I have a shameful confession to make for a writer: I do not keep a personal journal. I do use a note book as part of my writing process, but just like a sculptor sweeps up the dust and chunks carved away from the work in progress, I throw away my notes once I have a draft assembled. Journaling has never been anything more than an academic practice for me, a means to an end.
Lavina Spalding has changed the way I look at journaling. In her book, Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler she ignited creative ambitions I have never had before regarding a journal. Writing Away begins with selecting a journal and a pen. Just as I was about to roll my eyes, Lavina threw out a few insightful considerations that had never occurred to me.
The chapters are as eclectic as the travelers who keep journals. She will go from practical writing exercises in one section to rhapsodizing about the creative spirit in the next. Every chapter is graced with inspiring quotes about travel and writing. I found myself getting swept up in some of the creative ideas in spite of myself.
A non-linnear journal? A shared journal? Scrap-booking and journaling in one? A section of pages devoted to overheard conversation? A section to list the bad and the ugly things? A section reserved for descriptions of things? I found myself thinking, “yes… yes! YES!” to so many of her ideas. She turns journal keeping into a rich experience. Her suggestions don’t just sound fun, they sound like they could help you be a better writer too.
I think what I loved most about Lavinia Spalding and her creative suggestions, was how much she sounded like my dear friend, Melinda-Eliza. Eliza is a fearlessly creative woman whom I met as a writer. I quickly discovered she is a multi-medium artist. She writes, paints, does texture-work, takes visionary photographs, and is a generous teacher. I saw my friend’s fearless creativity is in Lavinia’s journal suggestions.
I’m going to make you proud, Eliza. I’m going to start keeping a creative journal every trip I take, starting now. Time to go shopping for a journal!
(Writing Away cover art is from Amazon and the pic of me writing away was taken by a fellow wanderer that crossed my path in Key West. We didn’t exchange names.)