Do you keep a DIARY or a JOURNAL?

For me, a diary is the more everyday events thing. Like seeing your crush walk by you today. Or it rained today. Or what you think about your crush or crap like that. :D A journal is more versatile. It can have poetry, doodles, personal thoughts, thoughts on communism, and so on. I keep a journal. :) and i call my blog an online journal.

I maintain a dairy and i would say it a journal but not of the events that happened but the feelings or responses i felt that day.It always helps me in keeping track of my feelings and opinions and can make out and analyse what is going wrong.It is a kind of self retrospection time when u look at the events that passed ,and a place to jot down some of the happiest and saddest moments of life.Its like a friend to whom i could confide everything...

My grandmother has kept a diary every day of her life since she was a girl (not sure how old). She's now about 87. Even though she may not have had the world's most interesting life, it will be fascinating to read it one day when she's gone just to see how things were in the "old days" and what it was like to live through all the changes. Also, she lived in London during the War, married during the War, and lost both parents in the Blitz. As far as historical interest goes, it's worth keeping a diary just in case anything like that does happen - the boring years beforehand will serve to put it all in context, similar to the start of Lord of the Rings. I used to keep one for therapeutic purposes but now I find a much better way to get it all out of my system is to write long, rambling answers to forum posts on the internet. Nine times out of ten I don't hit "submit" at the end, but just close the page. It works just as well for me. Following on from that point, I don't think it's the case that nobody will be interested in your diary because everyone's got one. While it's true that there are far more people keeping diaries now than there were 400 years ago, or even 100 - if only because we have more free time, stationery is cheaper, and we're better educated therefore literate in the first place - think how much of it is on disposable format. My diary from 1998 to 2003 was on computer, and I lost it in a hard disk failure, whereas my diary from 1983 (my last year at primary school) is doubtless still at my Mum's house somewhere, including the ribbon I won for the three-legged race in the Sports Day! Proper diaries written on paper are pretty rare nowadays, I reckon. Worth keeping...

i write in a journal. i do think they are the same thing. i haven't heard different. i always write about my life happenings about once a week.

Every person has a different view on what the difference between the two is. I don't write much on paper, and what i do i automatically transfer it, but i write any thought, and most things i do in my windows life space blog. I write anything in there, from daily events, to how i felt, to stories, poems and different writings that i have done. Just pretty much anything. I don't write a journal or diary per say because i just see it as a waste, no one but myself would read it, and every time i have tried something like that it's just gone out the window, because i just don't like the idea of writing something for just me to see.. I want the world to see what i have written... I think there is a difference, but a small one. I'm pretty sure that in the beginning, a journal was originally for daily events, planning and otherwise, as a diary was for feelings... but to me, i do neither, just write a blog a few times a week to get things off my chest, inform friends and others what has been going on in my life and to present my pieces.

I used to keep what I called a diary. It included both specific events and random musings. I never really thought about whether it should be called a diary or a journal, though I've always thought of "journals" including specific data rather than random stuff. I could be wrong. In more recent years, I've tried blogging, but I really don't feel free to write too much in blogs because it upsets my hubby. I'm going to try again soon, though, because I really enjoy doing it.

ONLY when i feel really bad. but writing is a great way of releasing stress.

I keep a "Diary" and I call it that. I have learned most recently and think its true. A "Diary" is more your what happened today, blah blah. While a "journal" is more "feelings". I think of it more like that. I write daily in my "diary" since December 19th of last year. I make it a habbit to write down exactly what happened. Then there are "writer notebooks" for writers where you write down ideas and stuff. Yeah I love to collect journals & notebooks have TOO many of both all over and still not used them all. Same for pens :p I also keep two online blogs, journals. I have a livejournal.com account under monkeywriter http://www.livejournal.com AND I have a Myspace (well two) http://www.myspace.com/monkeywriter (I blog twice a week Wed & Sat) http://www.myspace.com/truemonkeywriter (I put up a poem I try for one ONCE a week!) What can I say? I LOVE to write! :p

I like writing...since I can remember I can picture myself writing and keeping a note of my thoughts..I say that writing helped me finding my true voice, the one the world doesn't allow me to show or is not interested in listening to...writing I discovered and understood a lot of things about myself and writing is the way I disclose my soul to myself...I write poems and novels and little stories but above all I keep what we in Italy call a private diary (Diario privato). I choose beautiful books or notebooks for this purpose..some are made of leather, some of Florentin paper and soo on...and well I keep on calling it a diary, but I am aware of the fact that a more modern term is journal!!

no i dont keep diary or journal..coz my family dont keep privacy..they read all my private property.so i dont use diary

I used to keep a diary when I was in my teens. I abandoned it after my rape ordeal. The thoughts running through my head were just too painful to write down and for some reason, I just never picked it back up. I have a blog now, and while I don't share my deepest thoughts on there, I'm pretty much an open book. I didn't know there was an actual difference between a diary and a journal. But my partner informs me that stereotypically a diary is more of a girl thing whereas a journal can be both a maale and female thing. I don't know how much truth is in that, but thats just my (and my partners!) two cents lol.

Well Denmarkguy, I think I can answer this question :) Throughout history, and in the media, Diary's have primarily been kept by girls... Whereas Journals, were the exact equivalent for boys/men If you remember "The diary of Anne Frank" That would be an ideal example of what I am talking about... And you read the Journals of many men, so that would relegate it to the masculine gender... I hope it has helped... This was an EXCELLENT QUESTION AND I RATED IT AS SUCH!

I have a diary and a journal.. :) in my diary,,, I have wrote all the things that I dont want to forget.. I have wrote all the things that makes me happy and make my day complete... I have all my secrets in my diary and what I did for the whole day.. if its meaningfull and if it sad or annoying or maybe tiring.... :) in my journal... thatz where i placed my favorite pic if ever I went to camping or just memorable pictures with my friends and love ones,.. memorable dayz and places.. :) I also put there the letters or notes thats I receive from my love ones.. my diary is very private to me.. I am the only one who can read it.. I dont allow anybody to read whatI have wrote there.... but I can show my journal to all... :) ayun lang foh.. :) tnx :)

I have been an avid student of goal setting, self-help etc. I think mostly a diary is what girls start when they are young, and even some guy's. I look at a journal this way. Suppose you keep a journal, you record things in it daily, or sparodically, you record major events and your thoughts on that event, basically you take note of things happening in your life, problems or happy events, at work, at home, with your friends, with your kids, your wife, just make notes of any and all that is of interest to you, now the big benefit, try to always use ther same kind of journal or as close as you can, when your life is over, and your spouse or kids find these daily journals in a box or a bookcase, can you imagine there absolute total happiness and joy at sitting and reading your life story and what you actually thought about things that happened, now at that point it is a priceless heirloom to your spouse or kids Samuel

im open to correction, but as far as i know journal is simply an americanism meaning Diary

Some use the words "Diary" and "Journal" interchangeably while others apply strict differences to journals, diaries and the practice of journaling (dated vs. undated). While traditionalist preferred to use the term diary, the current prefference (based on book and article titles)is to use the word "journal." The phrase "journaling" is often used to describe such hobby writing, simular to the term "scapbooking." Blogging is simply another way for people to chronical their lives wiht an added dimension of having an audience.

I tend to treat them as the same thing. I consider my writings a journal. Mostly because to me a diary is what I had when I was 12. I suppose the major difference is a journal is technically more of a daily log of events and your reactions and insights on the events. A diary is more of a place to record feelings. I guess that is the "feel" I get when those two words are used. But as I said for me personally, I put them all in one spot and call it a journal.

I look at the term "diary" to mean a private daily log with thoughts and feelings along with mentioning daily events. I look at journal to be either semi-private as in a notebook a teenager keeps, or a bit public (as in a web journal). And then there's blog: something people deliberately write for the web to deliberately have lots of readers. I could be wrong... I don't really know the difference either. This is just my interpretation.

I have kept diaries in the apst, and i've tried to keep a blog for a while, but i just find that i loose interest after a while and can't be bothered in keeping up making entires. I don't know the difference between a diary and a journal, maybe it doesn't even matter what the difference is?

I think journal is specially for something not our personal for instance like foot ball journal,political journal ect,diary is our personal occur in oue live,do you agree??