• Sun, 14 Jun 1998

From: Angela Faroop <faroop@HOTMAIL.COM>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 12:42:23 -1000

I have a couple of questions I've been wondering about for anyone who cares to answer:

1. How do you write your journal entries? Do you just sit down and try to write what happened in your day? Do you think, "Today I'm going to write about x?" Do you use any kind of neato gimmicks to get you writing?

2. When do you write? Anytime you can or at a particular time every day?

For me, I usually sit down with the intention to write about what has happened in my life since the last time I wrote, and then go off on tangents as they come up. I've been thinking about playing around with my style some, though (hence the question). And I write when I can spare a moment, although I quit my job on Friday (joy!) and I'm going to try to put myself on more of a schedule.

From: James <jamesf@efn.org>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 04:52:01 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

I almost never know what I am about to write until I connect to my provider and start writing.

> Do you use any kind of neato gimmicks to get you writing?

I find it easier to write poetic entries after a few (or actually, many) drinks of wine. In fact, since I am less inhibited while inebriated, I feel that is when I make my best entries.. somehow my creativity flows more easily. And yes, this does cause me to become interested in the effects of perception-distorting drugs, such as LSD. Someday I'd like to experiment wit LSD and writing. And no, I don't particularly like alcohol, sometimes I actually drink it to see what thoughts will come to mind. Call it a crutch if you will, but I usually enjoy the writing after waking the next day.

> 2. When do you write?

Mostly late at night, just because it's easier to enter then.

From: The Turtle <turtle@fred.net>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 13:56:51 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

Whatever hurt me, amused me, or pissed me off the most that day is a candidate. My "neato gimmick" for getting myself writing is to make a drink and sit my ass down in this chair and not get up until I've written something.

> 2. When do you write?

In general, about 8:00 or 9:00 at night, though sometimes as early as 6:00 or as late as 2:00 or 3:00 am. I have been known to get up in the middle of the night and write something.

From: Danny McGuffin <mcguffin@mcguffin.org>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 13:03:55 -1000

I tend to write after the day is over about what happened. Sometimes I will write about the day that just occurred but then label it the day that I wrote it. Seldom do I know about what I am going to write, it just becomes what the day unfolded to become. Very seldom do I write something in response to something that I have read, but on occassion have done that to some journals that I have read, or what is on the boob tube at the time.

I typically write my journals whenever I have time, typically late at night.

From: Al Schroeder <al.schroeder@nashville.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 13:22:03 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

Usually one thing happens a day that is a springboard to other things. I get frustrated at something, and write about other times I've been frustrated, for instance.

Occasionally I like to play around, just for the fun of it.

> 2. When do you write?

Varies. A lot of times I don't know what I'm going to write till just before I upload it. (Tonight, for instance...)

From: sarah <word@western.wave.ca>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 13:52:35 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

Stream of consciousness, literally. I bounce around. Sometimes I think about stuff during the day but invariably forget it. I usually start of with a snappy first sentence and work from there. At four large paragraphs I'm usually done. I write a lot and sometimes it is a hard task as I update daily. If I can think of a decent first sentence I pick up a book and read until I think of one. Sometimes I will surf around, listen to music or get up and go to another room to clear my head.

> 2. When do you write?

I start about 7pm. As I tend to write a lot (stream of consciousness does that to you), I have to start early. I tend to multi-task and am usually on ICQ yammering away when I write. I do find that sometimes the energy flows better when I'm offline and not being distracted. I try to be done around 11pm and then a quick fiddle around perhaps for a quote or something, then uploading. Definitely is online before midnight. By having a regular routine it helps me stay motivated and I find writing is less of a chore and more of a joy.

From: Isaac the Human Being <ischankl@umich.edu>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 16:36:55 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

I try to be pretty alert throughout the day, so that if something cool or interesting happens, I can write about that. If I have an interesting day usually I'll just write about what happened to me.

If my day was boring, as it usually is, things get more troublesome. I'll scrounge up interesting thoughts I had during the day about boring things that happened. I'll write about that.

If that fails, I do a stream-of-consciousness writing that has little, if anything, to do with what happened during the day. It may be "cheating", but it often turns out the most interesting entries. Often they end up being more relevant than I expect.

I write daily so it's a little trickier than just writing whenever I feel like it. I try to mix it up as much as possible so my writing doesn't get monotonous. As far as gimmicks go... nope, none of that, unless you count any of the above as a gimmick.

I've tried a few different gimmicks but I've never kept one going for very long. I've tried doing an aphorism-a-day thing, since I sometimes make up good one-liners, but they're too easy to forget after I think of them and they don't always match with what's in the entry.

> 2. When do you write?

Late at night. I'm a semi-insomniac so it works best for me. It's when the creativity flows. I lose sleep, but I'd lose sleep anyway.

I don't have much time during the day anyway.

From: Tim Kirchner <tkirchne@mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us>
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 19:16:19 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

I usually just start writing about the first thing that's on my mind, most often something relating to what has been going on in my life; whatever is of importance to me, or if anything has been bothering me, will then surface and take over. Usually my entries turn into whining about that I don't have a significant other.

> 2. When do you write? Anytime you can or at a particular time every >day?

I like to write a short while after I get home from work, which is usually between 1AM-3AM, depending on what kind of a night it's been. Sometimes I'll write during the afternoon if I have a lot of time by myself.

From: Vindictu@aol.com
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 1998 22:00:07 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

I sit down, turn on the computer, and tell myself I'm going to write something coherent. Not that I always succeed, mind you, but that's what I say. If I tried to actually write something that happened in my day, all the days would be blank. I can't remember what I had for breakfast. (Though I can tell you in detail about the last time my husband pissed me off. This is what we call 'selective memory', boys and girls.) >2. When do you write?

As soon as I get up. I generally check email about seven a.m., write my thingee for the Simple Abundance mailing list that I moderate and then just write while dreams are still fresh in my mind, or I won't be able to get them down. (Sometimes I can't anyway. Go figure.) I go from there into other subjects. There's exceptions to this, and you can tell in the non-foggy writing style, but that's the norm.

From: Samantha Marcelo <halcyon423@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 01:05:51 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

I usually know what I'm going to write about before I do it. Which is whatever thought or feeling has been predominant for that day.

> 2. When do you write?

I used to do it mostly in the evenings, but now that school's out it should vary.

From: Tony Tang <ttang@intergate.bc.ca>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 01:16:06 -1000

> 1. How do you write your journal entries?

Generally, daily happenings provide a great basis for what I write about. In fact, my articles _tend_ to be extremely short, one-paragraph-type deals. Sometimes, I latch onto a great idea, and expand on it for several paragraphs. These ideas tend to form the backbone of my "deepeest thoughts." hehe...

There do pass days, however, when nothing interests me a great deal in day-to-day happenings. If I'm up to the task, I'll take a look at a list of "good topics to write on" that I've stuck into the actual HTML body (with one of those comment tags: <!-- great topics: 1. powerball; 2. viagra, etc., etc. --!>). Sometimes, I'll pick one, and wax eloquent for a little while.

> 2. When do you write?

I'm a sporadic writer in terms of time(s) of day. Generally, I get to a terminal several times a day, and will update that many times (I can do it at home _and_ at school, so that's a bonus). There really is no rhyme or reason to when I update--generally, when a great idea comes or something really bugs me.