Bi-Yearly Check-in: Writing vs. Journaling
The past six months will be a time in my life I doubt I’ll ever forget. I wish it was because I wrote the next great novel, or found myself buried in money from a fat book deal, or received word that a mystery channel was interested in making my stories into a television series.
Nope. Not yet. 🙂
The past six months I’ve done my best to stick to a routine to stay focused on my writing, and some days were certainly easier than others given all the distractions around us. My routine was sidelined, to be sure, my creativity stunted, I had to come up with ways to beat the quarantine blues, I had bookstore and book event withdrawals, and uncertainty about how best to express myself via my newsletter and blog when there were so many other overwhelming issues to worry about in the world.
But my routine has been sidelined before, my creativity will never run dry, and events and marketing will always be a work-in-progress. These are the ups and downs of being a writer and just another blip to get through.
Beyond what it was like to create during the past six months, this is what I’ll remember…almost everyone has thrown their hat into at least one battle: red vs. blue, black vs. white, black vs. blue, real news vs. fake news, earning a living vs. sheltering in place, virus vs. flu, to mask vs. not to mask. These past few months I’ve seen more arguments, ugliness and hatred than civility, kindness and hope brought on by turbulent days full of conviction, uncertainty and chaos. With all the discussions on the table, there’s a need by so many to be heard, but sometimes the conviction behind strong opinions on both sides of the table promotes the inability to listen and to reason.
While some arguments will be short-lived, others are on-going and may not be resolved anytime soon. I get that. We currently live in a world that’s going through multiple life-changing events that will be written about and remembered for years to come. The trick is finding a balance. Some days I’m a news nerd waiting expectantly for updates (the obvious hindrance to creativity) and other days I want to be a turtle, hide in my shell and pretend the world hasn’t completely turned upside down. Anyone trying to create during the current world crisis has to find a balance, limit the intrusion of outside distractions and be strict when it comes to staying on task.
Which brings me to writing vs. journaling. While I continue to create stories from my imagination, I’m also journaling to keep track of real life as it happens because I imagine that some day when we’re old(er), we might be asked what life was like “way back” in 2020.
What do you think will stand out in your memories the most?
Years from now I may remember there was a pandemic, unemployment crisis and some of the reasons people were protesting or arguing, but I may not remember all the details or how any of what’s been going on has influenced, changed or concerned me or my family. That’s why I’ve done my best to continue to journal these past months, to continue to write about what’s happening and keep track of details I may never remember on my own. Maybe, some day years from now, family members of later generations might be interested to read my entries about what it was like to live during such a turbulent time.
Imagine this…what if you had journals from relatives long gone, about times in history earmarked as a financial crisis, health crisis, social crisis or world war? What if you could read personal entries by your own family members about what they witnessed and went through as a family? I wish my grandfather had a journal about the time he spent fighting in WWII. He told us some stories, but that was years later based on whatever memories he still held. Or I wish my great grandmother kept a journal during the 1918 pandemic or the 1929 depression. I also wish my own parents had kept a journal about what it was like to grow up in the 1960’s (JFK, MLK, Vietnam, Man on the Moon, Woodstock, Elvis, Civil Rights Act, the real “Summer of Love”).
Details get lost through the generations and the retelling of stories. You can read books and watch movies about what those eras or events were like, but there’s something special about reading a journal written by someone in your own family who experienced it firsthand. I honestly wish everyone could keep a journal about their lives to pass down through generations. Journals are personal, honest and real. As we read about the past, and what family members before us lived through, that knowledge could help us understand more about ourselves and maybe even more about the society we know and live in today.
At least, that’s what I believe, so I’ll continue to journal as I’ve done most of my life, but especially during times of strife and uncertainty. I’ve discovered the messiness of life and my muse don’t co-exist all that well, so on those days when my creativity is hindered and I’m unable to write stories, it definitely helps to journal. Eventually, as I release whatever is on my mind, my creativity agrees to come out and play.
Besides, I much prefer to hang out with my imagination than with the messiness of life on my mind. Journaling is how I manage. How about you? Do you journal? Have you thought about journaling now more than ever before? Have you had the pleasure of reading an old journal by a family member? If so, you are lucky. Make sure to keep it safe and pass it down.
Until next time…take care and find balance however you can.
