Historic Event Writing & Journaling

The personal, deeply emotional recording of the start of a war -- this one the Iraq war -- is far different from any text book writing. Here was mine written Wednesday, March 19th, 2003:

There was the U.S. claim that Iraq was hiding "weapons of mass destruction," and (possibly) Pres. George W. Bush's deep desire to finish the First Gulf War his father, Pres. Geo. H. W Bush had started.

... vs. the fact that if the U.S. did attack, it would be the first time our country would ever have initiated an unprovoked attack on another sovereign country. (maybe the first time any UN country would do that)

Would we or wouldn't we? There had been so many deep, heated discussions among friends, co-workers, family members, and others about what the decision would be.

      Surely we wouldn't.
                                        How could we not?

Then the day came. I sat alone in my living room experiencing and seeing the start of a war, and wrote my reaction to it. Here, from my journal:

The Bombing of Baghdad

Wed., March 19th '03 -- all day watching CNN & MSNBC.
This evening the countdown on the latter. Right now it's
5 minutes and counting. Counting towards what?

Armageddon? I'm starting to cry. This countdown isn't exactly like the New Year's Eve ball. But the reverse timing sounds & looks the same. Even that's obscene. Too much like a happy, hopeful, traditional annual event.

I cry -- from fear. Fear of what exactly? Some of it is fear of war, that huge physical and psychological catastrophe. But I think I'm really more afraid of the massive, all pervasive, painful changes that have already begun in the world -- that will surely intensify finding violent voice, as each of our planes drops murderous bombs on innocent people. It's the awful, shameful backlash of hatred from the rest of our fellow man.

I [a grandmother] feel very young & helpless -- vulnerable in ways that I don't even begin to understand. It's such a common phrase -- fear of the unknown -- it's so overwhelming, such a crushing feeling. The immediate future is suddenly scary, some anchor line has broken.

"Opening stages of the disarmament of Iraq" -- we've now begun bombing Baghdad. How very disingenuous of our media to phrase it like that!!  Early dawn in that capital, I can see an innocent softening of their morning sky on my TV. The bombing began about 1/1/2 hrs. after deadline.

3 carriers involved in first small strike against Baghdad.

Herald to the frenzied buildup. The feverish boil lanced.

"Decapitation attack"-- aimed specifically at Saddam. How hideous.

    "Pax Americana" -- said St. Louis journalist Ray Hartman.

         Peace indeed...

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Naturally, including the emotions of an event -- painful, joyful or otherwise -- is more effective than classroom essay style. *But it's also personally healing for the writer to release those emotions onto the page~

Peace to us all~

Lin

COMMENT ON TODAY'S WORLD EVENTS

Nonfiction writing can be an amazing vehicle for reporting your own observations about today's world news.

Examples from The Many Faces of Journaling, 2nd edition

          August 1990 What a very strange world we've become. Now we have a real live prime-time war. Let's see -- how will the commentary go?
                            Scuds 1 -- Patriots 2 -- Pass the popcorn...
For the very young, this is no more real than a video game. How awful for humanity!

Add a few statistics of the day of the event to give the future reader perspective:

          Jan. 2, 2008 In the world outside my office – the futures price of light sweet crude oil topped the $100 mark for the first time, settling back only a few cents to close at $99.62. The market wasn’t altogether happy about that and the DJA lost 220 points to land just above the 13xxx level. Ah, fun and games ~ 

__________________________________________

TODAY'S WORLD
... is "happening" non-stop every day, seemingly at the speed of light! Even our own United States never seems to run out of excitement, strife, marches and protests, world championships and state fair surprises.

Keep a note pad or journal by your chair and when you see and/or hear news that stirs you emotionally -- excitement, fear, fascination, human events. 

WRITE IT WHILE YOU'RE LIVING IT!
Write your anticipation, opinion, hopes
 and fears. Make it come alive.

Next year or decade, your words will reflect those current events AS THEY AFFECTED REAL PEOPLE AT THE MOMENT THEY HAPPENED!

Why do that?

     1. You're creating your future book based on "a look back in time."

     2. Writing it out, really venting, releases your own momentary stress!

     3. By all means, write an addendum the following day or week -- a short term retrospective.

And since it's your book, you can rant, rave or celebrate all you want~

Happy writing 

WHAT'S YOUR NONFICTION CATEGORY & TOPIC?

Logically, "nonfiction" refers to that which is factual.

The judge wants to hear nonfiction, not fiction from the witness stand.

But generally a writer is referring to the kind of information (topic) and how it will be presented. A book about birdhouses might be image-dense with color photos or an instructional "How To Build a Birdhouse" book.

So just in case you're bouncing around your office with way too many ideas or pawing the ground for anything AT ALL, allow me to suggest...

PRACTICAL STRUCTURE

* How To Build a Birdhouse

* Fermented Vegetable Recipes

* Vegan Nutrition

* Patio Pot Gardening

* What You'll Need to Live on Your Own

* Naming Your Computer Files So You Can Find Them Later!

* Maximizing Profit from Your Own Comb Binding Machine

INFORMATIONAL

Today's Google makes research simple now. Between your own experience and the information from serveral *reliable* websites, your writing can shine with wisdom, practicality and smiles~

* The History of Ferris Wheels

* The Fur Traders on the Mid-Mississippi

* Preparing Your Child for Pre-School

* Make Your Garage Sale SPECIAL!

* Everyday Budget ($$$) Savers

Yes, there's overlap between Practical Structure and Informational. But like everything in this business, it's all in how you present it!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

My book "The Many Faces of Journaling: Topics & Techniques of Personal Journal Writing" is packed with information on how to boost the quality of writing content -- useful for the professional writer as well as the personal journaler!

Happy Writing!

NEXT TIME: Personal Experience Books