A practical guide to keeping a diary and transforming it into future projects. Alex Johnson shows how to spark memory, generate and focus material, identify key patterns, make procrastination work for you and insure your diary's privacy. Each chapter features tailored exercises for both beginning and committed diarists. Beginners will turn first to quick ways to get - and stay - started and to overcome inhibitions; seasoned chroniclers, though, will start diaries with a new slant. This book shows how to trigger inspiration with creative brainstorming exercises; how to note patterns in diaries writers already have; and how to shape their material.