Picking A Format for Your Dear Diary Project
April 30th 2010 12:22
This workshop is called the Dear Diary because in each of my experiments, every entry started with “Dear Diary”. You don't have to write your character's diary that way. In fact, your format should depend largely on your character.
Formal characters are more likely to use “Dear Diary”, as are modern day children being made to do a diary in school. More informal characters and modern adults might just date their entries and start writing. Some might give it a title, date it, and then start writing. Characters who lost a loved one might write it as letters to that person (Ex. My 'Dear Daddy'). Creative types or voracious readers might start their entries with quotes they read, were reminded of, or thought up that day.
If your character is a poet, they might write a poem and a short paragraph each day. If your character is a naturalist, they might describe a beautiful natural thing they saw that day. Don't be afraid to let go of your preconceived notions of your character or of journaling.
Once you've picked your format, decide on your word goal for each day. If you're going to be writing a lot of poetry, you might only want to aim for 300 words. If your character is very observant and tends to go on tangents-don't be afraid of those; they'd get written in a real diary-you might aim for five hundred or even a thousand words each day.
What format will you be using next month?
Formal characters are more likely to use “Dear Diary”, as are modern day children being made to do a diary in school. More informal characters and modern adults might just date their entries and start writing. Some might give it a title, date it, and then start writing. Characters who lost a loved one might write it as letters to that person (Ex. My 'Dear Daddy'). Creative types or voracious readers might start their entries with quotes they read, were reminded of, or thought up that day.
If your character is a poet, they might write a poem and a short paragraph each day. If your character is a naturalist, they might describe a beautiful natural thing they saw that day. Don't be afraid to let go of your preconceived notions of your character or of journaling.
Once you've picked your format, decide on your word goal for each day. If you're going to be writing a lot of poetry, you might only want to aim for 300 words. If your character is very observant and tends to go on tangents-don't be afraid of those; they'd get written in a real diary-you might aim for five hundred or even a thousand words each day.
What format will you be using next month?
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