Hiatus Extended

Just checking in to let everyone know I'm fine, and still hard at work wrapping up a big project for one of my clients. After this one I have to jump right onto another one, too. Bottom line, I will be on hiatus for at least a few more weeks; possibly longer.

Of interest to writers who never think about what their heirs might do with their private work, author Margaret Forster's personal diaries are being posthumously published by her widower.

Anything you write is up for grabs after your death, and often becomes more valuable to boot. Maybe the author wouldn't have minded; after all her family will profit from it, and evidently she was quite devoted to them. Or maybe she wanted them kept just for family reading. The sad part is that no one can ask her now.

So, another PBW classic reminder: if you have something you've written that is not intended for public consumption, best burn it now while you're still kicking.

The 500

While bargain shopping over the holidays I purchased 500 Writing Prompts, a guided journal published by Piccadilly Inc., currently on sale for $4.99 from B&N.com:



This is a really nice, big journal with 240 ruled pages featuring multiple writing prompts that ask some really interesting questions:



To give you an idea of what the prompts are like, here are a few I selected at random from my copy:

Have you ever given up on someone? Why?

Do you have a secret hiding place? What do you hide there?

Create a new nemesis for Batman. What is the character's name? What is their feud about? Describe a short scenario, comic book style.

If you had the power to make something illegal that is currently legal, what would it be? Why?

Name a weird mannerism you have. Do others notice it? Does it help you or bother you?

Aside from great sparks to get you writing more often in a journal, this might also provide inspiration for posts for your blog.

The Gift of You

Now that I've shown you probably more than you ever wanted to know about journaling, I'm going to wrap up Journal Week with a giveaway. Not just yet, as I'm not quite finished with the nagging part.

Lots of writers have kept journals, but you don't have to be a writer to keep a journal. You don't have to be an artist, either. You don't even have to handwrite it; you can type your journal. Or dictate it in audio form, if you prefer. The only requirement of journaling is for you to be you, and to preserve some of who you are, what you experience, think, feel, believe, create, witness, dream -- and if you're not sure what that is, all the things that go on behind your eyes is a good place to begin looking. So is the world around you. And all those other people in your life, they can go into it. The work you do, the places you go, and anything that has meaning to you are likewise excellent material.

Or not. You can make up everything as you go along. Your journal is a journey into yourself, and no one else is involved, so it can be anything you want. For Paulus Beresohn it's a portable studio. For me it's a neverending story of me and my world (and for once I never have to come up with an ending.)

Why is this so important? For starters, there is no one out there in the world like you. In fact there never has been, and there never will be again. In this time you're alive and working and doing things, and I bet you hardly ever think much about how singular you are. You may not think you're important, and you may even worry that you have no particular gift for anything so it's not worth keeping a journal -- but you're wrong. As I was telling a friend last week, you are the gift you bring to this world.

How precious is the gift of you? I can't tell you because I don't know. And you'll never know, either. Just as Anne Frank could never know how many millions of people would read -- and be inspired -- by her diary. Or Samuel Pepys could imagine his journals would survive over three hundred years to open a window to the distant past for historians. Anne and Samuel had an advantage over us, you know. Nothing in their times was digital or virtual so they had to write it down on paper.

That's the other thing. Sometimes I wonder how much of our lives and our time the world will lose if all this lovely technology one day goes boom and can't be recovered. This week Facebook shut down for a couple of hours and people completely freaked; what if it all goes away forever? What will be lost for eternity because someone couldn't be bothered to print it out -- or write it down?

It isn't so much about the world for me as it is what happens when my time here is finished. I write my journals for myself, but when I go, I'm leaving part of myself behind in them. I don't know how long they'll survive me, and frankly? I can't know that so I don't care. If they provide some comfort and insight and inspiration to the loved ones I leave behind, that's great. If they help someone else further down the line, even better.

I don't expect everyone who reads this to start a journal tomorrow. What I hope is, you'll think about it. Seriously. Nagging finished now.



As inspiration for one of you I've put together this giveaway, which includes a copy of the Summer 2014 issue of Pages magazine, Zentangle workbook edition #9, a Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal, a Zentangle pen & pencil & tile set, a pocket edition of Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal, and this gorgeous handmade needle-felted journal from beautifulplace. If you'd like to win the lot, in comments to this post name something you'd write about in your journal by midnight EST tonight, June 21, 2014. I'll choose one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner all this cool journal stuff. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

One-Sheet Journal

For Journaling Week I decided to test-drive Rachelle Panagarry's mini-zine project from the Summer issue of Pages magazine. There is no binding, gluing or any special technique involved except folding, and it's so simple I think anyone can do it.

Here's a slideshow of my first try, along with simple instructions to go with each pic.



1. To make this you'll need a sheet of letter-size paper and a pair of scissors. I used some old printer paper.

2. Fold your paper in half both ways, which divides the paper into four equal sections.

3. Fold the long ends of your paper over so that the ends are even with the center fold, and create eight rectangular sections.

4. Fold your paper by the long ends and cut the center fold up to the next intersecting fold. Stop there.

5. Open and refold your paper the other way (by the short ends) and stand it up like a tent.

6. Take the ends and push them toward the center to form a plus sign with the paper.

7. Place your plus sign down and press flat.

8. Fold over in half.

9. You've got a mini-journal.

10. The reason this project is so cool is that you can unfold your journal once it's finished and copy it (which is why Ms. Panagarry makes hers into little zines to share with friends.) Here's my first picture journal, and the two copies I made for extras:



Some project tips: for best results, match your edges exactly and crease your folds well. If you're making a journal out of something that already has content printed on it, your content should be face-down as you do steps 1-3, then face out from steps 4-8. Do one blank book first to figure out how the pages are oriented (front and back covers are the first two rectangles on the upper left side of the paper, for example. Also, half your pages are upside down to the other half.)

If you want to print something on your paper before you fold it, you might so a black and white version first to make sure you have everything arranged correctly (I didn't size a couple of my pics correctly, so this saved me some color ink.)

The Art of Journals

There is an art to journaling, but there's also an art to making journals. Kristen Evans of FirebirdHouse is reinventing books by hand-making journals, and she's got a wonderful approach. Here you can see an example of her craft; a lovely little hand-stitched pocket journal that fits neatly into a wonderful antique tin box. I recently acquired this one when I discovered FirebirdHouse on Etsy.com via a search for handmade journals, which is something I do all the time.

Sometimes I give these journals away (and I do think handmade journals make excellent gifts, especially for kids) but mainly I buy them for myself. I use journals every day, and my entries are not what you'd call brief. When I can hand-write in them I do, or I'll dictate an entry to the computer, print it out and glue it onto a journal page. My journals serve as my repositories for my photos, sketches, various bits of life ephemera, lists, story ideas -- pretty much anything I can fit into them. I also write letters to some of my writer pals in journal-form. I usually have at least two and often three journals going at once, and I can fill one up in as little as two or three days, so I am constantly in need of new journals.

Because I use so many during the year I've always purchased mass-produced blank books or made my own. Since art journaling became popular, however, I've discovered and come to appreciate the fine art of journal-making, and this resulted in a neat little collection. A journal doesn't have to be arty to be useful, but it adds something to the mix. I know from those I've made myself how much thought and time and care goes into this kind of handwork. Adding my content also makes me feel less like I'm using something to write and more like I'm collaborating with another artist.

Here's one of the more unusual journals in my collection:



This lovely little bundle is a needle-felted wool journal from beautifulplace, and it's absolutely a work of art. Here's a look inside:



I have never seen anything like beautifulplace's enchanting journals; they seem more dream-spun than made.

Because I like unusual journals I often look for something different, like this recent acquisition from LaVerne Johnson at Riverside Studios:



LaVerne took a vintage book, turned down the pages and formed them into pockets, in which you can save all sorts of bits and pieces. Repurposing an old book like this is a terrific way to recycle unwanted things into new art.

In addition to the arty kind I also like very precisely-made journals, and I've yet to find anyone who can turn out a better-made book than Jodi Green at Levigator Press. Her artwork is amazing, her binding is phenomenal, and the corners on her journals are trimmed to perfection. She also frequently uses unusual, recycled papers in her journals so they're always a surprise, and provide interesting spaces in which to write:







Of all the journals I collect I probably invest most often in those that in someway use recycled materials like Jodi's work; I especially love journals made from old books. Here are some examples of those (from left to right, a repurposed Nancy Drew novel journal by Heavensentcrafts, a hand-stitched journal with repurposed book covers by FirebirdHouse and a ring-bound mixed-media journal by LovelyFever):



As I mentioned I make my own journals, too, primarily by recycling or repurposing materials. I like to challenge myself, so I've made journals out of index cards, playing cards, and even a spiral-bound mini notebook. I think my best/most original project was the journal I made by painting the pages of an old book with regular and metallic watercolors:



Prices for handmade journals are generally higher than what you'd pay for the mass-produced variety, and some can be very expensive (leather-bound journals tend to be very pricey), but to me owning something handmade by an independent artist is worth some extra $$$. If you can't afford to invest in one right now, stick around -- at the end of this week I'll be holding a giveaway that will include a handmade journal from one of my favorite artists.

Journaling Week Ten

I have a theme for this week on PBW, and it's all about journals -- types, how to make them, starting one, where to buy them, software, what to put in them, why they're important, etc. You're already riveted, I can tell. Stick with me anyway; I think you'll enjoy it. Meanwhile, let's start off with

Ten Things about Diaries and Journals

Largest? The record for keeping the world's longest (or largest) personal diary might belong to Reverend Robert Shields, who on a whim began one in 1972 and wrote in detail about himself and every day of his life until 1997, when a stroke disabled him. He then turned his opus, which had to be packed up in 91 boxes, over to a university. Exactly how long is it, and is it a good read? Actually it'll be a while before we know. Rev. Shields donated it to the university in 1999 with the stipulation that no words would be counted and it would not be read until 50 years after his death.

Longest Run: Not all journals are personal; some are medical or even scientific, like The Philisophical Transactions of the Royal Society, which has been published continuously since the first issue came out in 1665. Contributors to the journal include some guys who went on to become pretty famous, like Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday and Isaac Newton.

Edited: Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, aka Charles Dodgson, kept diairies for most of his life. However, since his death some of them have disappeared, and others show signs that pages were deliberately removed. No one knows what happened or who was responsible for this, but scholars think his family should be blamed in what was likely an effort to remove controversial content, possibly relating to his fascination with Alice Liddell, the eleven-year-old inspiration for his famous character. Or maybe Dodgson arranged to have it done for the same reasons? We'll probably never know.

Everyone Has a Copy: With 31 million copies sold in 67 languages, The Diary of a Young Girl, aka The Diary of Anne Frank is often said to be the second-most widely read book in the world (Number one? The Bible.)

Nothing Personal: Artist and all-around Renaissance dude Leonardo da Vinci kept notebook-style journals all his life, and may have produced as much as 80,000 pages of notes, sketches and ideas on art, architecture, anatomy, botany, engineering, inventions, landscapes, mathematics, painting, perspective, philosophy, physiology, proportion, warfare and zoology. Basically Leonardo never met an idea he didn't put in his journal. Yet in all of those that survived, he wrote only two things in them about his personal life -- and both related to the death of his father.

Oldest: Since a number of ancient journals have survived there's a great deal of debate on what is the oldest still in existance. I vote for the diaries that were kept by the Babylonians; they date back to 652 BCE.

Pricey: Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Hammer journal was sold at auction in 1994 for $30,802,500. Who was the buyer? Microsoft's multigazillionaire Bill Gates, who three years later released a digitally scanned version to share it with the rest of the world. Nice going, Bill.

Strangest: In addition to penning and illustrating a 15,145-page single-spaced fantasy fiction manuscript (which was pretty disturbing on its own), reclusive outside artist and author Henry Darger also wrote an eight-volume autobiography entitled The History of My Life. For the first 206 pages Darger actually did write about his childhood before he fell off the wagon, slipped back into his fantasy world and wrote another 4,672 pages of fiction about a tornado he witnessed in 1908, which he called "Sweetie Pie."

The Pepys Code: No doubt you've heard that one of the most historically important diaries ever written belonged to 17th century English businessman Samuel Pepys, who used it to chronicle ten years of his life. The reason this diary is so important is that it provides a first-hand account of what life was like in London during the 1660's. What most people don't know is that Pepys wrote the diary in a type of shorthand of his era called tachygraphy, and before anyone could read what he wrote it had to first be translated into readable English.

Writerly Habit: Many other authors have been devoted journalers; among the more notable are Ray Bradbury, Joan Didion, Franz Kafka, C.S. Lewis, Anaïs Nin, Sylvia Plath, Susan Sontag and Virginia Woolf. Why do authors journal? Maybe Jonathan Franzen, another journal addict, explained it with this quote: I had started keeping a journal, and I was discovering that I didn’t need school in order to experience the misery of appearances.

Image credit: Sergey Nivens/Bigstock.com

3 Gifty Journals

While browsing the blank book shelves at BAM I found a trio I thought would make great gifts for any journal lover:



From left to right: Hardcover London-themed journal $5.00; Forest Animals journal with animal sticker tabs $10.95; and Clear Skies Journal $10.95 (I should also note that I got an additional 10% off those prices by using my BAM discount card.)

Here's what they look like on the inside:



The two critter journals are from Chronicle Books, and while I can't read the fine print on the London-themed journal it's a very nice buy for just $5.00. Also, I'll be giving away all three of these journals as part of some upcoming giveaways for the Disenchanted & Co. novels, so if you'd like to win one stay tuned to the blog.

Papaya!

Papaya! Art is all about creative abandon, which is why the company regularly produces some of the most unusual journals and notebooks I've found in art and book stores. To quote from their web site:

Everything we make is for the joy of creating and the thrill of sharing ~ Our credo of creative abandon means we believe in a no-apologies policy of answering our artistic impulses. Our promise to you is this: everything we make, we love.

I collect Papaya art journals and notebooks, as they are beautiful and there really is nothing else quite like them on the ready-made for writing market. Here's the latest batch I picked up during my last visit to the art store:



The Gnome Hat journal is 7" X 9" hardcover edition with 160 unlined pages, a ribbon page marker and lay-flat binding. This one works as a sketchbook or journal, and the cover illustration is lovely, mysterious and practically begs to have a story written about it. This is the kind of journal that makes a wonderful gift for an artistic pal but can also serve as a nice reward for yourself, too.

The Dream Catcher is a smaller 5" X 7" version of the Gnome Hat journal that features lined and unlined pages, so it would work well as a travel journal or photo book. I'm going to be a bit more literal and use mine as as dream journal.

Love Who You Are scribble and sketch set offers two 8" X 5" softcover journals, one lined and one unlined, to cover all your artistic bases, while the Light Tomorrow and Inventor mini books at 5-1/2" X 3-1/2" and 32 lined pages are the perfect pocket companions for any journaling or note-taking pursuit.

Pair any of these journals with a nice pen, pack of colored pencils, markers or travel watercolor set and you have a great gift for a creative friend. You can shop for Papaya products at their website, or look for their journals at your local fine art, scrapbooking supply or book stores.

Recycle X 5: Junk Mail Journal

For my final Recycle X 5 project I wanted to go totally green and make a journal out of other recyclable materials I have on hand. One thing I receive a ton of every week is junk mail, and this time of year is when the gift catalogs begin arriving by the dozens, too. I generally use unwanted gift catalogs as work mats for things I apply glue stick adhesive to (the pages protect my work surface, and when I want to glue something else I just flip to the next catalog page for a new work surface.)

There are some especially beautiful catalogs I receive in the mail like Victorian Trading that I hate to mess up with glue or part with because they're so neat to look through, and I picked one of my older catalogs intending to cut it up and use some of the product illustrations for some journal pages. I even hated the idea of that, and then I thought, why don't I recycle the entire catalog by making into a journal?

To make my junk mail journal, here's what you'll need:



One piece of cardboard that is as tall and twice as wide as the size journal you want to make, folded in half

A junk mail catalog large enough to serve as pages for your journal

A glue stick

A heavy-duty stapler (long arm is best, but one you can open up and use to fasten something bulky will work, too)

Staple remover

An old stretchable school text book cover (if you have kids, you probably have a dozen of these sitting in a drawer somewhere. If not, you can probably find one at your local dollar store)

Scissors and/or paper trimmer

Assorted used paper that has one blank side

To start, first make sure the catalog you're using is large enough to serve as pages. If it's larger, measure and mark where you need to trim it:



I used a combination of scissors and my paper trimmer to cut down my catalog:



When you're done, your catalog should look like this:



Now find the center of your catalog (where you can see the staples holding it together. Remove the staples on each end of the catalog, and then restaple them to your cardboard cover in the same places the old staples were. If your catalog is too bulky for this step you may need to remove some of the pages to reduce the size.



Once your catalog is stapled in place, cover your cardboard with your stretchy book cover (optional: glue or staple the cover in place.)



Outside of journal:



Now begin adding your blank-sided paper to each page of the catalog to create writing spaces by covering the used side of the paper with your glue stick and placing it on your catalog page:



If there's an image on the catalog page that you want to show, trim your writing paper into a shape that it doesn't cover it:



If you have some really gorgeous pages in your catalog, you can also use vellum so that the images show through the paper:



You can theme your junk mail journals according to how you want to use them -- for example, I'll be using mine as an idea journal for the Disenchanted & Co. series. If you'd rather make a sketch journal, use an old art supply catalog and some used, blank-sided sketch paper for your pages. Writers, if you have an old, skinny writing mag, use it with old manuscript pages to create a new story idea journal. Readers, one of those old book catalogs you pick up at your local chain bookstore would serve as a neat background for a reading journal. Or, if you're working on holiday plans, use a holiday gift catalog as a base for a winter planner, and some blocks from an old calendar as your writing spaces.

This project was a lot of fun, and (forgive the pun) got me thinking outside the box about how I reuse recyclable materials. It was also a nice recharge for my creative batteries. The next time you're stuck with some wasted cardboard I hope you'll try making it into something you can really use, too.

Writer Junk Journal

Back in January I promised to show you how I made a trio of small journals out of some ordinary materials -- which I did with a pack of index cards and a deck of playing cards. This month I had the final challenge of making a journal out of this mini spiral-bound notebook:



Which is now a writer junk journal:



To make this journal I first tore out half the pages (more on what I did with them later in the post) and used the remaining pages as foundations for some interesting specimens from my paper recycle bin. I covered each page front and back with old calendar pictures, junk mail, cutouts from magazines, old photos and postcards, trimmings and other discarded bits. I framed each page with some decorative paper tape left over from last year's massive art project and added a few pockets, tags and little envelopes throughout for writing and saving notes.



I didn't plan anything or go with a particular theme, which made it fun to assemble. Once I had the pages refurbished I made a quilted cover for the journal out of a damaged quilt block. I'm still figuring out how I want to fasten it together so for now I just have a strip of muslin tied around it:



As for the pages I tore out, I trimmed off the binding tatters, cut them into strips and chunks of various sizes and tucked them into an envelope I mounted in the back. These will come in handy when I want to write a note about something to add to the pages:



A junk journal can be used for whatever you want to note and save. I think they're a great way to journal small because with the lined pages covered you won't feel pressured to fill them up with writing. You can add a few words or a note to any page, or just tuck something into one of the envelopes. I'm going to use mine for magazine clipping, articles, take-out cookie fortunes and other little things that would otherwise get lost in the shuffle.



This was a good practice project for me, too, as it's the first junk journal I've ever made. Working on this little journal has given me a confidence boost to try my hand at a more ambitious project: transforming this old beauty into . . . well, you'll just have to wait and see.

The Write Stuff

I'm always looking for unusual writer junk, and on my last office supply run I made some neat little finds that I wanted to share.

I picked up this quartet to the left at BAM. Here are more details on each, clockwise starting at the little green journal:

One Word A Day Mini-Journal by Knock Knock -- This is a palm-size hardcover that gives you 365 opportunities to "choose any word to describe your day and write it down." Journaling doesn't get any simpler or more concise than that, and there's even enough room to write a few more words if you want to say more; $12.59 with my discount card.

Small Edgewise Journal by Orange Circle Studio -- this flocked turquoise little beauty of a journal has 144 white and soft pastel ruled pages, interesting edge tabbing plus an elastic ribbon to keep it closed. The binding allows it to lay flat as you write in it, and it's small enough to tuck in a purse or a large index card holder; $3.60 (on sale at 50% off.)

Origami Sticky Notes by Suck UK -- 100 sticky notes imprinted with picture diagrams so you can fold them into ten different origami critters. Office notes will never be the same; $3.59 with my discount card.

A Year of Fortunes (without the cookies) by Knock Knock -- I bought one of these little hardcovers during the holidays to give to a family friend; it contains 365 preforated, dated fortunes with wry sayings on one side and lucky numbers on the other; $14.85 with my discount card.

I also rummaged around the bargain bins at BAM and found two unusual journals:



You have to peek inside to see wwhy they're unusual:



The Tri-Coastal Script Journal offers widely-spaced ruled pages that give you about twice the writing room as a standard journal (perfect for scribes like me who don't have tiny handwriting); the Pepper Pot journal on the right with the starburst cover design has graph-ruled pages with color-striped edges. The fact that I got them for $4.50 and $6.73 (50% with an extra 10% off for my discount card) respectively was a nice bonus.

From BAM I went to Target to look for some notebooks and binders and see what they had on sale. They have a new line of "Sunwashed" office supplies under their own brand that I really liked with dreamy photo designs and lovely colors. When I'm working on a particular project I like to color-coordinate my writing stuff so I can find everything with a glance, so I picked up a binder ($4.99), legal pad/clipboard padfolio ($8.99), journal 3-pack ($5.99) and pencil box with pencils ($4.99):











I also found a lot of notebooks and journals marked down for clearance, and scored an 8" X 6" 80-page Mead notebook with those lovely dot-gridded pages instead of lines ($2.65) as well as a slightly smaller, 80 page Horizon groovy hues ruled notebook with a front pocket and an elastic closure ribbon ($1.98):





I got an additional 5% discount off everything for using my Target Visa at checkout. Target also had every 2013 pocket planner, desk blotter, wall blotter and so forth heavily discounted, and clearance prices on some nice smash book and scrapbooking supplies, so if you're in the market for any of those it maybe worth a trip to check them out.

Index Card Journal

Another of my Journaling Small challenges was to use this ordinary pack of index cards to make an interesting mini journal:



Which I did, and here's how it looks now:



Rather than turn the index cards into a book I decided to keep them in the same physical format and simply enhance their appearance. I also wanted to make this a green project, so I only used what I had on hand to do so. I started with two tea bags and some boiling water; I made a strong batch of tea and immersed the cards in it. Tea staining darkened the blinding white of the index cardstock to various shades of cream and ecru, blurred and lightened the ruled lines on the cards, and created some lovely mottled marks and warping, which all together gave the cards a wonderful antique look.

Tea staining doesn't make the cards tacky, btw, but it does leave a faint odor of tea. If you want to try this method, remember to let the tea cool enough first to work with without scalding your hands or fingers. Also do handle the cards carefully when they're wet as they tend to tear easily. Other options to alter the appearance of index cards would be to apply light washes of watercolor paint or spritzes of diluted food coloring. Those of you who are experienced paper makers are likely familiar with various commercial dyes that would work, too. If you don't mind the white color of the index cards, you might decorate them instead with stickers, cutouts, rub-on transfers or other scrapbooking bits.



Once my stained cards were completely dry I printed out some pages of words (two for every letter of the alphabet, a group of numbers, and the months of the year) in an antique font on cream-colored paper. I cut out and glued one word in a random spot on each index card. These words serve as my writing prompts; whatever I add to the card while journaling should relate somehow to that word. I also left about fifty cards deliberately blank so I can write whatever I like on those.



Once I had the cards finished I unfolded the cardboard holder, covered it with bits of paper and cardstock from my recyclable paper bin, and reassembled it. I added some decorative paper tape to the edges and corner folds to make it a bit more sturdy. The final touch was hot-gluing neat junk like rusty keys, old buttons, string, a little light bulb and an old pen nib to give the base a bit more style and weight. So that I can mark my progress as I use the cards I cut out the picture of a peacock from the top of an empty puzzle box (yes, I even save those to recycle) and made that my journal marker.

I've planned to use my index card journal for writing practice and daily inspiration, but you can always skip the prompts and simply write a journal entry on each card and keep them in date or subject order. Writers might adapt the cards to serve in other ways, like plotting out scenes from your story, creating an index of characters, settings, backstory or whatever you like. Those of you who blog might glue some prompts from a blogging inspiration source and then take a card at random to give you an idea for a new post. Readers, this would be a great way to keep notes on the books you've read, or to simply track titles so you don't accidentally buy second copies; you can create a card for each author, keep them in alphabetical order, and make notes on their books accordingly. Or if you're the plan-ahead sort, you can make up cards for each month of the year and note which new releases you want to read during that month. You can add photos, divider cards, recipes and pretty much anything else you want and can fit in the base to personalize your index card journal, too.

Vintage Story Mines

I have a modest collection of vintage ledgers and journals, to which I recently added a sorority chapter secretary's notebook. My latest find has entries spanning from the late 20's to the early 30's, and was kept updated by at least five different college girls of that time period:



It was fun and surprising to browse through this notebook. I was expecting it to be mainly handwritten but most of the entries were neatly typed. While the notations were comprised of meeting notes and other formal/official chapter business, each secretary added little bits of her personality to what she wrote. A great deal of attention was given to pledges, from recruiting to initiating them. By today's standards what the pledges had to endure sounds pretty tame, but these girls were quite serious about who they let into their sorority -- and who they didn't:

"Miss Martha Meyers was voted upon for Pledge but received more than the quota of black balls allowed by the by-laws and therefore will mot be permitted into the Sorority."

If you're not familiar with the vintage version of black-balling, the members of old social groups like this would vote on membership matters by using actual white and black balls. They'd usually pair them with a wooden box that had a concealing cover or lid (this so each member could vote anonymously.)

I like seeing the handwriting of that era in the penned entries; in some cases it looks surprisingly modern, like this one:



It's also interesting to see the different social activities these girls enjoyed. Bridge seemed to be huge with this sorority; almost every entry mentions someone holding a game -- and sometimes who should bring what to it (I wonder if the cigarettes were the social norm or something sneaky.)

Aside from the entertainment value it holds, this notebook is a storyteller's goldmine of information. There are literally hundreds of full female names, addresses and personal details noted throughout the entries which are (obviously) authentic to the era. I have pages listing dozens of social events, activities, charities and work and school schedules as well as period prices for everything from food to jewelry.

I can also glean a lot from the tone of the entries. One secretary seemed to delight in tormenting pledges by repeatedly listing what must have been cruel initiation tasks (wearing a vegetable corsage or being dressed as a mummy? Horrors!) Not every secretary was a sorority snob; one sweetheart regularly mentioned members who were sick or hospitalized. Evidence of new financial hardships -- probably brought on in part by the 1929 Stock Market crash -- shows in how the sorority made two major adjustments in dues collecting and debt forgiveness. Right now I have enough material in just this one notebook to write an outline for a novel -- or draw on parts of it for three other story projects.

Some things to consider when using antique real-life material:

1. Unless you're writing a biography, always try to sufficiently alter or recombine names versus using them verbatim from your source document. While these people may no longer be alive they've probably got descendants, and it shows respect for their personal history.

2. Make copies of the original document for personal annotation or any form of alteration versus writing on the document itself. Keeping the source in its original condition helps preserve it for the next generation of storytellers.

3. Donate any historically important vintage journals to an appropriate museum, library or other nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation. While it's lovely to own a piece of history sharing it by donation will virtually guarantee its longevity. It will also make the information it contains available to teachers, students, researchers, curators, biographers etc.

If you're interested in finding your own vintage story mines, you can hunt for antique journals in a variety of places: thrift stores, rummage sales, old book stores, antique paper and emphemera dealers (try Etsy, which is where I found this one) and estate sales. For a marvelous free online resource, check out the massive list of links at The Diary Junction.