When I finished reading 'The New Diary' written by Tristine Rainer about six months ago, I wanted to start my own diary immediately. However, taking first steps was not always easy. I had to consider where was the best place to start writing a diary and how I could maintain it? So, after careful and thoughtful consideration, on January 7, 2010, I decided to set up a blog and keep a diary.
WHAT IS THE DIARY? According to Tristine Rainer, the diary is the only form of writing that encourages total freedom of expression. Because of its very private nature, it has remained immune to any formal rules of content, structure, or style. As a result, the diary can come closest to reproducing how consciousness evolves.
WHY WRITING A DIARY? As a new writer, I need more room to practice in order to improve my writing skills. Definitely, writing a diary will allow myself to write spontaneously and honestly following my intuition, my thoughts and my feelings. I would also have chance to experiment more with the knowledge I've learned from Rainer's book. On the other hand, I'm still stuck in the middle of my memoir writing and yet need a bit of confidence to continue. I believe that keeping a diary would at last help me gain the confidence I need.
WHERE TO BEGIN?
1. Begin with the recent period. This approach will keep us in touch with the immediacy of our life. Where are we in our life now? How do we live? What are we feeling, thinking and experiencing? What do we care about? What is the significance of the present moment on the context of our life? And, what do we desire?
2. Begin with a self-portrait. Rather than begin with a detailed autobiography, write a description as how we see ourselves at the present moment. What recent or past events of our life have contributed to the person we are today? And where do we think our life is leading?
3. Begin with the day. This is a valuable exercise to describe each day of your life. However, this daily description could become exhausting and dull if we just write our daily activities. So, begin with a selection of outpouring of strong feelings if we are happy, or exited, or angry, or lonely, or sad, or record a dream, a statement of purpose in keeping the journal, a drawing, or anything else that comes to us.
BASIC DIARY DEVICES
There are four natural modes of expression:
- Catharsis
- Description
- Free-Intuitive Writing
- Reflection
1. Catharsis. According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, catharsis is the process of releasing strong feelings, for example through plays or other artistic activities, as a way of providing relief from anger, suffering, etc. The use of the diary for catharsis, or emotional release is to free ourselves from excessive negative feelings, such as anger, confusion, grief, etc. Putting the pain the diary keeps it from destroying our life. For example, it could be as simple as a statement as, "I hate you!" or "I'm crazy without you!" Then we could elaborate it up to the length we desire.
2. Description. Perhaps this is the most common and familiar form of expression in diaries. It includes any narrative account of events, feelings, dreams, people, places, or anything that derives from our life experience. Description doesn't transcribe reality; it re-creates our view of experience. We can describe people, places, aspects of nature, human interactions, works of art, books we have read, or films we have seen in a way that is more interesting according to our point of view.
3. Free-Intuitive Writing. Free-intuitive writing is primarily an intuitive language conveying a message from the inner consciousness. For example, we might consciously ask ourselves, "What is bothering me?" and allow a voice of wisdom from deep inside to answer in its own imaginative language and uncensored words.
4. Reflection. Reflection is an observation of the process of our life and writing. It can also be called musing, self-observation, or contemplation. It is characterized by the psychological perspectives. It tends to deal with the general and the overall perspective, unlike description which concentrates on the physical and the specific. The combination of both description and reflection will make your writing emotionally and intellectually fulfilling.
For me, after writing a diary for more than a month, I now gain confidence and have chances to really practice and improve my writing skills. Without doubt, keeping a diary will give us an opportunity to express our thoughts, our feelings and our experience. It also help us dredge up memories from the depths of our mind, both consciousness or subconsciousness. So, would you like to start writing your own diary?
Keep a diary and someday it'll keep you. ~Mae West
