Q&A for How to Write a Journal Entry

It's your journal, so you can write whatever you like. Spill out those ugly thoughts and get them out of your system! Say whatever you think needs to be said. However, also be prepared to analyze your "bad stuff" because otherwise you learn nothing and simply reinforce that it's okay to feel anger or frustration toward other people all the time, and that can end up being unhealthy. Use the journal to work through such feelings. And don't forget to hide it really well!

Start a journal entry with how your day went. From there, elaborate on what is going through your mind.

Explain what the book was about, who the characters were and what they were like, and how the book made you feel. You can also say something about the book's themes and/or what you think the author was trying to say.

You can start writing your journal whenever you want, as long as you have all the supplies you need.

Keep it hidden away somewhere. Check out the tips in How to Hide Your Diary .

Yes. You can write a journal about anything you feel is important to you, or that sparks your interest.

No. You can write a blog or something on your laptop or computer. You can always just explain your feelings to people. You don't have to keep everything a secret.

A good way to end a journal entry is to summarize your entry, or write, "Goodbye for the time being." Treat it as though you were wrapping up a conversation with a person.

Write down your goal in life, and add an entry every time you make progress toward your goal. This will help you focus on one area of your life.

Yes. You could also explain in the diary entry what the range of dates is, and from within that range, write down what you believe to be the most likely date or dates.

They're basically different words for the same thing. The term 'diary' is commonly used by girls, while 'journal' is more likely to be used by boys and adults.

Journal entries are not usually suitable for newspapers. However, you could keep a journal where you write down any time you see something newsworthy.

There's no right way to do that. Just write what you think is important.

No. It's your journal, so journal whenever you want.

Using your favorite color may make it fun for you, and some colors like orange and blue stimulate creativity. Though a black pen is probably the most legible, so it's really up to you.

You can do whatever you want: stickers, gems, glitter glue, or collages are all good options.

A double journal entry is two separate journal items written in one day.

It can help you develop writing skills. Also, you will be able to vocalize your thoughts and ideas, which can be helpful.

Journaling is usually less restrictive, more creative, or more personal. It's often a way for an individual to relieve stress by writing out their feelings. Recording the minutes of a meeting, on the other hand, means recording the events, statements, etc. of a public or private meeting between multiple individuals.

Yes, you can end your journal entries in whichever way best suits you.

Describe the challenge, describe how you feel about the challenge, then how you plan to overcome the challenge.

Summarize the main and most important parts of the week and put them into one page of writing. You can expand on some points to give the entry more detail, but make sure if you have a word limit to keep it simple.

It's your journal and it's totally up to you how you want to write in it. That being said, using paragraphs makes the text more easily readable, so if you think you'll want to look back over what you've written, it's a good to use them.

If your assignment specifies how long each entry is supposed to be, stick to that number. Otherwise, it's up to you.

You could ask them to give it back. I know it's simple, but if you tell them if it has private things they will be even more tempted to read it.

That depends on you. You can write as much or as little as you want. You could write for five minutes, you could write for hours.

No. A journal can be anything you want it to be.

Sure, naming your journal might be a fun way to be more interactive with it. You can choose to keep the name secret or share it with others.

Yes, it's okay to write multiple entries in one day if you like. However, don't wait until the last minute and try to write a bunch of entries on the same day if your journal is for school.

A journal is your own place, so you can write anything you want, be it stream of consciousness, daily events and happenings, your ideas, plans and decisions.