Man, I totally spaced it last week and didn’t do the Friday Five. It would have totally helped me because I had Cory coming to town and I didn’t want to have to write while he was staying at our house. As it was, I ended up with enough entries. Well, it’s back to normal now.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

1. What am I afraid of when I journal?

I’m always afraid that someone will read my journal and I won’t be there to explain my thoughts correctly, so they’ll take it wrong. That’s why my raw journal entries have little to do with what shows up here. I end up just writing whatever comes to my head in my journal and sometimes there is a kernel of thought there to cultivate for a blog entry. Most of the time, I end up getting really good ideas when I’m running or alone at a store instead of when I’m writing in my journal.

2. What do you feel when you re-read your journal?

They are horrible atrocities to the English language and should never see the light of day. I don’t know how Anais Nin was able to use her journals to become world famous. Mine are strictly crap from start to finish. I’m not just talking the journal entries from when I was fifteen years old and stupid. Yesterday’s journal entry is just as trite and asinine.

3. A word that describes my journal is …

Consistent. I write almost every day. Sometimes I take a break on the weekend, but most of the time, I am writing something every single day. Consistency is probably the one cohering factor to my journal writing.

4. What is intimate in your journal?

Everything. Nothing is off limits when I’m writing my journal. There are times when I have shredded my journal entries or deleted them because I was so honest that I didn’t want a glimmer of a chance of anyone finding them out, but being able to write exactly what I feel at all times in my journal is one of those things that keep me sane.

5. What is your list of journal writing do’s and don’ts?

I have no rules with my journal. Grammar is irrelevant. Sentence structure is trivial. Spelling is only corrected if Word happens to notice that I spelled something wrong and even then I only change it if I feel like it. There are no rules. My goal is just to get one page filled with text using Arial 10 point text and half-inch margins. If I can get my fingers to pump out that much writing, then I’m warmed up to do some real writing. Plus, all those silly worries get out of my head and on the paper. They look so much simpler there.