Know Your Audience: Who

While writing in a journal is fun,  keep in mind that there will be an audience to read it whether they are friends, family, or yourself, keep in mind who will be reading it in the future. Some opt to have private journals discarded for personal reasons. Take Queen Victoria for example. After her death, she had one of her daughters (I believe it was Princess Beatrice) edit her journals and later published to the public. The censor was perhaps done to keep a particular image of the Queen and to protect some of her privacy.

Keeping this in mind...

Who are you writing to?

• Future Self
• Family
• Friends

Motivation & Purpose: Why

With journal writing, it is important to know why you are writing it. Some people do it for a self-therapy or to keep a family history. There are many reasons! For me, I started writing in my own journal originally to improve my handwriting when I first started to learn to write. Over the years, my personal reason to write changed to more of a mix of family history, personal therapy, and a bit of a daily activity track.

Keeping that in mind...

What are your reasons to write?

Why do you want to write in a journal?

SPOTLIGHT | Buying Online Journals

During the summer, it is a fantastic time to make memories and to record them in journals! Those memories are precious and great to remember when written in a journal.

Here are some great places to find journals online and although as a disclaimer, I have not ordered journals from all these places, please use them at your own risk.

1. Barnes and Noble
On their website, they have many choices as they do in their actual stores! From leather bound journals to stationary/cards, they're there online. So all you fellow introverts, go crazy finding that perfect journal!

2. Hallmark
Oh, classic Hallmark. Hallmark not only sells greeting cards, but beautiful journals and notebooks, too! So if you enjoy the feel of a Hallmark store, their website is great, too!

3. Moleskine Notebooks & Stationary
I had a friend who once gave me a Moleskine journal/sketchbook and it is a small one that is easy to carry around. I have to say that this types of journals or stationary is good quality and their website have more varieties to find!

In short, shopping online is great, too! Being a fan of technology, it helps with everyday convenience, especially if you're also an introvert.

TYPES | Journals to Keep

Online

There are online services that allow you to keep a journal online. They are usually secure and you can add links, photos, or add videos on them. Also, if you'd rather keep an online journal than a physical, traditional journal (you know, the one you keep losing and somehow shows up under your great-great aunt's couch), then this is great for you!

Traditional

Now I prefer a physical journal (next to a blog). With these, they are easy to keep up with because they don't need to be recharged (unlike a computer). 

Blog

Kinda like an online journal, this form of journal you can share with many people or keep it private.

Audio

So if you love to talk or try something new to keep your memories, try keeping an audio recorder (via an app or an actual one from the time of the dinosaurs).

Video (Vlogs)

If you're ever on Youtube (like the introvert that you are like me), you may have come across vloggers or a vlog video. That's basically a journal shot as a documentary that either could fit on the History channel or on PBS.

In any case, the choice is yours!