Dear diary...

[nice90sguy]

...No, I'm not going to start a blog thread here!

I wonder how many people here kept, or are currently keeping a personal diary. I think it's a good practice for creative writers -- not that I've written one since I was 18.

My brother kept a diary in his late teens, and so did I, and my ex wife did too. My brother's diary makes interesting reading, as he was travelling at the time, to places that are no longer easy for Westeners to visit. My own was typically angst-ridden teen stuff, while my ex's was rather factual, and scrupulously kept, even if she'd had a "boring day". Because of its Proustian detail, it reveals a lot about her character at the time.

When I was at university, I shared an apartment with three girls and two other guys (at the time we moved in it was like "Friends" -- none of us had slept together). I recall reading one of the girl's diaries -- wow she was madly in love with ... well, pretty much every guy she knew, including me. I felt guilty, but even more than that, I learned that people aren't always what they appear to be.

I know a couple of people who converse daily, and at depth with ChatGPT, treating it as a sort of confessional/psychotherapist, which I guess is a similar cathartic practice.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

Does a sleep diary count? I did that for a few weeks until I finally had a lucid dream.

I do think diaries are helpful ways to reflect. Although at points, might veer into performative for those inclined to creative writing.

 

[Erozetta]

I keep a dream diary, that's it.

 

[TheLobster]

I kept a dream diary for the same purpose as @Voyeurkenneth, but couldn't squeeze more than a minute or two out of the few LDs I had. And yes, I did try eating more bananas.

Regular diary, though? Not recently, and by "recently" I mean like middle school.

 

[THBGato]

My wife has started keeping one again.

For about 3.5 years, my wife and I kept a blog that was essentially a daily diary (we were living abroad, and it was a way for family to keep up to date with us); we stopped when we moved back to the UK.

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I write in one regularly, though not daily. I've been using it for a variety of things, though no mention of my writing as of yet. I write about therapy topics, day to day topics, stories I want to remember when my memory fails me, the happy things that seem so small now but that will be the things we love to look back on later, etc.

I also keep a symptom diary, but that one's not nearly as much fun.

 

[yowser]

An English prof in college, who taught courses on biography and autobiography (keeping a diary was usually a requirement for the class that you had to turn in at the end of the course) was also a mountaineer, who wrote extensively about first ascents, exotic summits etc.

He was on an expedition one time with an exalted veteran, a climber of exceptional ability and prestige. Who kept a diary.

My prof agonized over this during the trip. He didn't have the nerve to ask to see the journal, but finally opportunity struck one day to take a surreptitious peek at the journal while the fellow was away.

Heart in mouth, he rummaged in the chap's belongings, found the diary, opened the first page, hoping to hear about tough climbs, technical advise, emotional content.

Entry one.

Oatmeal for breakfast this morning.

Huh? that was it?

It went on for day after day. Same thing. Maybe a stray comment on the weather. Sometimes raisins were involved with the oatmeal, but bupkis on anything of import.

My prof was disgusted with himself for stealing an illicit peek, disappointed in the miserable diarist for zero revelation, and vowed never again to waste his moral qualms on trying to sneak a look at another human's innermost thoughts.

But then again, he managed to get around this moral speedbump by forcing his students to self-exhibit! A true voyeur.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

No, never really have, not counting blogs.

 

[AG31]

I don't keep a diary of my activities, but I do keep lots of little jottings about my insights into things. Erotica and sex (see my Thanks to AH post), "Aha words," like minded (to me) people in various categories on Literotica, etc.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Nah, no paper or file is private enough for my thoughts, unless I was to write a redacted version, which kinda defeats the point.

 

[crookedletter]

I don't keep a regular diary/journal, but I do sometimes free write when I'm stuck on an idea and want to explore it. It might pertain to a story I'm working on, it might just be something prickly in my thoughts that I can't seem to get straight or get my head around. Writing, for me, is a good way to wrench things loose, to get some clarity on what I actually think about something.

Occasionally that sort of thing resembles a diary, insofar as musings/lunatic ravings can be considered a diary.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Journaling is quite an important part of my life. I've been doing so for ten years already, and I keep three:

1. A bullet journal that also works as my weekly and daily planner, as well as write down thoughts of my day, track things, and even seek out harmful patterns.
2. A larger journal where I put my day, do prompts, or reflect in my situation, or whatever... Is not really a diary, but sometimes it gets there.
3. A journal that's exclusively for sex, which has actually been another tool in my erotica toolbox.

 

[iwatchus]

I never have, but, before I hit my head, I had a memory that allowed me to say what day I did most interesting things from years earlier, including day of the week. No incentive to keep a diary. Post-TBI? I can only do that sometimes, but still no diary.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

An English prof in college, who taught courses on biography and autobiography (keeping a diary was usually a requirement for the class that you had to turn in at the end of the course) was also a mountaineer, who wrote extensively about first ascents, exotic summits etc.

He was on an expedition one time with an exalted veteran, a climber of exceptional ability and prestige. Who kept a diary.

My prof agonized over this during the trip. He didn't have the nerve to ask to see the journal, but finally opportunity struck one day to take a surreptitious peek at the journal while the fellow was away.

Heart in mouth, he rummaged in the chap's belongings, found the diary, opened the first page, hoping to hear about tough climbs, technical advise, emotional content.

Entry one.

Oatmeal for breakfast this morning.

Huh? that was it?

It went on for day after day. Same thing. Maybe a stray comment on the weather. Sometimes raisins were involved with the oatmeal, but bupkis on anything of import.

My prof was disgusted with himself for stealing an illicit peek, disappointed in the miserable diarist for zero revelation, and vowed never again to waste his moral qualms on trying to sneak a look at another human's innermost thoughts.

But then again, he managed to get around this moral speedbump by forcing his students to self-exhibit! A true voyeur.

Maybe he kept two dairies. That diary in the obvious location and the real thing somewhere more secure.

 

[StillStunned]

Or he wrote in invisible ink.

"Dear diary, he's snooping again. I know it. I can feel his eyes on me, waiting for me to turn my back so he can go through my gear. What does he think he'll find, dear diary? My private thoughts of how snoopers should be punished? How I'm tempted to cut his rope and watch him plummet to his death? But I wouldn't ever cherish such thoughts, would I, dear diary?"

 

[kathyisgr65]

I have kept some form of a diary since I was about 12..
Didn't know it was my parents sneaky way of controlling me til I was way out of the house..
But as an adult..I love it
Can get everything out. say everything I think.. crazy or not... and it helps me to process stuff
I also love to just write and see where my imagination takes me..
Diaries are cool cuz u can say think about whatever u want.. total freedom to explore and contemplate whatever ur heart desires..