Leaving a trace : on keeping a journal : the art of transforming a life into stories

An inspirational, practical and literate guide to starting and keeping a journal - and transforming it into something permanent like a memoir or a novel. Leaving A Trace is a practical guide to keeping a journal successfully and transforming it into future projects. Each chapter features both narrative and tailored exercises for beginning and committed diarists. Beginners will turn first to quick ways to overcome inhibitions, get started and stay on course. Seasoned chroniclers will start diaries with a new slant: they will learn how to trigger inspiration with creative brainstorming exercises; how to note patterns in diaries they already have and how to shape their material. The PEN Award-winning author “proffers advice for journal keepers who want to develop material for later books or who simply enjoy logging life’s events” (Publishers Weekly) Leaving A Trace is a practical guide to keeping a journal successfully and transforming it into future projects. Each chapter features both narrative and tailored exercises for beginning and committed diarists. Beginners will turn first to quick ways to overcome inhibitions, get started and stay on course. Seasoned chroniclers will start diaries with a new slant: they will learn how to trigger inspiration with creative brainstorming exercises; how to note patterns in diaries they already have and how to shape their material. “Warning: if you buy this book, you might as well buy a journal at the same time. Alexandra Johnson’s lovely and practical prose will assist you in overcoming virtually every inhibition you’ve had about committing words to paper, and will inspire you to tell, in whatever form you choose, the important story of yourself.”—Elizabeth Berg, New York Times bestselling author “A gifted storyteller, Johnson provides examples on how the discipline of daily, reflective writing is crucial to nurturing creativity and skillfully weaves together the relationship between the creative process and the craft of writing . . . beautifully written.”—Library Journal “Help[s] writers find practical inspiration, discover pattern and meaning, and move the material of a journal into memoir or fiction . . . Valuable in all sorts of ways for anyone looking for the right words.”—Booklist “An elegantly written study of an increasingly popular genre.”—Kirkus Reviews