Getting Down the Details

After reading this article tonight I realised it was probably time to remind you to get down all those details in your journal. As the article points out, one of the reasons you should reread old entries, as suggested yesterday, is to see just what details you’re leaving out.

In the article the journal entry highlighted shows that the writer didn’t mention the name of the town. It’s these kinds of things we can get complacent about. We know where we shop or pay bills or work, but an ancestor or stranger may not be so familiar with that part of the countryside and reading becomes an act of decoding.

Leaving out the names of people is another one I know I’m guilty of. I often mention a friend, vaguely, but must try to remember to add their name when I write something about my time with them in my journal. Of course, I’ll only write about them if we spoke on something signifigant to me.

In the long run, writing in your journal is for you alone. But I don’t like it when I’ve been so vague as to leave myself in the dark. Write down enough detail to ensure you will recall the event as you read it again in your journal pages.