the goal
To write in a paper diary/journal every day in 2006, beginning Jan. 1st. Entries may be as short as a word or a sentence, or as long as several pages. Visual journal entries are also encouraged, including sketches, collages, or photography. Missing a day is not failure... simply go back, and add an entry based on memory for that day. Back-tracking is better than skipping, and it will keep you motivated to continue with the project.

why?
Because in this digital realm where we can so easily delete and repeat, concretizing and externalizing in the form of a paper journal just feels good. If you still want to delete your thoughts when it's all over, you can have a ritual burning. ;)

what should you post in this community?

please note, these are simply ideas, and are OPTIONAL. people are certainly not required to post scans of their journal pages. the discussion and postings will be loose and varied.

1. you can post scans of your paper journal entries.
2. you can talk about the benefits/challenges of the process.
3. tell us what you wrote about on a given day.
4. post prompts or theme ideas. ex: "write a memory involving rain."
5. just chit-chat on the topic of self-narrative, diaries, etc.

membership deadlines
Membership cut off for 2006 is Jan. 1st. Spread the word, because I'm locking down membership for a whole year at 10 PM EST on Jan. 1st. For those of you who have joined, be sure to acquire, make, or purchase your blank book before the new year. And of course, POST PICTURES when you get them!

http://www.livejournal.com/community/embodiment/

Wonder if it's ok to just write on a loose pile of computer paper?

> in this digital realm where we can so easily delete and repeat

That's a funny motivation. I prefer to write down my thoughts on a computer because it's more permanent; when I write on paper, the paper just tends to get lost. I have probably dozens of old journals lying around from when I tried to write things down but lost the notebook.

Another problem was that when going to write something down, I'd happen to see a glance of an old entry, get whisked back in time and start thinking about that. Besides being disorienting and depressing, this usually made me forget what new thoughts I intended to write. On my computer, I can do "date >>~/journal ; cat >>~/journal", type whatever I have to say and press Ctrl-D, avoiding the problem.

livejournal is a good choice for this, seeing as they center around keeping an online version of the same thing

Posting on the 31st, only to cut off entry the next day.

GOOD GAME.