What do we write?

I've loved pens, ink, stationery for years. I mean since I was a kid . . . er . . just a couple of years back. And I typically use some nice stuff. The truth of my writing things down is that this is a part of how ideas get into my brain. Also I use this as a way of taking some time to think about an issue or question before I answer it. Aside from inscriptions in books I gift, I rarely read what I've written.


So . . . perhaps I should write in a journal . . . . what do you write?

My father in law wrote about the daily weather . . . what birds he saw that morning and other things that struck him as interesting.

I was trying to find on line what I had read about Red Skelton. He was an insomniac but I was impressed by his routine . . . writing down several new things he had learned each day, and if I recall . . . things he was thankful of.

I've got pens and ink on the way and I'm looking at paper and notebooks as well . . . help me out with an excuse to write some more. What do you write?

Mike

I keep a journal....everything of note that happens during the day. usually one page, but there ar time it has stretched to 3 pages

I have a journal but don't write in it. I always have plans for it but I never get around to it. I have thought, that like Brian I would just keep track of things that happen during the day. I have also played around with the idea of keeping a journal for school.

I have journals that I am filling with recipes for my two boys. Basically, I'm putting recipes in the journals that they really like and also things that we have cooked together. As they grow older we do more and more cooking together, and when they leave the house I want them to be able to have a good starting out point for cooking, recipes that they like and that they have either cooked or helped cook. I hope that the family cook book will be something that they treasure.

I just wrote Brian @ Penhaligons a thank you note for the free atomizer/orange blossom edt, also wrote a thank you note to mrs rearviewmirrors parents for taking us on vacation last week....
I take a lot of notes at work, write a lot of 'to do' lists....when I get a customer on the phone who takes 10 minutes to describe a 10 second problem, I start writing down everything they say, which is a trick I picked up in college in very boring lectures.

rearviewmirror said:

I just wrote Brian @ Penhaligons a thank you note for the free atomizer/orange blossom edt, also wrote a thank you note to mrs rearviewmirrors parents for taking us on vacation last week....

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I am going to start doing this and am ashamed that I haven't been this whole time.

Great thread!

I keep a journal which I write in irregularly. Not really what happened during the day, but more intimate thoughts on how I feel about stuff. Sometimes I write story ideas there as well. I find that FP's work much better on thermal paper (credit card receipts) than either ball points or gel pens, too.

I used to journal but sadly have let it go, maybe when 5 O comes I'll take it up again.

I have a little devotional book that I write inspirational scriptures in or inspirational quotes.
I'd like to start a journal soon for my daughter, but i've been saying that for a long time now.
I write often at work, so I use a FP for notes, work orders and all that.
At home, it's easier to grab a ball point to write on the calendar or write a quick note.

Alacrity59 said:

So . . . perhaps I should write in a journal . . . . what do you write?

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I've been writing most of my life, but until about six or seven years ago it was mostly work-related. In 2001 I started writing a weblog. I wanted someplace to park some words where my kids (mostly grown) could find them. That was an experience, I can tell you. I found friends I never knew I had and am still in touch with a few of them.

In the early 2Ks I started writing a journal. I was going through a clinical depression and just started writing. I read Kathleen Adams "Journal to the Self" and it had a lot of ideas for processing the things that happen in daily life. Although my depression waned (thankfully), my habit of writing did not. I don't write everyday and sometimes go through periods of a month or two without writing. But I find myself writing almost every day.

To answer your (fair) question: I write about whatever is on my mind. In the morning I write about any dreams I remember and what I think they mean, I write about what's on my mind to be done during the day, I write about my plans and ideas, I write about who I'm praying for and who's on my mind. In the evening I write about what happened during the day or any stories that I think are worthwhile. I sometimes sketch in my journal, although I'm not an artist I still like to draw.

A journal is a personal item and it should reflect your person. There are websites with writing prompts if you need a boost. Some people I know will do a five-minute dump just to get everything on the page. I've also done a list of one-hundred things about a topic. A journal is nothing more than a tool to reflect what you want it to be.

I read mine now and again, particularly if I remember something I wrote about and wonder what I was thinking at the time. I put an index in the back that has pointer to things I think were important at the time so I can find them.

Enjoy your journal. It should be something that boosts you.

Best...

I am pretty plain when it comes to my writing. The only fountain pen I have is a lamy studio with a italic or extra fine nib on it depending on my preference.

And the only two inks I have a noodlers bullet proof black and legal lapis.

I love the bulletproof line they have because when I write something I want it to stick.

I have a journal I write in that I try to write in everyday about what's going on in the world the weather and what I did and any random thoughts.

It's not the most exciting thing but it helps me get my thoughts organized.

My notebook of choice is a moleskine even though many people say the paper isn't the best for fountain pens it works great for me.

My daily log/calendar/appointment book/journal is set up every evening for the next day with a fountain pen. Out and about, I update and amend it with a BP. I like quality BP's with gel refills, and use a Cartier, Dunhill, Pelikan, MB's, vintage Duofolds, first-year Parker T-Ball Jotter, etc., in rotation. At the end of the day, the calendar is finished off with a fountain pen, and tomorrow's is set up.

I read a lot, so I use journals/notebooks to write down quotes, authors and book titles I am interested in. I also enjoy writing letters or just notes to friends to say hello. I'm similar to Mike also, in that I write things down as a tool to help me learn.

Besides my business / job / everyday writting, I still indulgde in the lost art of writting letters & postcards using my Montblanc Rollerball "Starwalker" pen (engraved with my name), which I enjoy immensely because of it's weight, large diameter and ease of writing.

"Soulmakers for 100 Years".


Christopher "The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium". Norbet Platt

I keep a couple of journals. One is a daily journal and the other is a "catch up" journal that I am writing of things that I remember in my life before I starting keeping a journal. For me that goes back to the 1950's and it is something that I am doing for my daughter to have when I am gone. If you are young I strongly suggest that you start a journal. If you are older you should at least write a catch up journal. I divided mine into decades. Write enough to convey some sense of how you think, what your emotions are so that down the road whoever reads it can get some insight into what kind of person you were, what was important to you, what you enjoyed, etc.

I carry my pocket-sized ruled Moleskine most of the time with me. Most of the things I write (and sometimes draw) down are relating to gastronomy and my other hobbies. I also write about other interesting things I discover and want to go back to later. For example my last four pages or so, are dealing with a pig's head I purchased and cooked yesterday.

With my Moleskine I carry Uniball Signo DX 0.38. At home I use Pelikan M215 with Noodler's ink.

I write in my journal. I exchange letters with people from all over the world. I also make my own postcards and exchnge postcards worldwide.

I have started several journals, but the ones that have been sustained are our family cottage diary/journal. I started keeping hand written pages (using various fountain pens and inks) recording the dates we stayed, activities, family and friends staying with us, etc. It has been a pleasur to keep and is often a good reference when we try to remember when the roof was replace, last year the boat was tuned up, etc. I have thought about converting to an electronic journal, but this one just seems better handwritten.

Someone had given me a gift cert to a local bookstore. Since I get most of my books on the Kindle these days, I decided to spring for a Clairefontaine notebook with an elastic band. I've been journaling for a few days now. Mostly just random thoughts and snippets of my day. I really enjoy it!

Aside from the writing I do at work, I keep a Book Journal noting important quotes, characters and things that strike me interesting in whatever book I am reading. I also keep a honing journal for my straights that I have bee neglecting.

As a physician, I write all day long and refill the Bexley that I use the most just about every day. I also have a "journal" which is mostly a series of lists. For example, I will keep a list of books that I've read with a short note about it. Before I started doing this, I would end up buying a book that I'd already read. Now I look through the journal and make sure I haven't read it. This also helps decide what I'll read next. This way I'm not buying sequels to books I didn't enjoy. I just finished A Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. I had read the first book of the series a few years ago and was prompted to buy it after looking through my past notes on The Name of the Wind.