The Journal Newsletter
Introduction
Welcome to The Journal Newsletter!
As was mentioned last month, we have made a new release of The Journal available this month (Build #41). See The Journal News section below for details.
Luceele Smith-Huff describes how she uses The Journal, and we have a new tip (Using “Search Entries…”) and new writing exercises.
Thank you for supporting DavidRM Software’s The Journal!
Tips & Tricks
TIP: Using “Search Entries…”
With “Search Entries” (on the Search menu, hot-key: Ctrl+Shift+F) you can look for a word, phrase, or collection of words across all entries and all categories. As you make more categories and entries “Search Entries” becomes more useful.
Search Entries Options
Search for entire phrase – The search text is taken as a single phrase. The entire phrase must be matched for the search to find anything.
Search for entries with any of the words (OR) – The search text is a collection of words (or quoted phrases). If an entry contains any of these words, it will be listed. A “Match %” will be displayed, indicating what percentage of the searched for words are present in the entry.
Search for entries with all of the words (AND) – The search text is a collection of words (or quoted phrases). An entry must contain all of the words to be listed as a match. The words don’t have to be in any particular order in the entry to match, however.
Search loose-leaf entry names – The names of loose-leaf entries will also be searched, in addition to the actual text of the entry.
Search active category – Only the currently active category is searched.
Search all categories – All categories (active and inactive) are searched.
If neither “Search active category” nor “Search all categories” is checked, then you will need to select the categories you want searched.
Search Results
Once the search is begun, it continues until all entries in the selected categories have been searched. The search can be stopped at any time, or it can be allowed to continue while you browse the entries it has found so far. Unless you specifically “Close” the Search Results form, or “Stop Search”, the search will continue.
Selecting an entry from the list of results will bring up that entry in The Journal. If the entry’s category is not active (has no visible tab), then you have to make the category active to review the entry.
If the Search Results form is ever hidden from view, you can bring it back by choosing Search Entries on the Search menu, or by pressing the hot-key: Shift+Ctrl+F
Writing Prompts
by Susan Michael
Free Writing Exercise – Write for 20 minutes (without editing) in any style: using “faded denim” as your title.
Poetry Exercise – Write a poem that begins with a description of an event, telling what appears to be happening. Then give a description of what is really occurring.
Prose Exercise – Write a character sketch exploring three aspects of the character’s life (home life, childhood, dating, hobbies, marriage, career, foibles, etc.).
Journaling Exercise – Do you consider yourself to live purposely? Write about specific choices you have made for yourself in the past. Think about the daily choices you make concerning the following areas: self, relationships, career, and health. For each write a goal that you have and three things that you can do to accomplish it.
Memoir Prompt – Write a list of “firsts” (i.e. first time you drove a car, first employment, etc.) Select a few and write about how you felt about what happened.
About the author: Susan Michael has facilitated several writing groups, and has lead writing & creativity workshops for the Arts & Humanities Council in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
How I Use The Journal
Editor’s Note: The Journal is used by people from all over the world, from many nations, representing a variety of personal, professional, and religious backgrounds. Journaling is by definition an intensely personal undertaking, so it should not be surprising that when someone writes about how or why they keep a journal that they will end up sharing personal information. The Journal Newsletter does not support any particular personal or religious lifestyle, but rather attempts to support anyone who keeps a journal, for whatever reason they do so. Thus, the views and opinions expressed in “How I Use The Journal” are solely those of the submitter and not necessarily the views of DavidRM Software. Whether you agree with the submitter’s views or not, I encourage you to read the article and glean from it the information and techniques that “ring true” for you.
by Luceele P. Smith-Huff
I use The Journal in several different ways. One, as a personal diary to record my daily thoughts, feelings and experiences. I describe encounters with people, both good and bad, and anything else I want to remember. This is particularly useful because although I’m only 40, my memory is terrible! Like if I didn’t enter into The Journal that I permed my hair or had lunch with a favorite girlfriend on a particular date, I would never be able to recall the date otherwise.
I also record all the details during the many times I have to call vendors (like the phone or cable company or my bank or a credit card company). On these occasions I record the names of the people I speak to and any assurances they give. That way, if I have to make follow-up calls I can quickly locate the date I spoke to John or Jane Doe and my account number, and state with confidence that John or Jane Doe said a credit in the amount of X would be posted to my account or that a technician would visit or that a replacement product shipped on a particular date.
I’m also something a computer geek and I often install a lot of software updates/upgrades/patches. I have a separate journal category titled Computers where I record the dates each update, upgrade or patch is installed so that if I ever have to do a system restore (a Windows XP feature I’ve grown to love), I know exactly which date to go back to. I also record the web site where the update was downloaded from so that I don’t have to clutter my favorites or waste time searching for the site if I needed it again. It’s particularly useful that The Journal supports hyperlinks so that a web site can be launched from within the program. I also make entries for all my computer-related serial numbers, installation dates, passwords, web sites, account numbers, version numbers, etc. Additionally, I often paste error message dialog boxes into The Journal for later research or for accuracy in describing the problem to vendor tech support personnel. To copy an error message dialog box, I click the dialog box once to select it then press ALT-PRINT SCREEN then press CTRL-V to paste it into The Journal. This is useful when you have to click OK or cancel to get rid of the error message but sometimes you haven’t had time to read/memorize the exact language of the error. Copying/pasting the error into The Journal gives me time to record the entire error message; I sometimes delete the dialog box from The Journal afterward (to reduce The Journal’s database file size).
My children are now 10 and 11 years old; my goal is to eventually turn The Journal over to them so that they can get a fuller understanding of their mom’s life (I’ll put my journal password in my will so they won’t be able to access it until after I’ve long departed this life!).
My thanks to Tania Ryan for her catalog clipping tips; I am off to create my own catalog clipping category right now!
-Luceele
Submission Information
If you would like to contribute to the “How I Use The Journal”, “Writing Exercises”, or “Tips & Tricks” sections, or would like to submit an article about journaling, writing, or another The Journal-related topic, we would love to hear from you.
Submissions for the newsletter should be sent to: support@davidrm.com
If you are submitting for a particular section, please indicate which one. Try to limit your submissions to 500-1000 words. Submissions may be edited for length and content.
If you prefer to remain anonymous, please state this in the email. Otherwise your name (but not your email) will be used in the article heading.
As always, if you have any suggestions for, or bug reports about, The Journal, please feel free to email them. Both are always welcome.