Do you keep a diary? Is it different from keeping a Journal?

I began what I now call "Journals" at age 6, when I first knew that connecting words and sentences, also connected me to the life I lived everyday, and kept it recorded. I'm not sure I'd define the two differently other than often a Diary, especially kept by youth, expresses on a more personal level, often in the thrid person, whereas,,,in my opinion MY journals have recorded "Events" as well as emotions, conversations, lessons, images, etc.. To me a Diary seems a more immediate way to record feelings, etc. Paula, my grandmother noticed early on, and said, "Writing may feel your heart and soul, as selling it may feed your belly." SMILES. As a writer, among other passions, I've learned to enjoy Peanut Butter. :) I still journal in many ways, sometimes using a mini recorder, and my journals over the past 57 years have often been the inspiration and context of books I've written. With regard to "hand written"; I doubt that it's restricted to youth, but agree "Skills improvement" can happen. I've often been without a tablet or usual materials, and have written on napkins, backs of envelopes received in the mail, paper towels, my opposite hand, even repeated a line over and over on a drive home, when a thought, phrase, word, comes to me, usually through a muse. I've never considered keeping topics separate, as everything that occurs in our lives is entwined, and to actually catalog, or classify any as entities apart isn't my style. Finally I don't think RULES in the process, just a passion to exress and record. I've lost as much or more than I've ever written down, but like Karma, perhaps it'll all come around again, smiles. Good Q. Steven Wolf

Actually I'm not sure a diary and a journal are that much different. I call mine a journal but it is the same things i would keep in a dairy. I think a dairy is basically about you are your life and a journal could be about other things like a nature journal would be about nature. But keeping either can improve your writings.

I used to keep a diary back in high school but it's very personal that I'm often afraid that someone might accidentally read them so I stopped. As of now I have a blog, I put in it whatever I want but I limit the details to the minimum.

A diary tends to be less formal than a journal, at least that is the way it seems to me. When I was much younger I tried a keeping a diary like other teenaged girls. Then I heard aboutparents reading the diaries and the confrontations that resulted, and vowed never to write down my deepest thoughts for others to pry through. When the diary is respected as personal territory, it is a good way to organize and analyze feelings associated with very personal events. A journal tends to record the events and possible remedies for problems, but rarely touches on personal feelings or fantasies the way a diary does. I always think of a journal as being more like the captain's log on Star Trek. It is rther clinnical and fairly detached.

I believe that a diary and a journal are the same thing. Except, that usually they refer to diary for girls and journals for boys. But, it does not matter to me who calls what which. They are both for recording our thoughts, days, dreams, and feelings. I used to do that when I was younger, but it has been years since. I have my journals saved, and I will read them when I get older. It will be surprising to see what was on my mind when I was younger. I know that I will probably want to throw them away, because I was so funny as a kid.

Hi, Basically you can have three diaries(either hand written/Soft Diaries) 1) The first one for the "Scheduling our work" 2) The second one for the "Details of all our friends, relatives and etc". 3) The third one for the " personal thing.....ur love story, what u like, what u dont,etc etc"

I believe a journal is American English for what in Britain is called a diary, and you're right keeping a diary/journal is an excellent way to improve your writing skills, because entries of events that have happened, are written in the past tense, and events we are looking forward to are in the future tense. We can also enter simple present tense things in our diary, such as I still swim everyday, or Jane is my best friend.

I never thought journals or diaries were any different 'cept when I was young girls used to insist theirs were called 'a diary' and boys would insist that theirs was 'a journal'. I call my site which I write everyday..stuff that happens, about people I know, etc..my journal. So I dunno.

i've heard there's supposedly different definitions for them but I think they're pretty much the same thing. I have an online journal and I also have a handwritten one too.

Same thing in my book. I try to follow Julia Cameron's Artists' Way ... which includes 3 pages a day (longhand! not computer) ....when I do it I find it really helpful... the main problem with it for me is that when I most need to do it I often don't get motivated enough to bother.