How to Start Writing a Diary for Yourself: Best choice you make
We all deal with some kind of stress in our daily lives, Whether itâs from work or personal matters. If youâre looking to get rid of those emotions, try to start writing a diary for yourself. Itâs like pouring your heart out on paper â it really helps clear your mind and express your thoughts and feelings more clearly. Trust me â Iâve tried it myself and it works!
I strongly believe that everyone should have a diary, a safe place to express their thoughts and feelings without any judgment. That thought led me to write this piece to guide you on how to start writing a diary for yourself, even if youâve never done it before. It will be fun writing one, promise!
Some might think, âWhy bother with a diary? Isnât it a waste of time?â But remember: a young girl wrote a diary about her familyâs life during World War II, and it became one of the worldâs best-selling books â Yes, I am talking about the Diary of Anne Frank. I am not saying your diary could be the next best seller, but everything you put into it has value.
If you believe that keeping a diary is worth your while, then this article is for you. Here I will be taking you through the steps to begin your diary writing journey. We will also discuss :
- What is diary writing?
- What is the purpose of diary writing?
- What makes writing a diary a strange experience
- Personal diary writing ideas, and more.
Trust me you will never regret keeping a diary.
What is Diary writing?
You may feel like itâs the most basic concept. But, if you think diary writing is just about writing down your day-to-day activities, then you are wrong, It should be something that takes you to the depth of your soul. For me writing a diary is like a self talk and it is the last thing I do before I hit my bed.
Perhaps you may have heard of various types of diary writing, such as professional, goal-oriented, or creative approaches. But to me, diary writing is about talking to your best friend who listens to you without interrupting, never judging, and that too 24/7 if needed. So whether professional or creative, everything is part of your life, right? Then how can you divide them?
Itâs all about capturing your raw emotions, your lifeâs snapshot â the laughter, the tears, as if you were talking to someone on the other side of the table. The beauty of diary writing is that there are no rules, no judgments, or any red pens to correct your grammar. Itâs just you and your diary.
Now letâs look at why we write a diary. What is the purpose?
What is the purpose of diary writing?
Let your stress drain out: According to a report by the University of Rochester people who keep diaries, report feeling less stressed and anxious and feeling more positive and optimistic about life. This makes it important to start writing a diary for yourself and itâs not rocket science, but we may feel like starting trouble.
You might wonder, why not share our feelings with a close friend or partner? As itâs said sharing your worries with someone will give you great comfort. It is so true and no doubt about that, but I would say there are some aspects in our lives that are intensely personal that we donât want to share with someone but needs to drain out of our heart and there is no better place than a diary.
If I had a bad day, I would be screaming my emotions into the diary, as if my emotional valve had just burst and the relief I feel is like a satisfying exhale after holding my breath for a long time.
What I just mentioned above is a glimpse of the whole story, a diary can be satisfying in different ways
A trip down memory lane: Sometimes writing your thoughts in your personal diary helps you get clarity of what you really want. Itâs like having a friend who remembers everything you tell them because itâs not necessary for you to remember everything that your mind sees.
Self-reflection on how much you have grown: If you are someone who started writing a diary a long time ago, then I hope you can easily connect with this part. You may have flipped through the pages of your old diary with a little chuckle remembering your past blunders or innocence realizing how much you have grown.
I have my diary which I wrote during my school days filled with grammar mistakes. Reading it, I canât help but smile and reflect on how swiftly time has passed.
So you see, your diary shouldnât merely be a notepad, it should be more than just pen and paper. It should be something that can help you with your emotions, your growth tracker, your memory preserver, and above all a selfless friend who cares for you.
Just spill your thoughts to those pages, and let your feelings flow as the ink spreads through the pages.
What makes writing in a diary a strange experience?
Itâs no surprise that we may feel diary writing is strange when starting one, because basically you are having a monologue with a book, and who likes it? However, this experience is truly something unique Here is what I felt when I first began writing my diary:
Taking to a book, Odd, Right? : At first, talking to a book as itâs your friend may not feel normal and itâs not. Sometimes, it may seem dull, as if the friend is not giving you any suggestions when needed, but when you keep writing it becomes a habit, and it feels like someone is responding to your innermost thoughts.
Feeling exposed: As I mentioned earlier pouring your feelings onto the paper isnât easy when you start, even though the diary wonât judge you. We would hold back, afraid to write down our deepest secrets. I felt the same way when I started. I loved someone and initially, I was not able to share it in my diary, feeling it wasnât right. However, with time, everything came to the place as I stripped down your emotional blanket. Now he knows everything about her.
Initially, you might struggle, facing a blank page and wondering where to start, but as you progress the words fill the pages the moment you sit to talk with your diary.
With that being said I hope you may be eagerly waiting to talk about the elephant in the room â how to start writing a diary
How to start writing a diary for yourself?
First things first, the desire to write a diary should come from inside and not from external pressure to write daily. Because if the compulsion motivates you then every day, because if itâs the compulsion that motivates you then you wonât be writing for long, as you will lose interest.
I know starting a new habit is never easy and trust me you will likely miss a few days at first. missing some days at first. So to make it a habit, it should be repeated and most importantly you should make the process easy for your brain to adapt.
So letâs look one by one how can we do it for a starter, nothing is impossible.
Choosing the perfect diary: First and foremost you should enjoy the process, which starts with the diary itself. Your diary could be a fancy leather-bound book( I donât mind spending some money on something that is worth my time) or a digital app, the choice is yours.
I know some people write on Google Docs, while I prefer the offline option where I could be detached from the online garbage for some time and fully engage with the company of my friend.
Set the stage: Itâs nothing but setting up your mood for writing. Itâs true that finding the right ambiance can filter your writing ideas. For me, writing a diary is like finding a silent, cozy place where I grab my pen and just float in my thoughts freely. Find your ambiance, it could be writing under the gentle glow of a table lamp.
Once you have set the ambiance, whatâs next?
Write the date and begin: Itâs as simple as that. Just spill everything the day had for you, what made you smile, what annoyed you. Just let every emotion that comes to mind flow onto the pages. Remember it is a no-judgment zone.
Be honest and open: Look, this is the most important and the reason why you should keep a diary. You may lie to someone about something that you like to share fearing they may judge you. However, your diary is a place where you can be truly yourself without worrying about othersâ opinions. So Just write down your emotions, secrets, dreams everything your mind urges you to do.
Make it a habit: Treat it like your morning coffee or like brushing your teeth. You donât have to worry about making it a habit, just concentrate on the process of writing a diary. As days pass by even without you noticing your mind will make you tell your stories through your diary. Be patient.
Enjoy the ride: Diary writing is all about you and your story and itâs not for showcasing to others, It is a process that should help you discover yourself, and trust me as you keep writing your ideas become clearer and you will witness your progress.
Keep in mind, after reading this you may be eager to buy a book and start writing in your diary today. But remember, starting might be a challenge. Youâll find yourself staring at a blank page or writing something and tearing it off.
Donât tear the page, let your mistakes stay. With time youâll notice progress, later you may feel the pages are not enough to tell what you have in mind and youâll smile at how far youâve come since that first page. Itâs a satisfying experience.
How can I make my diary interesting?
Look what I just shared is just a small help to get you started, keeping your writing interesting depends on you. Itâs often said that a good reader becomes a better writer and I beleive that, try to read some good books, especially some fiction or novels, as they are poetic and can help you to structure your diary and use language effectively.
To put it simply, just read some good books. One excellent choice is âThe Diary of a Young Girlâ by Anne Frank, itâs suitable for readers of all ages. Another favorite of mine is âThe Boy in Striped Pyjamasâ, â one of the best climaxes I have read in books, itâs so touchy and I couldnât hold back my tears.
So there is no perfect formula., write more and eventually everything will improve over time.
Here is a question I often see on the internet.
Personal diary writing ideas
You can find many ideas from various articles, but for me, itâs just one thing:
Be true and honest with your diary
Look, your diary wonât admire you for boasting about yourself, it will just sit there and listen. It wonât share your vulnerabilities and insecurities with anyone. So trust him and let him know more about you and each day of your life.
Start with gratitude for big or small things in life and then you can share how you feel about your life right now. You can talk to him about your dream and how you plan to do that or compose a letter to yourself 10 or 20 years from now about something you really want in life.
So be honest with your writing, itâs better to write about what you feel.
How do you write a diary about your feelings?
As we discussed again and again, there is no right or wrong way to do it. Itâs your personal space, so let your imaginations run wild.
I once wrote my diary as a letter to some of my best friends by addressing them by their names. It was never meant to be sent, it was just a way for me to convey my feelings about our friendship. You can build your diary however you like, but make sure to make it an important part of your life and it never leaves you.
You can also approach it as you were writing a novel or poetry, adding some quotes that connect with you alongside your writing or can use metaphors in between like âI saw a girl beautiful as a starry skyâ. I may not be good at metaphors. But thatâs okay â no fear of judgment.
Whether in my diary or my blog I use a simple and conversational tone as if I am talking to someone, it helps me motivated to write more.
So, just go out there and write as you are, donât try to do as the book says. Let your heart guide your pen.
To wrap things up
Now I hope you understand that writing a diary is something you must explore. While I or others can offer tips on âhow to startâ writing in an interesting way. Ultimately itâs your life and itâs your story and is unique to you. Thatâs why the heading says âhow to write a diary for yourselfâ. Itâs all about you.
For me, my diary is a silent, friendly place where you can pour out my feelings without worrying about my insecurities or being judged. However, always remember one thing, we may start a new habit whether it is diary writing or anything else, but if we canât keep it consistent we may end up leaving it behind. So to make diary writing a habit, you should make your mind fall in love with the process â set up the ambience
So, reading an article wonât help. Go out there and start writing. It wonât be easy and may feel stuck at times. Just write something, even if itâs a blunder. Eventually, everything will be taken care of.
