The Journal Newsletter
Introduction
Since August is the traditional back-to-school month here in the United States, I wanted to remind everyone that The Journal offers a 20% discount to students and educators of all levels: grade school, high school, college, post-graduate, and anything else that sounds educational. Just email davidrm@davidrm.com to request your student/teacher discount.
We have a new set of writing exercises from Susan, and our tip this month is about resizing the calendar and entry tree.
Thank you for choosing DavidRM Software’s The Journal!
Tips & Tricks
TIP: Resizing the Calendar & Entry Tree
Both the calendar and the entry tree (also called the “date tree”) that run down the left side of The Journal can be resized. In addition, the new sizes are stored per category, so you can have different views for each category.
Resizing the Calendar
When you resize the calendar, you get more visible months, either side by side, or one on top of the other, or as many as you like (I like to have to have 2 months visible, myself, one on top of the other).
You resize the calendar by moving the mouse cursor to either the bottom edge of the calendar or the right edge of the calendar. When you see the mouse arrow become the resizing cursor (2 parallel lines with arrows on either side), click and drag. Only whole calendars are displayed, so you may have to drag a bit of distance (about half the width or height of the calendar) to see the additional months.
Even if you don’t want to change the calendar permanently, feel free to pull it out to show the last 6 months or a year at a glance. When you’re finished, you can always size it back.
Resizing the Entry Tree
If the calendar is visible, then the entry tree is always the same width as the calendar. If you turn off the calendar, however, for instance in a loose-leaf category like “Notebook”, then you can resize the tree to any width you like. This can be handy if you like long entry names or have a deep hierarchical structure in your entries.
Since the calendar and tree sizes are stored with the category, whenever you click on that category tab both calendar and tree will automatically resize to match what you set. This may shift your category tabs some, so don’t be alarmed when that happens.
Writing Prompts
by Susan Michael
Free Writing Exercise – Write for 20 minutes using , “Clairvoyant”. Or “Mundane Occurrences.”
Poetry Exercise – In honor of Julia Child write a culinary poem celebrating food. Write a poem that is representative of language / communication.
Prose Exercise – 1. Write a short story using the title, “The Ladder at the Edge of the World”, (or “Fire Escape”).
2. Write a short story that uses an alarm clock, a match, and a vintage post card. (optional substitution: packing crate.)
Journaling Exercise – Throughout the day take note of three things that you see in front of you. For example , going to work: 1. traffic light, rear view mirror, dented fender. 2. elevator button, gold watch, worn carpet. Use these snippets as inspiration for writing.
Memoir Prompt – How do you celebrate birthdays in your family? Write about past traditions and current ones. Write about your feelings about past birthdays. Is there a specific birthday that stands out in your memory? As you get older what will be most significant to you?
About the author: Susan Michael currently facilitates the Tulsa Writers Cafe for the Arts & Humanities Council in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ms. Michael has also led writing & creativity workshops for children, teenagers, and adults.
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.