal Entries

Journal entries are pieces of writing, which come individually, that will take and fill up a journal or even an ordinary notebook. It is in a journal entry where you will be able to express yourself, your personal growth, your interests, your opinions, and even the mundane things you have done and encountered in a day.

Journal entries usually come in between 500–1000 words. A journal entry may not be connected or related to a previous or the following entry unless stated. Journal entries are considered as something that is private since it is where you can be able to write with no holds barred.

When it comes to content, a journal can contain anything and everything. You can include a chronicle of what happened in your day, the summary of your deep thoughts, and you could even include your to-do tasks for the next day or tasks that you have already completed within the day.

When you would decide to write journal entries for the first time, you may want to consider starting with writing even the most ordinary events that happened in your day, the secrets you want to spill but could not spill to others, and even your most random train of thoughts.

You could also get assigned to write a journal entry for school, you may have to read the stated instructions properly as it could contain only the necessary items that you have to write for your journal entry assignment and that it could also save you some time from writing irrelevant content.

Starting a Journal

Before you would step into the world of journal writing, you just have to have the will to write in the first place. Without the will and the desire to write a journal entry, you will surely not reach even to the half of your journal. You might get discouraged at first especially if you are not confident with your writing, but do not worry because you do not have to be a renowned author to start a journal.

Keep in mind that when in writing a journal, you just have to be honest with yourself. Once you are assured that you really are willing to start writing a journal, here are the steps that can guide you:

1. Decide a comfortable space to write.

There are two spaces to consider when writing a journal. First, you have to consider where you are going to sit when writing a journal and the second is where you should be writing your journal entries.

For the first space, you have to decide on a place where you are at your most comfortable state that you would not be worrying that someone is standing behind you reading your journal entry. You would not want that, right? Additionally, you might want to remember some things that happened during your day and that you could not do so if there will be background noises and distractions as you write.

For the second space, you have to decide on a writing space where you would be writing your journal entry. Do not write anywhere and choose a kind of writing space, be it a notebook or a journal, where you will be able to write comfortably as well. You could also opt for a digital journal where you can easily add, edit, or delete some parts easily without having to deal with the mess; plus, you could easily add other elements, such as photos, that could make your journal entry more detailed.

2. Reflect on your day and ask yourself questions.

Once you have found a perfect place to write and a perfect writing space to write your journal entry on, you should now have to reflect on what happened during your day and what are the events that are journal-worthy for you. You do not have to write on this step.

If you are a newbie at journal writing, do not be too hard on yourself and just write what you can manage to write since your journal entry can just be about anything you want. If you want to write down the moments in your day that you want to have a keepsake out of, you can totally do it even by just closing your eyes and reflecting on what happened throughout your day, including what you may have felt about it.

If you find it hard to reflect, you can just start on basic questions that could help you generate content for your journal entry.

3. Start writing!

You already have what you need so that only means that the only thing left to do is the actual writing of your journal entry.

Again, if you are a beginner at writing journal entries, you can start with simple sentences that start with  “I feel,” or “I think,” or “I wonder.”  Also, do not be afraid to have a central topic for your journal entry and do not be afraid to exclude some parts of your day that you don’t feel recording, most especially if it is just too mundane and basic, such as taking a bath. Unless something remarkable happened during your bath, then you might find it important to write it down. Make sure that you make your journal a space where you can feel at your most comfortable state.

However, if you are to write a journal for an assignment in one of your classes, be sure that you will be able to follow the instructions given by your teacher or professor.

4. Re-read and add.

When you would get into writing your journal writing, there is a tendency that you might forget some things, this is why it is advised that you should go back and re-read your journal entry right after writing it. It is not really necessary for you to check whether grammar, especially the spelling and syntax, is done right and flawless, but if you see the need to edit it since it can affect the message you want to convey, then, by all means, do so.

However, if it is a journal assignment, make sure that you would also check up on your grammar and syntax since your journal will be graded by your teacher.

Additionally, add and enter any missing details on your journal entry once you notice it during your re-reading period. Write it down immediately for it may be difficult to try and remember about it the next time.

Tips for Writing Journal Entries

If you are just getting started to write your first batch of journal entries, it could get difficult for you at some point. However, once you would finally get the hang of it, your journal entries would just easily flow. Here are some tips you can make use of should you want to get better at this activity:

1. Be creative.

Journal entry writing has no limits. You do not have to stick to words and long paragraphs if that bores you. You can make use of any visual material, such as an artwork or a photograph that would make your journal writing even more memorable.

2. Write a dialogue and a memory

In your day, you might have gotten yourself into a conversation so striking you want to have a record of it and you can freely do so on your journal entry. If there was a significant moment that happened to you on that day, write it as a memory on your journal entry. When you find starting to write an entry journal difficult, you can always go these basic things to write and start from there.

3. Set a schedule.

As we mentioned earlier in the article, setting a schedule is a great first step. Decide how many times you want to write and set a schedule. Whether it be once a day, or once a week, decide on a time you want to write and don’t skip it.

4. Have fun.

Of all the things that have been written above, the only thing that you should always stick in your mind is to have fun while writing your first batch of journal entries. It is in having fun that you would just let go of anything that holds you back from writing what you want to write and just let your pen, your hand, and your thoughts do all the action.

Journal entry writing is not a chore or a requirement (unless it’s a given assignment) that you should feel so much pressure from. Free yourself from doubts and just write.

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What is a journal entry in accounting.

A journal entry is a record of the business transactions in the accounting books of a business. A properly documented journal entry consists of the correct date, amounts to be debited and credited, description of the transaction and a unique reference number.

A journal entry is the first step in the accounting cycle. A journal details all financial transactions of a business and makes a note of the accounts that are affected. Since most businesses use a double-entry accounting system , every financial transaction impact at least two accounts, while one account is debited, another account is credited. This means that a journal entry has equal debit and credit amounts.

What this article covers:

What Is the Purpose of a Journal Entry?

What is included in a journal entry, how do you write a journal entry.

NOTE: FreshBooks Support team members are not certified income tax or accounting professionals and cannot provide advice in these areas, outside of supporting questions about FreshBooks. If you need income tax advice please contact an accountant in your area.

A journal is a record of transactions listed as they occur that shows the specific accounts affected by the transaction. Used in a double-entry accounting system, journal entries require both a debit and a credit to complete each entry. So, when you buy goods, it increases both the inventory as well as the accounts payable accounts.

Journal entries are the foundation for all other financial reports. They provide important information that are used by auditors to analyze how financial transactions impact a business. The journalized entries are then posted to the general ledger .

A journal entry requires the following elements:

• A header which includes the date of the entry
• A reference number or a journal entry number that can be used to index and retrieve the journal when required
• The account number and name. These are recorded in the first column into which the entry is recorded
• The debit amount is entered in the second column
• The credit amount is entered in the third column
• The description of the journal entry in the footer

The basic format of a journal entry is as follows:

The total amount you enter in the debit column equals the total amount entered in the credit column.

There are different types of journal entries that include:

Adjusting Entry

To bring the financial statements in to compliance with the accounting framework such as GAAP, adjusting entries are made at the end of the accounting period . These entries are typically made to record accrued income, accrued expenses , unearned revenue and prepaid expenses.

Compound Entry

When there are more than two lines of entry in a journal, it’s known as compound entry. This is often used to record several transactions at once or enter details of complex transactions such as payroll that involves a number of deductions and tax liabilities, and hence, contains several lines.

Reversing Entry

Made at the beginning of the accounting period, reversing journal entries are made to reverse or cancel entries that were made in the preceding period and are no longer required. Such as wage accrual which is replaced by an actual payroll expenditure.

Manual journal entries and the verification process is often a long and tedious process which exposes businesses to the unnecessary risk of errors and fraud. Since the spreadsheets prepared manually are unable to verify key information such as account numbers, entries might be made incorrectly.

To avoid this many small businesses are adoption accounting software that provide advanced accuracy and control with improved efficiency at every step of the accounting process. The accounting software allows you to create, review and approve journal, along with supporting documentation.

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3.38: Assignment- Writing in College Journal Entry

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https://youtu.be/RH95h36NChI

The video above discusses beliefs students hold about college and demonstrates how those beliefs relate to test performance. Consider how beliefs might also impact a student’s performance on writing assignments.

Develop a 200-400 word journal entry that identifies three beliefs, mentioned in the video or discovered through your own observations, that relate to a student’s ability to write academic essays. Explain how these beliefs might be adjusted through the practice of metacognition to improve writing results.

Worked Example

Journal entry assignments tend to be more flexible than other types of writing assignments in college, and as a result they can be tailored to your own experiences as long as they answer the primary questions asked in the assignment.

One model of a successful entry about this topic can be found below. Feel free to include your own experiences and examples from real life as they pertain to the issue at hand.

Writing in College Journal Entry

by Sandy Brown

Belief: Learning is fast

Related to writing essays, I could see how I could easily fall into this trap of thinking that fast is good. I have such limited time in the day to work on school assignments, that I think that whatever I can manage to get done must be the best possible work that I’m capable of doing. I should allow myself more time, though that’s easier said than done. Even with smaller writing assignments, like this one, if I give myself a day or two to sketch out ideas for what I want to say, and then reflect on it before writing it, I think I’ll do a much better job in the long run.

Belief: I’m really good at multi-tasking

This one is very related to the “learning is fast” idea. Watching the girl in the video do a million things while she’s studying is just like watching my own kids at night! And I’m pretty guilty of this, as well. If I can set aside a quiet part of my night, and just focus on only one assignment at a time, I think I’ll do a lot better with my writing overall. And I’ll be happier with the results.

Belief: Being good at a subject is a matter of inborn talent

This is actually not a belief I personally hold. I always loved to read growing up, and I still do read fiction as much as time allows. But working as a business administrator for the past 15 years has shown me that I’m pretty good with numbers and bookkeeping, too, which I wouldn’t have guessed before this job.

One of my daughters is very drawn towards English and writing, and another struggles with it. They both seem to feel this is a matter of fate. I’m going to share this video with them, because I think there are ways that my daughter who struggles can be empowered to think that she CAN get better at writing, if she just keeps practicing. (This is also something I’m going to do myself…I’m very out of practice with writing for school!)

• Revision and Adaptation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Writing Strategies. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.candelalearning.com/lumencollegesuccess/chapter/writing-strategies/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1 of 5, Beliefs That Make You Fail... Or Succeed. Authored by : Samford Office of Marketing and Communication. Located at : https://youtu.be/RH95h36NChI . License : All Rights Reserved . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

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Journal Entries Explained - Full Guide With Examples

Creating a journal entry is the process of recording and tracking any transaction that your business conducts. Journal entries help transform business transactions into useful data.

Want to learn how to correctly write journal entries for your business? You’ve come to the right place!

In this guide, we’re going to cover:

What Is a Journal Entry?

Why are journal entries so important, what is included in a journal entry, what are the different types of journal entries, how to use accounting software to document your journal entries.

Journal entries are records of financial transactions flowing in and out of your business. These transactions all get recorded in the company book, called the general journal .

Journal entries are the very first step in the accounting cycle . The main thing you need to know about journal entries in accounting is that they all follow the double-accounting method.

What this means is that for every recorded transaction, two accounts are affected - and as a result, there is always a debit entry and a credit entry.

Before diving into the nits and grits of double-entry bookkeeping and writing journal entries, you should understand why journal entries are so important for a business.

Well, for starters, maintaining organized records of your transactions helps keep your company information organized . Accountants record data chronologically based on a specific format. This way they can easily find information and keep an eye out for any possible accounting errors .

Secondly, journal entries are the first step in the recording process. So you’ll eventually need them to prepare other financial statements . The income statement, cash flow, balance sheet, all of them are based on the initial recordings of journal entries.

Lastly, performance measurement . Auditors use financial reports to analyze how transactions are impacting the business.

What Is Double-Entry Bookkeeping?

As we said above, in every transaction, at least two accounts will change, where one is debited and the other one credited. This is known in accounting as double-entry bookkeeping .

Double-entry bookkeeping isn’t as complicated as it might sound. To understand the concept, think about any purchase you’ve ever made.

Money in exchange for a product, right? In accounting language, this is a transaction that simultaneously affects two accounts . The cash account, which decreases since you’re paying, and the equipment account, which increases from buying the product.

So in simple terms, in the business world, money doesn’t simply appear or disappear. If it goes into one account, it has to get out of another. That’s why it’s called “double-entry”.

This is where the concepts of debit and credit come to play.

First, let’s get some common misconceptions out of the way.

Debit and credit are neither good nor bad . And no, they’re not the same as adding or subtracting .

They are just words that show the double-sided nature of financial transactions .

In brief: debit is money that flows into an account , whereas credit is money that flows out of an account .

Here’s all you need to remember:

• A credit is always on the right side of a journal entry . It increases the owner's equity, liabilities, and revenue when credited. It decreases them when debited.
• A debit, on the other hand, is always on the left side of a journal entry . It increases assets and expenses when debited. It decreases them when credited.
• At the end of the journal entry, the credit and debit balance should be equal to each other . If they don’t, double-check because you’ve probably made a mistake.

Does it all still sound a bit confusing? Don’t worry! We’ve made a cheat sheet so you can easily remember.

Ready to solve an example? Let’s take a simple one and explain the process step-by-step.

Double-Entry Bookkeeping Example

Let’s say the owner of an advertising company decides to invest $10,000 cash in his business.

There are three main steps you have to follow to make the perfect journal entry:

First, figure out which accounts are affected . In this transaction, they are the assets account and the owner’s equity account.

Now, determine which items have been increased or decreased , and by how much .

Since the owner is making an investment , both of the accounts will increase by $10.000. The asset account will have $10.000 more in cash, whereas the Owner’s Equity account $10.000 more in Capital.

Lastly, we have to translate the changes into debits and credits . We learned that debits increase assets, so cash will be debited for $10,000. On the other hand, the opposite will happen to the owner’s equity. Capital will be credited for $10,000.

After this point, the hardest work is done. All there’s left to do now is neatly document the transaction.

Here’s how you do it ...

To make a complete journal entry you need the following elements:

• A reference number or also known as the journal entry number , which is unique for every transaction.
• The date of the journal entry .
• The account column , where you put the names of the accounts that have changed .
• Two separate columns for debit and credit . Here you will put the amounts that will be credited and debited. Again, it’s important to remember that they must be equal in the end. If you’re using accounting software, it won’t let you post the journal entry unless the amounts match. However, if you’re using manual apps like Sheets or Excel, always triple check the balance.
• Lastly, the journal entry explanation . This needs to be a brief but accurate description of the journal entry. You may need to refer back to it in the future, so be as clear as possible.

This is what the previous transaction would look like in a Journal:

What are the Most Common Types of Journals?

Businesses are diverse - in size, service, ownership. That’s why there are different types of journals, based on the company you run. Mainly, however, we divide them into two categories: general and special .

We briefly mentioned the general journal in the beginning. To recap, the general journal is the company book in which accountants post (or summarize) all journal entries.

While small businesses and startups might not have difficulty fitting all of their entries in the general journal, that’s not always the case.

For big industries like trading or manufacturing, other journals, called special journals are necessary. Their purpose is to group and record transactions of a specific type. These types depend on the nature of the business. Usually, though, special journals record the most recurring transactions within a company.

Here’s a list of the most frequent types of special journals utilized by companies:

• Sales - income you earn from sales.
• Sales Return - loss of income from sales you’ve refunded
• Accounts Receivable - cash owed to the company
• Accounts Payable - cash the company owes
• Cash Receipts - cash you’ve gained
• Purchases - payments you’ve done
• Equity - owner’s investment
• Payroll - payroll transactions such as gross wages, or withheld taxes

Most Common Journal Entries for a Small Business

Some of the most common types of journal entries that a small business will make are the following:

All examples assume tax is applied on sales and purchase. If no tax, then it can be removed as the value will be zero.

Journal Entry for Sales of Services

Journal Entry for Sales Invoice - Goods/Inventory

Journal Entry for Cash Sales

Journal Entry for Receiving Payment for Invoice

Journal Entry for Purchase of Goods

Journal Entry for Purchase of Services

Journal Entry for Making Payments for Purchases

Journal Entry for Only Fulfilling Orders (transfer of goods/inventory out of the system)

Journal Entry for Only Receiving Goods (transfer of goods/inventory into the system)

As you might’ve guessed, a journal entry for sales of goods, is created whenever your business sells some manufactured goods. Since these are self-descriptive enough, let’s move on to some more complex accounting journal entries.

There are three other main types of journal entries in accounting:

Compound Entries

When transactions affect more than two accounts , we make compound entries . These are common when the recordings are related in nature or happen during the same day.

Remember: debits and credits must always be equal. The principle stays the same, there are just more accounts that change.

Let’s check out an example.

XYZ company decides to buy new computer software for $1,000. They pay $500 in cash right away and agree to pay the remaining $500 later.

The steps are the same as in the double-entry bookkeeping.

First, we figure out which accounts have changed and by how much. In this scenario, those are three:

• Asset account, which increases by $1,000 when buying the new computer software.
• Cash account, which decreases $500 in Cash from paying.
• Accounts payable account, which increases $500 from the remaining unpaid amount.

The next step is to translate them into debit and credit.

Assets increase when debited, so Equipment will be debited for $1,000. Expenses decrease when credited, so Cash will be credited for $500. Liabilities increase when credited, so Accounts Payable will also be credited for $500.

This is what the transaction would like in a Journal:

Adjusting Entries

Adjusting entries are used to update previously recorded journal entries . They ensure that those recordings line up to the correct accounting periods. This does not mean that those transactions are deleted or erased, though.  Adjusting entries are new transactions that keep the business’ finances up to date .

They are usually made at the end of an accounting period . The accounting period usually coincides with the business fiscal year.

There are four main types of adjusting entries:

• Prepaid expenses are payments in cash for assets that haven’t been used yet. Think of insurance. It protects a company from possible losses, like fire or theft, which haven’t happened yet.
• Unearned revenue is cash received before the product or service is provided. Take your yearly gym membership or Spotify subscription - you’re paying in advance for future service.
• Accrued revenue is money earned, but not collected. If you take a loan, the interest rate income from the loan will be recorded as an accrued revenue.
• Accrued expenses are expenses made, but not paid. An example would be not paying your workers their salary until the end of the month.

Let’s put all of this information into a concrete exercise.

On October 2nd, you sell to a client, a service worth $3,000. You receive the payment for the provided service, however, you forget to make a journal entry.

Then at the end of October, you compare the actual cash reserve with the cash reserve shown on the balance sheet.

Since the two sums will not match, it means that there is a missing transaction somewhere. At this point, you need to make a journal entry adjustment .

The journal entry on October 31st would look like this:

Reversing Entries

Reverse entries are the opposite of adjusting entries. When we say the opposite, we don’t mean that the adjusting entries get deleted. No amount previously recorded changes. Reverse entries only simplify financial reports , by canceling out the effect of the adjusting entries.

Since their goal is just to simplify, reverse entries are optional. Some accountants choose to make them, others don’t.

They’re usually done at the start of a new accounting period .

Because adjusting entries are made at the end of the period. So, for instance, if the period ends on December 31st, you would do the reverse the next day, on January 1st.

Now, you can’t reverse all types of adjusting entries: only accrued revenues and accrued expenses .

Let’s see how the previous accrued revenues example would look like reversed.

The adjusting entry in the last section was:

• Accounts receivable debited for $3000
• Service revenue credited for $3000

What reversing entries do is switch the places of the two. So now:

• Service revenue will be debited for $3000
• Accounts receivable will be credited for $3000

This is what the complete journal entry would look like:

Running your own company comes with many challenges . No business owner has time to write down all of their journal entries by hand.

That’s why most companies record their entries using accounting software.

You might be thinking - isn’t accounting software only for accountants?

Well, most are, but we at Deskera prioritize small business owners. We’ve spent over 10 years working with small business owners from 100+ different countries to create a cloud accounting software that fits any type of business.

Need to create invoices , manage inventory, create financial reports, track payments, manage dropshipping? You can do all of that with Deskera. Our program is specifically built for you, to easily manage and oversee the finances of your business.

Here’s how you can use Deskera Books to record journal entries. 1.  Go to Accounting > Journal Entry.

Here, you’ll be able to view, create, and manage all your journal entries. The main attributes displayed for every entry here are the journal entry number, the journal entry date, the journal entry type, and the related document number .

To view the details of each journal entry, you can press on the expand all records button. As you can see, the account name, debit amount, credit amount, and description will all appear .

2.   Next, to manually create a journal entry, press on the create button on the top right . You’ll notice two journal entry options: normal or fund transfer. Each option depends on the type of entry you’re making.

3.   Click JE - Normal . This will take you to the general journal page. The top half of the page contains the auto numbering format, currency, and journal date . There’s also an option that allows you to include the entry on the tax report . Then there’s the bottom half , where you can add the account, description, type, and amount .

4. Fill in all of these boxes with the appropriate information and press Save . Ta-da, you’ve created a journal entry!

What if you accidentally enter the wrong amounts? The software will notice and won’t save the journal entry . That’s what the “unbalanced account” on the bottom right of the page serves for. The exact off-balance amount will show.

Automate Journal Entry Creation Using Accounting Software

Businesses have moved on from the age of pen and paper for a reason. Using accounting software like Deskera will help you automate the entire journal entry creation process.

When your business creates an invoice , the corresponding journal entry is added automatically by the system in the respective ledger for Accounts Receivable, Sales, Sales Tax, etc...

Similarly, when a payment is processed, the bank and the accounts receivable are adjusted automatically by the accounting software.

Deskera , allows you to integrate your bank directly and track any expenses automatically. When you make an expense, the journal entry is automatically created, and it is mapped to the correct ledger account.

You can also create custom invoices using the provided templates, and send reminders to make sure you don’t miss out on any invoice payments .

To top it off, creating financial reports with Deskera is as easy as 1-2-3.

Still not sure? Well, luckily Deskera offers a completely free trial. You can sign up here and try out all 3 Deskera platforms - Books, Sales (CRM), & People (HRIS).

Key Takeaways

Hope our guide to journal entries was helpful!

For a quick recap let’s go through the main points we’ve covered:

• Journal entries record the financial transactions of a business . They’re the first step in the accounting cycle.
• Each transaction in a journal entry affects two accounts . One of them is debited, the other one credited. Simply put, debit is money flowing into a company, whereas credit is money flowing out.
• Never forget: debits and credit should always be equal in the end.
• To write a journal entry you need to figure out which accounts are affected, which items decrease or increase, and then translate the changes into debit and credit.
• A complete journal entry is made of 6 elements : a reference number, date, account section, debits, credits, and a journal explanation.
• You can record these journal entries into either a General Journal or a Special Journal .
• There are three main types of journal entries: compound, adjusting, and reversing .
• Use accounting software like Deskera to automate the process of creating journal entries, and save a ton of time!

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A JOURNAL ENTRY

Updated 12 May 2022

Subject Experience ,  Learning ,  Myself

Downloads 60

Category Education ,  Life

Topic About My Name ,  About Myself ,  Knowledge ,  Life Changing Experience ,  Student

I've been asked many times if I can continue with the revolution now that I know what I know.

My answer has always been and will always be affirmative. I regret that people had to die as a result of the revolt. However, I believe that if we had not started the revolt, even more people would have died. Our mission was not to destroy but to free the oppressed.

I recall the first time we sat down with Colonel Martinez to talk about the possibilities of a revolt.

Martinez was an undergraduate political science student at the time, and I was a new politician annoyed by the injustice of state administrative bodies. Martinez expressed reservations about a revolution. He cited that we would both be risking our careers and safety given that we were not as influential at the time.

It was not until 4 months later that we met once to discuss the possibility of starting a movement that would address political imposition and corruption in our society.

I felt that the time was right since certain prominent figures from the opposition parties had gone missing. It was our duty to demand accountability in the face of impositions such as was occasioned by the state at the time. We discussed the technicalities of the project and realized that the biggest obstacle was occasioned by a griping lack of funds.

To address the funding issue, I informed Martinez that we would have to rally all members of the segmented political parties if we were to achieve a milestone in our call for good governance.

The members would all contribute equally and according to their abilities towards the projects that were initiated under the movement. I personally committed 60% of my wealth to ensuring that the goals of the movement had been met. Years later I would recount this when we were imprisoned and Martinez would laugh at the gripping determination that I had projected at the time.

The next challenge in the project had been to determine an effective way to oversee our goals.

Violence had never been a priority at the time. We had decided to integrate a peaceful accord in calling for the improvement of services in the region. Other priorities that formed part of our institution included the need for inclusivity in the government, the improvement of educational and health settings. It had never been our goal to engage the police and state security agencies in running battles. Our movement was inspired by real and collective social challenges. We were not only seeking redress for political impositions but also economic and social justice.

That we later became violent was a culmination of the government’s relentless purge on our initiatives.

Our offices were raided by the police and documents burnt. Our children were kidnapped and our wives were raped. Violence was the only option left to us. We had no choice but to protect ourselves against the injustices. After a series of attacks, I informed Martinez that it was time to move into the forest. Martinez was a cautious and informed that perhaps there was another medium by which we could address the stalemate. However, we both knew that we had exhausted all of the options available to us. The media had illegalized our movement and the international community had completely ignored the course. The forest and the guns were the only options left to us and on the 21st of November 1992, we packed our bags, organized our families and made our way deep into the forest.

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Schneier on Security

Class-action lawsuit against google’s incognito mode.

The lawsuit has been settled :

Google has agreed to delete “billions of data records” the company collected while users browsed the web using Incognito mode, according to documents filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday. The agreement, part of a settlement in a class action lawsuit filed in 2020, caps off years of disclosures about Google’s practices that shed light on how much data the tech giant siphons from its users­—even when they’re in private-browsing mode. Under the terms of the settlement, Google must further update the Incognito mode “splash page” that appears anytime you open an Incognito mode Chrome window after previously updating it in January . The Incognito splash page will explicitly state that Google collects data from third-party websites “regardless of which browsing or browser mode you use,” and stipulate that “third-party sites and apps that integrate our services may still share information with Google,” among other changes. Details about Google’s private-browsing data collection must also appear in the company’s privacy policy.

I was an expert witness for the prosecution (that’s the class, against Google). I don’t know if my declarations and deposition will become public.

Tags: browsers , courts , data collection , Google

Posted on April 3, 2024 at 7:01 AM • 16 Comments

Q • April 3, 2024 7:40 AM

I think it is important to state that it is incognito mode in Google’s Chrome browser .

Other browsers exist.

Grima Squeakersen • April 3, 2024 9:33 AM

“Google has agreed to delete “billions of data records” the company collected while users browsed the web using Incognito mode”

Anyone who believes that Google will delete all such records collected must also believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. I do note that the statement doesn’t say “all data records”, so I suppose there might be some plausibility to the idea that Google might delete, say 7 BLN records of 20 BLN collected, with every record deleted a redundant copy of one that remains.

Hugo • April 3, 2024 9:59 AM

So amazing that people still use Google’s software. How many examples do we need to understand that Google is not an honest company? Don’t use their software. You have a choice.

Who? • April 3, 2024 10:08 AM

How can we be really sure Google removes all that data?

Google is a data broker, one of the worst offenders in the field of privacy violations I would say; in the past, nearly two decades ago, I had an account on Google services like gmail, until someone working for Google at California contacted with me offering a job because “some emails I sent where tagged as important and one employee of the company read them”.

Now, I do not have a Google account anymore but, I am sure, even if I do not agree with Google’s terms of service THEY WILL CONTINUE READING ANY EMAIL I SENT TO PEOPLE USING GMAIL ADDRESSES.

Google should at least be banned in Europe. I have lost any hope about the United States doing the right thing with these data brokers.

Adrian • April 3, 2024 12:46 PM

I keep reading that one aspect of the settlement is that Google will allow Incognito user to block third-party cookies for five years.

What does that mean? Does Chrome currently (or recently) prevent users from blocking third-party cookies? I’ve always blocked third-party cookies by default. What changes in five years?

Separately from this suit and the settlement, Google has already proclaimed that 2024 is the year they will phase-out third-party cookies altogether (while adding APIs that allow cross-site tracking through other means), so isn’t this part of the settlement a nothing-burger?

NoGoogle • April 3, 2024 1:44 PM

According to https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/04/02/google-to-purge-private-incognito-mode-user-records-but-will-keep-snooping/ “Google will delete billions of records it scooped from “Incognito” mode web browsing of about 136 million U.S. users but will continue to collect data through the not-so-private browser setting — it just has to disclose the grab.”

Even if you trust that Google will delete the data -true anonymization is almost impossible to do-, they will be deleting data that is probably of little value going forward if they are allowed to keep collecting data from users in incognito mode.

In surveillance capitalism, more recent data is of higher value than older data because it has higher predictive value, in a statistical sense, on the ads users are likely to click.

Adrian • April 3, 2024 1:52 PM

@NoGoogle: Is it irony that the Mercury News link you posted asks me to disable Incognito in order to read the article about how Google’s Incognito mode wasn’t as private as users thought?

Even funnier, I’m not using Incognito mode. I’m just blocking third-party cookies.

NoGoogle • April 3, 2024 2:03 PM

“Google should at least be banned in Europe. I have lost any hope about the United States doing the right thing with these data brokers.”

As a former European -I was born in a European country but a couple of decades ago I immigrated to the United States; I have been making a living in tech during this time but I formally renounced my former European citizenship upon becoming an American citizen – I think that one key aspect in this whole debate that the European press gets wrong is that the United States doesn’t take on Google for traditional political reasons (ie, left/wing politics). The actual reality is much different.

Unlike what happens in Europe, paying politicians -and buying their vote- is legal in the United States. It’s called “campaign contributions” and while technically there cannot be “quid pro-quo” -check the case of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell who was unanimously exonerated by the US Supreme Court.

Once the leadership of Google understood that their company was destined to be big – probably around 2005-2006- they made the conscious decision of participating in America’s political process the traditional way to avoid the destiny of Microsoft. As part of this strategy the company -not to be confused with their employee base- donated to politicians and political centers of power of both Democrat and Republican administrations.

Their strategy worked for a long time. It is well documented that the Obama administration set aside an antitrust lawsuit against Google its appointes had redied in 2013.

When Trump came to power, Google kept playing the same gain with entities such as the Heritage Foundation and the CATO Institute that you can think of as “cults of profit”, ie organizations that worship profitable companies.

I was very surprised when Biden decided to keep alive the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Trump administration a couple of months before the 2020.

Google also knows (check the anti trust cases against IBM and Bell Labs) that even if the company were to be broken up, things will take a long time and they (Google) have the best lawyers money can buy.

In a situation like this, the best anyone can do is to take matters in his/her own hands: delete all your Google accounts, use Signal and use ProtonMail/ProtonVPN. And if you family/friends use Gmail, convince them to do otherwise.

lurker • April 3, 2024 2:03 PM

@Adrian “Does Chrome currently (or recently) prevent users from blocking third-party cookies?”

No, but to block them the user needs to know that third party cookies exist, and how to dig down through Chrome’s Settings submenus.

@NoGoogle “Google will delete billions of records it scooped from “Incognito” mode web browsing of about 136 million U.S. users”

Meanwhile G will continue munching on the records it gained from all non-US users, icluding Europe before the GDPR smacked them.

@ Bruce ‘Google must further update the Incognito mode “splash page”’

And of course the release note for the update will say in total, as always, This update contains bug fixes, and performance improvements.

Dominick • April 3, 2024 2:07 PM

That’s rather anti-climactic. I guess Google must have been really against deleting the data, to let the lawsuit go on for 4 years before offering this nearly-meaningless settlement. And the class took it! It must’ve been a really weak case. I wasn’t necessarily expecting money, but they should’ve pushed for Google to stop collecting data from people using privacy modes—for example, have Google modify Chrome to set the do-not-track flag when “Incognito”, and require Google to respect the flag from all browsers.

Re: Adrian’s mention of irony, Wired and Mercury News are both working fine for me in Tor Browser (excepting that the Mercury byline is overlayed on top of the article’s text; disabling the stylesheet helps).

NoGoogle • April 3, 2024 2:11 PM

No question. Just to be clear, as a Silicon Valley resident I understood early on what Google was about circa 2004/2005. Back then I was studying engineering as a graduate student at Stanford and Google was in a huge hiring spree. I rejected their hiring requests but the classmates I recall being the most enthusiastic about joining Google were people who couldn’t care less about violating people’s privacy as long as they enjoyed the perks of being a Google employee (well paid, free food, stock options/RSUs).

Google has been buying the will of a lot of smart people for a long time. It won’t be easy to take on them. This lawsuit is a great example. Google has settled. Is the settlement impacting their ability to continue to make money with surveillance capitalism in any meaningful way? Obviously no.

Thank you for your comment.

lurker • April 3, 2024 2:27 PM

@Mercury News

No, it’s not irony, just the American way: the Blocker splash says

DISABLE INCOGNITO OR SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE

I’m not willing to pay a subscription just to check that option, but I too am not using Incognito, or Chrome. I have an adblocker, and block 3rd party cookies, but MN loads text only and messed up css with .js OFF. Some papers, NYT is notable, now demand adblockers OFF, .js ON.

lurker • April 3, 2024 2:38 PM

BSF, Attorneys for the Plaintiff, in an historic flashback, were also Attorneys for the Plaintiff in the casee of SCO vs. Everyone re. Who owns Unix/Linux?

http://groklaw.net/

Boris Reitman • April 3, 2024 2:45 PM

I prefer being tracked via 3rd party cookies in order to see good, relevant ads. And, I prefer seeing ads than paying for subscription. When I use the Incognito mode, I know that URLs that I browser are logged at the ISP. I can’t expect this data not to be leaked out. It’s fine with me.

NoGoogle • April 3, 2024 4:42 PM

I have never used Chrome as my personal browser -when I am in hotels or similar places without my computer I have used it on occasion but I don’t recall having used it with my personal credentials.

For a long time, my personal browser was Firefox. When Brave came out, I switched and I haven’t looked back. Because Brave is kind of aggressive, when things don’t work out well there, I use Microsoft Edge as my backup.

When it comes to VPNs, I used to use AirVPN -given that their central legal location is Italy- but around a couple of years ago I tried ProtonVPN. I still keep AirVPN as a backup, but I love the Proton ecosystem.

In short, Google is a very untrustworthy company. If you are a security conscious person, the last thing you do is to use their services with your real id (or even a fake ID).

David Levine • April 3, 2024 7:20 PM

Congrats on the win! At the same time, I am a well educated person who reads this blog regularly. Nevertheless, I have no idea what it means to my privacy that Google collects data from third-party websites “regardless of which browsing or browser mode you use,” and that “third-party sites and apps that integrate our services may still share information with Google.” Unless we know the uses of the data at the intermediate stage (as in famous examples of who is pregnant or who is gay) and at the final stage (as in raising prices on a website, telling the FBI whom to investigate, etc.), we are still giving up privacy in ways we cannot understand. I appreciate your leadership in this larger fight.

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