Sunday, December 13, 2015

Dear Diary

by Kristi Belcamino

For as long as I can remember I've kept a journal.

I have a footlocker full of my ramblings that dates back decades.

If I die young, God forbid my family reads them and sees what I've really been thinking this entire time! Ha. Or that my children see just how wild I was in my younger days. It is a private place where I can voice my thoughts at that moment, where I can write about my dreams and inspirations and goals. It is the most secret and sacred space in my life.

Keeping journals over the years also prepared me to write my first book, Blessed are the Dead, in my forties.

I can't imagine being a writer without having journaled my entire life.

Even now, I always have a Moleskine journal in my bag, where I make lists, write down story ideas, keep track of my goals and dreams, and generally bitch about things that piss me off.

When I wrote my YA mystery, CITY OF ANGELS, set in LA during the riots, I drew upon my memories from my journal at that time.

When I look back at old journals, I see that ideas I had about novels ended up in those books without me ever looking back at what I had written.

There is magic in writing things down.

Some bestselling writers believe you should actually journal about what you are going to write about that day before you actually sit down to write.

Do you keep a journal?


1 comment:

Scott D. Parker said...

The short answer is no. I have a couple of those 5-year journals but I was inconsistent. I do keep writing journals per novel that details all the thoughts that went into making the book.