misguided ghosts

(many such lists exist but this is a self-referential compilation of ones that seem most apt.)

—a commonplace book, aka for noting down quotes, poetry and lyric fragments, excerpts, sayings

—for learning a language: compiling words, practicing writing texts, writing diary entries in the target language, conjugating those damn verbs

—scrapbooking: pasting down pretty papers and fabrics

—art journaling: similar to scrapbooking, but with your own sketches added in + specific atmospheres

—writing down stories, narratives—fic, even?

—for original poetry

—for sketching. Multiple sketchbooks at different levels of polished results can exist!

—study notes. you can potentially have different notebooks for everything you’re studying.

—a catch—all junk journal. for when you need paper to write scraps of things on. This notebook can potentially be carried around outside and used for everything when you can’t carry 1200 different notebooks for separate things in your backpack.

—a bullet journal/ personalised planner.

—a reading journal. you note down what you’re reading, your thoughts and notes and references and tangents as you go through a text.

—a similar journal for music/films.

—a classic diary! for thoughts, for pouring into, for lessening the weight on your mind. I love giving my diaries Themed Names. my current one is called the book of time. sei shonagon’s diary is called ‘the pillow book’. etc.

—this one’s a bit of a stranger idea, but: a journal based entirely around an aesthetic concept. say you really like the princess diaries and want to write about your learned aphorisms and favourite stylings and ways of grace in a princess lessons notebook. say you want to document all thoughts and poems and things related to fairies, and you write a fake field guide to fey courts. say you really like shakespeare’s plays and want a diary written entirely in that style of language, as a character in that setting. Etc, so on.

—a notebook for the people in your life. their birthdays, interesting things they say, the ways they make you feel. you can even get them to write messages in it for you.

—a notebook specifically for goals—for breaking down long term aims into specific things you can do daily. for those who like seventeen point plans and Scheming, you can even refer to it as a Plots and Schemes journal !

—a travel journal. self explanatory.

—a journal for a hobby. say you play the piano and want to keep documenting your growth, noting down ways you can improve, things to keep in mind. say you like baseball and want to keep noting down your predictions and whatnot.

—a finances/earnings/expenses logbook.

—for those who are working on a Long novel, series of books, or wip: a writing notebook specifically dedicated to that one world/story. you note down and compile everything related to it there.

—for people interested in moon phases and tarot and astrology and witch-like occult things—if i remember it right the journal where you collect Knowledge on such things is called a grimoire? or you can call it what you like!

—a journal for creating your own language and universe—this one’s for the writers! call it a worldbuilding journal, a playing-god journal, a multiverse-theory-in-practice journal.

—a journal for mental health. noting down your medicine changes as you test it out, noting down self care that works for you and doesn’t, ways to cope with any addictions, etc.

nobody else sees it as a failure, it’s just you