Hello Readers,
In doing some research on the author of my favorite book read this year so far, Helen MacInnes, I found she had kept a diary.
Great book during WWII
At least she kept one during her honeymoon in 1932 in Bavaria. This was several years before Above Suspicion came out and became her first best-seller which was published in 1941. I wondered as I read it how she nailed the Nazi sentimentality and thinking so well, since the war was just getting started when her book debuted.
Now I know it was because she kept a journal or diary of sorts while on her honeymoon. She most likely took notes from conversations, experiences, and personal observations of the building Nazi regime. Her book was richer for it and those telling details were probably what helped it attain best-seller status in its day. (I’m now waiting for the movie to come in from the library, starring Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray)
Many writers I know keep a diary or journal. I have off and on and have used those feelings and snippets of conversations in my writing pieces.
There are several books or series based on diaries as well. For example, the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. And The Nanny Diaries, Bridget Jones Diary, The Princess Diaries, etc.
Sometimes I write thoughts on my computer, and other times I write in a notebook. I’ve started several journal/diaries in little books for that purpose, but they don’t seem to work for me. I think it’s because it’s hard to write in the inside margins and the covers don’t fold back.
What about you? How do you journal? Do you keep an online diary? Do you write in a book with flowers on the front? How do you record your memories? Share with us!
Journaling on,
~~Michelle
Michelle Connell Novelist 
I keep a garden journal, which I often refer to when I’m writing novels. I don’t keep a day-to-day diary. I’ve tried in the past, but never seem able to keep it up. I’m not very good at writing down personal thoughts and feelings. I do have a notebook, though, in which I write down anything interesting that I see or hear or think of, that I think might come in useful for my writing.
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The idea of a garden journal sounds lovely, Kristah! I don’t journal daily either, but write down inspirational thoughts, deep thinking, writing ideas, etc., and on the last page of all my notebooks I write down the funny things my kids have said over the years.
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