So
what do you keep? A journal or a diary? Are the words interchangeable?
Can you do both? Or do you need a separate notebook for each activity? I
have wondered these things before.
I heard a good explanation once that said a journal and a diary are the difference between external and internal. A diary is like the external you--what you look like, what clothes you wear, your mannerisms. A journal is more of the internal you--your personal thoughts, feelings, emotions.
Take a look:
A diary, by
definition, is a written record of events that happened during the
day. Such as "Woke up this morning for a doctor's appointment. Ate at
McDonald's on the way home". Sort of like a log book.
A journal, by definition, is more of a personal reflection, recording your thoughts and feelings. Deeper things.
I usually refer to my habit a journal keeping, but in reality, I do a mixture of journaling and diary writing. I often describe what happened during the day, but I also record my thoughts, feelings, and emotions at that present time. I also doodle in my journals, jot down inspiring song lyrics, glue in stuff I cut out from magazines, make collages, write poetry, and anything else that happens to strike my fancy.
It
seems to me that you can refer to what you do as either "journaling"
or "keeping a diary". There aren't a lot of rules in the artistic realm. I found this post to be enlightening on the subject, if you would like to do further reading.
So what do you think?
Do you use the term "journal" or "diary"?
Do you use the term "journal" or "diary"?
Interesting. I always thought the two were the same. Thanks for the clarification!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome; I'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteI do a mixture of both writings as well. I notice when I say Diary people tend to understand more what I am writing about then if I use Journal. At this point I use both when talking about my writing. Love your blog by the way!
ReplyDelete-Kate
I think most people tend to do a mixture of both, regardless of how they term it. I'm glad you are enjoying the blog!
DeleteFor me it's a mixture of both. One day what I write is more like a jounal, the other day more like a diary. Or everything is mixed up in one entry.
ReplyDeleteI am from Germany, and we don't distinguish between journal and diary. It's both the same word, "Tagebuch".
I definitely agree that each day is a bit different as far as diary writing or journaling. That is interesting that the German word is interchangeable.
DeleteThat's interesting! I didn't know there was a difference in meaning. Sometimes I write down events, but most often these days, it's just thoughts and such. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found the post interesting, Marian. :)
Deleteinteresting! I always thought they meant the same thing and could be used interchangeably. Thanks so much! I guess I keep a journal, since it's more of thoughts than what I did each day.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, how did you make your header? It looks so pretty with the leaves :)
MJ // www.littlepandacrafts.blogspot.com
Hey MJ,
DeleteI found my header on this lady's blog, where she makes free graphics and such for people to use on their blogs. I can't remember the name now. :( I'm sure if you googled 'free blog headers' or something it might come up. Then I just took it to picmonkey and added the title. I'm glad you like it. :)