Happy 2014!

I’m not much for making resolutions, so I won’t be officially announcing any big plans for change in the year ahead. However, there have been a number of posts and articles in the past week about the importance of establishing a writing routine that have piqued my interest. One is an article about journaling by Jeremy Anderberg posted at The Art of Manliness website (http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/01/01/jumpstart-your-journaling-a-31-day-challenge/). This challenge to “jumpstart your journaling” lists 31 writing prompts to help develop the habit of writing every day, but also to encourage a writer’s exploration of topics, and potentially and overall theme, that he may be covered in the journal. I kept a journal throughout middle school and high school, which I enjoyed, and think was a good way to release and work through many of the challenges that I faced as an adolescent with alopecia. I rediscovered the journals a few years ago while cleaning out my childhood bedroom prior to my parents’ move to a new home. It was an opportune time for that project as I had been toying with the idea of developing a play for young audiences based on my childhood experiences with alopecia. Unfortunately, those spiral-bound notebooks did not contain the trove of material that I was hoping for. It was interesting to revisit some of the entries – I could picture some of the moments when I wrote them – but there was little that could be used. So, I kept what I felt was most important and sent the rest through the shredder. I’ll revisit the play when the time is right.

Journaling was enjoyable and I’ve often thought about taking it up again, but I’ve been hesitant to engage in a recap of the day’s events, which is all I can really think to write about. Anderberg suggests writing a journal with a purpose in mind. That reminds me of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, which I last read in Dr. Kot’s American Lit class over 16 years ago. Franklin began the work with the phrase “Dear Son:” which is interpreted as either being addressed to his actual son (William Franklin, the Royal Governor of New Jersey - http://www.nj.gov/state/archives/docfranklin.html), or to the young nation that he’d help establish. No nation building going on over here, but I do like the idea of writing something that my children can read when they are older. Their lives are just beginning and it may be interesting for them to see what that life was like from another perspective. I’m not sold on the idea, so we’ll see.

But the decision has been made that I will try to write every day. That is the suggestion of Michelle Welsch at Project Exponential, a networking blog that I’ve found to be very interesting and helpful in the few months since discovering it. Welsch’s most recent post (http://projectexponential.com/2014/01/07/write/) encourages us to try writing at least five minutes each day. She says that in writing “You’re offering yourself a valuable reference tool and creating a soundboard for yourself. Writing rituals are instrumental for self-analysis and reflection.” So, again, journaling. Or blogging, as the case happens to be today. And of course transcribing interviews, so that I can write that dissertation…

… because my research assistant hasn't been much help!