Sarah McColl

“You want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you.” —Madeleine L’Engle 

The diary can offer a record of the day and sharpen our observational skills, but it can also do so much more. The diary can be a clearing house, a vetting area, a problem solving space, a private sanctuary to experiment with voice and form, to doodle or to dream, and to imagine what we want from our lives. Writing in a journal offers us a moment to connect with the sometimes-quiet inner voice that can be drowned out by the cacophony of daily life. 

Want to spend an hour together writing in our journals each week? Doesn’t that sound like a great way to stay connected to self through the holiday season? Use the time to bullet journal, churn out your morning pages, or respond to the weekly prompts.

In each class session, we’ll look at a sample diary text from writers like Moyra Davey, May Sarton, Lynda Barry, and Helen Garner. 

Drawing (or departing) from our model texts, we’ll then write together for the remainder of our time, with a few minutes at the end to reconnect and share (always optional; note Madeleine L'Engle quote above). 

These generative sessions are low-key, low-stakes opportunities to write in community with others and start (or continue) a journal practice. 

“In the journal I do not just express myself more openly than I could do to any person; I create myself. The journal is a vehicle for my sense of selfhood. It represents me as emotionally and spiritually independent. Therefore (alas) it does not simply record my actual, daily life but rather — in many cases — offers an alternative to it.” —Susan Sontag