A few days ago
UVRay

What’s the difference between a diary and a journal?

I’ve always wondered this, but never remembered to ask.

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A few days ago
Kris L

Favorite Answer

Okay, a ‘diary’ is ‘sort of’ a journal, since both mean ‘daily writing’ … but in a ‘diary’ you write ABOUT THAT DAY and what you did … in a journal, you also write daily, but you may write ‘anything’ you want … it could be all ‘lists’ one day, and ‘freewriting’ (no grammar or punctuation … just ‘free thinking’ and writing it out) the next. Some people do both/either only in ‘longhand’ while others keep both diaries and journals (one person keeps both) in the ‘computer’ or by typing. A ‘diary’ entry is usually ‘no more than one page’ and those can be ‘quarter sized’ with ‘wider lines’ … a journal may be ‘three to ten pages’ a day …

I kept a ‘diary’ when I was 11-12, I keep a ‘journal’ now … I’m 56, and have kept a ‘computer journal’ for the past 10+ years.

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