Week 2: Read my Journal if you Dare

Traditional diary is not necessary, but it could be considred a better choice when it comes to free writing. A traditional diary allows for the writer to express their thoughts without having to re-read; being able to speak freely and openly. However, with the change in traditional writing there now becomes the idea of writing about yourself online. Writing about yourself online can be more intrusive than what the writer would want. Writing online opens the writer up for more feedback and the information written about become a public record no longer a private record like traditional diaries or journals.  The issue becomes sharing too much personal life experiences online, allowing others to know more about your personal life which could open up more doors than what the writer wants to open. Once the writer opens up this personal storyline there is the opportunity to overshare too much information. 

People are so intrigued to read other peoples journal post, why is that? Is it because we as a people are so interested in what everyone else is doing? Or we are interested in what others are experiencing?  Journals are more than just words on a paper, instead the thoughts and ideas of what others have done or are experiencing at a given time.  

So the question is not why are people interested in others' journals, but what can someone elses journal tell me about my own life?  When writing a journal the goal is to write freely not worrying about grammar, punctuation or meaning. Instead to write what is on your mind in an honest form, hoping to spark an answer as to why! 

Reading a journal provides a better understanding of what someone else has experienced so that you as the reader may not experience the same in your own life. The journal is a road map to what others have been through and what you as the reader has experienced similar to that individual. Many times the goal of reading a journal is to find some means of how the journal relates to your own personal or professional life experiences. These experiences that the reader has may connect with the journal that is being read, providing a better understanding as to the “why” and “what” needs to be address to prevent from the opposite of what the reader expects in his or her own life.  So again it is not about the interest in the journal but the relationship that the journal has toward the readers current or future life encounters. 

Writers, write to write a story. They do not write in an unconscious mode that only the writer knows about. Instead a writer writes in a mode or tone that the reader will understand hoping to gain empathy from the reader and knowledge to be able to recognize what the writer has been going through on a daily basis. 

Writing in a journal should not be a concern at all for the writer. The concern should be if the material being written is authentic and has meaning to the writer and the reader. A writer should not be concerned with grammar and writing when free writing. However, as the writer becomes more intune with what he/she wants to share with the audience, then the need for grammar and other structural aspects of writing need to be added into consideration. Writing aspects from traderional has changed a little bit but not as much as many think. The reason is because when writing online the writer is focused on the length and if anyone will read. Where from a traditional standpoint the writer only cares about the message and what the message means that is being communicated to the reader.