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Would you consider yourself to have a vivid imagination? in c/journaling@sh.itjust.works
[–] 2 points 3 months ago

One of the qualities of being a good writer, for example, is being able to imagine things.

I would say this has little to do with being good (vivid) at it. I mean, like writing is not about much about being inspired by the muse and much more about putting in the work, day after day.

Imagination is ideas, and ideas are plenty. I don't know about you but I can have dozens ideas in a single days of which oftentimes none will survive the first attempt at using them. For me that's how ideas work: a lot of waste that will get recycled, sometimes very slooowly (I recently used an idea I first wrote down in... 2003, there is little in common between the 2003 note and the actual text I'm writing but at its chore it's the same idea).

What's much rarer is an idea turned into something usable/actionable... sharable. The difference between a (great/bad) book one can buy and the best book ever written that no one can buy because its was actually never written is that one author put in the work, the other thought about it ;)

I think Journaling can help a lot in making writing an actual habit (it cna also help putting some order in our own thoughts, but that's not the point). As for imagination, I don't think it helps much, at least it doesn't help me much as for me a journal is supposed to tell things that have happened in the day. Not things I imagine. Those would be put into stories.

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    Anyone got any Journaling prompts? in c/journaling@sh.itjust.works
    From a recent translation of Camus' Notebooks: in c/journaling@sh.itjust.works
    [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Thx!

    The notebooks are also available in the original French, for those who can read it:

    • En poche : Albert Camus, "Carnets", en 3 volumes chez Gallimard, Folio n° 5617, 5618 et 5619.
    • Plus prestigieux : toujours chez Gallimard mais cette fois dans la Pléiade: "Oeuvres complètes", dans les volumes 2 et 4 (sur 4)
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    [Community Update] December 2025 in c/journaling@sh.itjust.works
    9
    [Community Update] December 2025 (sh.itjust.works)
     

    Hello guys,

    As you may have noticed, we've been invited to join the #FediWriMo Journaling January Event. I thought this could be of interest to quite a few of us around here ;)

    So, let us know if you decide to join, or if not maybe why (I, for sure would love to but it probably be feasible for the moment).

    I also took the opportunity to update the sidebar of the community (for those of you who can see it in their app), removing a community that has been closed and listing two interesting new ones:

    I'm still not able to post much around here, and I apologize for that. Things should settle down somewhere in March.

    We're still gaining a few new members—welcome to every one of you!

    Don't be afraid to ask questions if you have any, or to share tips and tricks, or even nice pages from your journal!

    'Pro' journaling tip:

    I see a lot of beginners starting to journal with passion and with a lot of energy and then, for one reason or another, they’re not able to keep up with that energy level and they start journaling less, and less. Skipping a day here and there, then a week, then more… And then they give up entirely because they feel like it’s a failure. That’s a mistake. There is no failure in journaling.

    I know very well how bad one can feel when not keeping their journal up to date (like, I’m not doing it right now and have not been doing for a few months) but I've also been journaling for well over 40 years. Oftentimes, I 'failed' at keeping my journal up to date and that’s no big deal. A pause in one’s journal entries can be another legit part of that journal.

    To get back at it after such a pause, one thing I like to do is to summarize whatever I remember as quickly as possible, like in a few lines at most. I did this and that, this happened, and so on. Often, while I’m doing that, or when I read it back, this triggers more detailed memories, and events I did not remember at first. That’s when I start writing more like I would in my ‘normal’ journal, trying to be as detailed as I can, writing about my own thoughts and emotions too. I know those memories will never be perfect nor complete, but they’re not less interesting. Even less so when I read them a few years down the road.

    It helps to be ok with not being perfect in our own journal. And it helps not just in regards to journaling ;)

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    Quick Update and a question (sh.itjust.works)
     

    Hi guys,

    First thing first: a warm, if a bit late, welcome to all new members! We're now a little over 1K members. That's huge, no... it's even more impressive than that if we remember where we were 10 months ago.

    Don't be shy. Make this community yours by asking questions, sharing images, links, tips, ideas. Or just by saying hi :)

    I've been failing to post for way too long, for that I'm sorry. For anyone wondering what happened, let's say that for the time being I'm still buried under the huge piles of my old journals but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

    The question: would you be interested in a new banner/icon for the community? Now would be a great time to share your opinion on the question, if you have one ;)