May 13, 2011

Does blogging take away from journaling?

Since I started blogging, I write less in my journal. Perhaps blogging cuts into my urge to write. Could be, I suppose. But I'm not sold on the idea.

My journal is most useful when I'm writing fiction. In the middle of a furious writing session, I'll "take a break" by closing Scrivener and jumping into my journal. There I have a discussion with myself about what I'm writing, how I feel about it, the problems, etc. -- and as I write, I often reach a decision that makes me jump out of the journal and back into Scrivener, to proceed with the story. Journaling is a necessary part of my writing process.

But the sad fact is that I haven't written anything new in months. This fact upsets me. It's like "what's wrong with this picture?" But I have three "completed" books to get out the door. What else can I do but continue to finalize them? If I don't, they'll never see the light of day, nor a reader. In any case, I suspect the lack of fiction writing in my life is why I write less in my journal these days. I can't blame blogging, which seems to fit easily into my spare moments.

Anyone else do both? How does blogging affect your journaling? Are they related?

2 comments:

Anna Guess Pick said...

The nice thing and BIG plus for "journaling" is that you can easily tuck it (the journal) under your arm or in your pocket as you go out the door for a stroll - sitting there in a park, alone with your thoughts... the journal not the blog is king.

writenow said...

That's so true. I won't go anywhere without a small Clairefontaine notebook and a pen. You never know what will occur to you. It's like catching butterflies: you have to keep a net close at hand.