Journal for Authenticity: (1) Settling Down

            I faithfully write three daily composition-book pages, mostly in the mornings.  In the past five years, I have missed only eight days.  Most of us start a diary or journal, and then abandon it after the novelty wears off.  What’s happens?  In reflecting on what makes a satisfying entry and what does not, I find Abraham Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs nurtures my process.  Just as I adapted his pyramid to an earlier blog, Teaching from the Heart Up¸ I have adapted it specifically for journal writing.  In this series of posts, "Journal for Authenticity," we will use this model to explore various aspects of daily writing.

            The bottom-most level on the pyramid is anger, fear, survival—being on the run.  It’s hard to settle into write if that’s where I’m living at the moment.  So, over the past five years, I’ve developed certain comforting, stabilizing routines to slow me down.   I gather myself up to write by creating constants, which trigger my writing muscles.

            First, I only write in composition books.  Ditzing myself over deciding what’s next, and holding off before I mark the perfect first page of an expensive book—and thus “ruining” it—is another way to avoid myself. Composition books are available, have the aura of something lasting and faithful, and are available everywhere—from stationery stores to supermarkets, to drugstores, to bookstores, and, of course, online. I even find them at convenience stores and gas stations.

There’s the traditional marble cover—now in a rainbow of colors—or more jazzy variations—wallpaper designs, glitter, fabric. With the same 9-3/4X 7-1/2 format, my journals line up nicely on my shelves. I may experiment with wide rule, college ruled, even graph paper—but always I write 100 lines, which varies the number of pages. I’m mostly a college-ruled comp. person, 3-pages each day. No more monkeying around, as they say, with journal hunting.

            Next, I use the same pen—a PILOT G-2 07, bold tip, blue ink. I buy boxes of refills, and love the texture of my written pages, which ripple under my fingers because of the generosity of the ink.

            Three, Where and when is another issue for journal writing—the point is to be steady, but flexible.  With long commitment, I have settled into a certain place in the living room.  Just sitting there gets me focused. It feels like coming home to settle in. On some days, I write while my husband drives.  On others, as when he was spending long weeks in rehab, I wrote while he slept in his hospital bed.  When we’re on vacation, I might perch, cross-legged on the beach at dawn, or next to waterfall. My daily commitment is not negotiable.  That’s why I’ve only missed eight days in 1,675.

            Blank page?  No problem.  I have developed a routine to smirch up that clean, intimidating first page—start date for that book.  (I usually need a new book every two months).  The first thing I do with the clean new page is head my entry in a certain way, as for example, here:

                                     30º   7:01A  LRC^L Gray Skies 1.24.20 péntek  Light

Recording the outside temperature; the time; where I’m sitting (LRC^L=Living Room Couch left); the weather; the date; day of the week (I’m teaching myself the days of the week in different languages, péntek is Friday in Hungarian); and my Angel for the day (see Angel Cards: Spells and Incantations), is a ritual that helps me settle in for my daily Musings—along with my PILOT G-2 07 Bold, blue-ink pen. Such rituals create focus and a safe, predictable space.

I sometimes describe my current surroundings—

                          Comp book resting on a mermaid pillow. Mort stirring scrambled eggs in a pan.

Or current state—

                                                         Insomnia again.  Sinus-y. Dizzy.

            What rituals and routines might you devise to stop running and settle down to a daily journal? 

            What’s your blank page?

            What’s your book?

            What is your writing instrument?

            Where will you write?

            How will you head each entry?

            In the following post, we will consider how long to write and at what time of day.

Because I Can Teach:

Journal for Authenticity Series:

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/01/journal-for-authenticity-1-settling-down.html

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/01/journal-for-authenticity-2-how-much.html

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/02/journal-for-authenticity-3-survival.html

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/02/journal-for-authenticity-4-security.html

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/02/journal-for-authenticity-5-power.html

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/02/journal-for-authenticity-5-love.html

https://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2020/02/journal-for-authenticity-7-communicate.html

Why Write?: Knowing When and How

In a previous blog, Pyramid of Needs, we considered Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of why we do as we do in our lives. According to Maslow, these are our priorities: (1) Survival, (2) Security, (3) Power, (4) Love, (5) Communication, (6) Self-Esteem, (7) Self-fulfillment.  If our first priorities are not satisfied, even minimally, then we can’t get to the higher levels of self-esteem and self-fulfillment.  Where we are on the pyramid shows up right away when we are challenged, as for example when we read or write for a class.

In my textbook, The Flexible Writer, I discuss  three main purposes for writing, which I adapted from James Britton’s insights in “Notes on a Working Hypothesis about Writing”: Self-expressive, Interpersonal, Aesthetic.  A given piece of writing may serve some or all of these.  Practicing writers know how to gauge what is appropriate and don’t, for example, write a mostly self-expressive piece when an interpersonal one might be more effective.

Self-expressive

Self-expressive writing satisfies the need for asserting our survival and security needs.  It satisfies the need to be heard and recognized as an individual, despite social pressures.  Through it, we might vent our anger, complain, grieve; exalt, dream, wonder.  This purpose is often fulfilled by the very act of writing, itself, whether or not someone else reads what we’ve written.  Self-expressive writing often takes the form of first-draft diary entries, letters, autobiographies, lyric poems, songs—rants on Facebook, dashed off Tweets and GIFs. Here is a self-expressive draft written by student Samantha Renner:

I am terrified of the idea of war.  All I can think of are those films of houses gutted by bombs, children lying half-naked and dead in the streets, and blood everywhere.  Sometimes at night, I wake up to the sirens from the fire station down the block, and I panic: What if they are not signaling for a fire? What if, somehow, there are planes coming to bomb our town?  This must be just a little of what people must feel who are actually in a war zone.  It’s terrible.

In this paragraph, Samantha expresses her feelings about war.  The self-expressive purpose is fulfilled by the very act of writing. Samantha doesn’t anticipate a reader, and no one has to have read what she has written or respond to it.

            If you find yourself resenting, defending against, or arguing with others when they respond to your writing, it may be because your intention was only self-expressive.  Know when to show your writing to others.  Read the blog post Writer's Wrodeo: Whoas and Wonders to help you to discern where you are with a particular piece of writing.

            Interpersonal

            Interpersonal writing satisfies not only the needs for survival and security, but also those of power, love, and communication.  Through interpersonal writing, we connect, break, or negotiate with a reader, an audience (a word that literally means “those who listen”).  Our anticipated audience may be as far away as a reader in another country or century, whom we may never meet; or as close as ourselves.  Our anticipated audience may be as specific as an instructor or as general as a U.S. citizen.  Our task is to determine our primary audience and how to reach it.

            In interpersonal writing, we try to convince someone else to recognize us, to do something for or with us, to agree with us, or to change her or his ways.  It may take the form of letters, proposals, editorials, business and legal memos, recipes, instructions—or chat threads.  Submissions to teachers are meant to embody what you have learned and to earn a grade. (We will consider specific educational purposes for writing in an upcoming post.)

            The following is an excerpt from an essay Samantha wrote with a predominantly interpersonal purpose: to persuade her audience of her position.

            Before our country declares war on another country, I believe several things should take place:

     (1) There should be an open debate on media between those who are for and those who are against the war.  Debaters should include the parents of draftable people, military personnel, lawmakers, conscientious objectors, and ambassadors from those on whom we might declare the war.

     (2) There should be films of war played on television, the internet, and social media showing the ravages of war, especially on non-military persons.

     (3) There should be a vote taken from the general population.

     (4) There should be an active campaign to ensure that at least 50% of the population votes.

            Samantha’s interpersonal writing invites debate, action, and results.  She uses rhetorical devices (persuasion techniques) such as bulleted points and clear appeals to emotions (as in her evocation of war images).  In a workshop, fellow writers can help her anticipate how others might disagree with her, so that she can head readers off before they can.

            Aesthetic

            At its best, aesthetic writing satisfies the highest levels of needs that Maslow identifies: self-esteem and self-fulfillment.  It assumes that self-expressive and interpersonal needs have been met and attention can be turned toward writing for the sake of elegance, compression, beauty, overall memorability.  If only aesthetics are managed in a particular piece of writing, then it can be superficially entertaining, but it will lack depth. When, for example, your instructor insists on grammatical correctness, but ignores the self-expressive and interpersonal aspects of writing, writing might be more like a Styrofoam cup instead of one made of fine porcelain.

            Aesthetic writing has action, imagery, and dialog.  The diction (choice of words) is compelling.  Aesthetic writing is based in imagery—to reach deeply into the reader’s consciousness.  It is specific.  It is something new. It incorporates the poetic and lyrical techniques, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. does in his “I have a Dream” speech, or William Shakespeare does in Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy.

            Here’s is Samantha’s poem, focused with aesthetic strategies:

            When will We Awaken?

     The sirens shriek,

     3:30 in the morning, again.

     Somewhere nearby there is a fire.

     This one will be cooled by ready water.

     The children will be carried

     by people in wet rubber coats.

     What of the shrieking in another place

     where no one will carry the children to safety—

     away from bombs bursting in air

     giving proof through the night    

     that a flag may wave?

     Not only has Samantha expressed her outrage at war, but, in focusing on specific imagery and strategically invoking the “National Anthem,” she’s argued against war.  She fulfills all three major modes of writing: Self-expressive, Interpersonal, and Aesthetic.

            Combinations

            Samantha successfully combined all three modes of writing to satisfy a hierarchy of needs.  Sometimes, it can be hard to separate the aesthetic from the self-expressive and the interpersonal in some work.  And that is devoutly to be wished for—to have all three integrated.

            Ask yourself when you are writing, what need or needs you are predominantly satisfying.  And when it comes to writing workshop, be honest with yourself:

If your purpose is mainly self-expressive, then you will not want anything but approval.  Your purpose will be mainly focused on your own experience.  Ask your readers to refrain from suggestions for revision.

If your purpose is interpersonal, writing workshop will provide you an opportunity to test-run your ideas and to strengthen your chances at better results. Be open, listen, thank your readers for their support and commitment to your writing.

If your purpose is predominantly aesthetic, you might, again, only want approval. You might welcome readers to offer their appreciation for different aspects of your writing style as they manifest in your work.

But if you can combine all three purposes, you will afford yourself a lively and supportive atmosphere for becoming the liveliest writer you can be. 

Works Cited

Cover Art: http://thewriteconversation.blogspot.com/2016/06/why-write.html

“Pyramid of Needs.” becauseicanteach.blogspot.com http://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2018/03/

“Writer’s Wrodeo: Whoas and Wonders” http://becauseicanteach.blogspot.com/2019/03/writers-wrodeo-workshop-woes-and-wonders.html

Britton, James. “Notes on a Working Hypothesis about Writing.” Prospect and Retrospect: Selected

Essays of James Britton.  Ed. Gordon M. Pradl.  Montclair: Boynton/Cook, 1982.)

https://www.albany.edu/cela/publication/article/writing.htm

Rich, Susanna. The Flexible Writer. Fourth edition. Boston: Allyn/Bacon, 2003.