Journaling : How to

Excellent post Jenn! I also feel strongly that the story is important. Sometimes the story is just a few words, some times it is a few paragraphs (or more!). The story is what connects us a humans. I am also a photographer, and love images so much. In my mind, the photo is the heart of memory keeping and the story is the soul.

 

@jenn mccabe , I wasn't having a go. Fair is fair, if it is 10 sentenses, it is 10 sentences for every one. I did enjoy the challenge very much, and didn't mind having to add a few full stops. LoL felt sorry for you that you had to count them all.

 

This will be very helpfull Jenn!
I don't have troubles with journaling, I can write a book about most pictures I scrap. My only 'problem' is that sometimes it's difficult to write in english

 

I speak in run on sentences a lot because I'm married to someone who speaks in 4 or more paragraphs.

I've been fine with the journaling so far but I can certainly see how someone who does not think it's important feels left out. You can certainly scrap without journaling - I know a woman who has shelves of paper scrapbooks and it's all photos and stuff. Will her daughter know what the pages are about? yes, because they're all about this only child, now in her mid 20s. There are people who don't journal and that's a choice. Perhaps it's just not TLP style.

 

Good ideas! I never did like writing stories in school so it is a struggle for me. My problem is I write something then re- read it and think it sounds dumb so I start over and get nowhere! The challenges have been great though really got me thinking!

 

Journaling - love it or hate it? It just depends, I guess. I always have a story to tell with my pictures. Sometimes it might be just a line or two. Sometimes it's a paragraph. When I recently scrapped my pictures of my trip to London, Wikipedia was my best friend. It was perfect for all the historical places, and when I needed names, dates, and details, that I would never have remembered otherwise. I also grab all the pamphlets and guidebooks (free or otherwise) when I visited places because they are also a good source of information.

 

So do we!

I totally see your point. But as the mom of an only child, I don't have that experience! I have the "Mommy, what's happening here?" experience. I can't wait for him to be able to read better and not ask me to tell him the stories! Ok, I can, because I love telling him the stories, but dang. It'll be nice when I don't have to always be the one to read it.

One of my tricks now is asking him what he remembers about the photo. He loves to tell stories about them, even when the stories are totally imagination!

 

Well, I teach English for a living, and I have to say that these are all excellent tips for writing in general! I share many of these same tips with my students when they are writing short stories and essays.

The hardest thing about journaling for me is not coming up with things to say (I always have lots to say), but making what I want to say fit the space on the page. In a template, I'll often click on a journaling box and begin telling my story, only to reach the end of the box and find that I still have two to three more sentences I want to write. I then have to either go back through my text and find places to cut and/or try to mess with my fonts and font sizes. This is especially tricky when I've deliberately arranged my journaling around elements rather than behind them so that it will still be visible to the reader. When I change font sizes, suddenly some of my journaling disappears behind a flower or something, and then I have to reconfigure everything. It can be time-consuming and tedious.

But I will say this - journaling is worth it in the end! When I go back and look at layouts I made 2-3 years ago and reread my journaling, I'm often reminded of details about my photos that I'd already completely forgotten. I'm always so pleased that I have those memories preserved so that they will never disappear forever. That is what scrapbooking is all about!

 

@jenn mccabe - this post is made to be boodmarked by everyone who needs help with journaling!! Awesome reservoir of tips!!

I am one of those who loves to journal! Like some people said - I just think of my viewer - it's generally my son and sometimes my husband - I then write about what would I like to tell them when looking at the picture - the details ... the emotions ... maybe the before or after ? Whatever is relevant and whatever I would tell them in person if I were showing them the page ... that's how I love to do it at least and write my heart out

 

These are some awesome tips about journaling. I have never been great about it, but it is one thing I'm working on. Like others have said, I'm trying to be mindful of those who will be looking at the pages in the future when I'm not around to tell the story behind the photo. But then I also have pages with no journaling because there isn't really a story, like a selfie or flower in my flower bed...it's just a date and time...maybe an attitude I can capture with a word art. As far as MOC, while I do struggle with it sometimes, they wouldn't be "challenges" if they were all easy I love the learning and stepping outside my box.

 

I love the journaling challenges...especially since the past few years have been kinda rough, so it's like therapy to me depending on the page. Every picture tells a story...I guess I write as if I'm talking to you with a lot of "..."'s. I definitely do run-on sentences!