--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It wasn’t really a journal. I tried…" description: "\"“It wasn’t really a journal. I tried keeping a journal, but it would always be one long entry filling the first seven pages, and then just nothing. Too..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/charlotte-leonetti-85778_journals_it-wasn-t-really-a-journal-i-tried-keepi_779960.jpg" --- # It wasn’t really a journal. I tried keeping a journal, but… ![“It wasn’t really a journal. I tried keeping a journal, but it would always be one long entry filling the first seven pages, and then just nothing. Too hard.” quote by Charlotte Leonetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/charlotte-leonetti-85778_journals_it-wasn-t-really-a-journal-i-tried-keepi_779960.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/charlotte-leonetti-85778_journals_it-wasn-t-really-a-journal-i-tried-keepi_779960.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec7/charlotte-leonetti-85778_journals_it-wasn-t-really-a-journal-i-tried-keepi_779960.jpg) > ““It wasn’t really a journal. I tried keeping a journal, but it would always be one long entry filling the first seven pages, and then just nothing. Too hard.”” [Charlotte Leonetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-leonetti/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer struggled to maintain a journal because entries became overwhelming and unsustainable. **In simple terms:** Keeping a journal felt too demanding. Key Takeaway Simplify writing habits. Themes writing discipline overwhelm Mood frustrated reflective Type advice personal When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative projects - mental health journaling Key Concepts habit formation self‑regulation Questions to Reflect On - How can you break writing into manageable parts? - What motivates you to record thoughts? A Different Perspective Short entries may lack depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journal Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal-long-6012476/) [Journal Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journal-tried-6012475/) [Journals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journals/) [Keeping a journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-a-journal/) [Keeping Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-journal-704093/) [Really Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-journal-6012477/) [Seven Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven-pages-255108/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I suffered from a quite severe speech impediment when I was young, and keeping a journal was part of the therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-fetherling/i-suffered-from-a-quite-severe-speech-impediment-when-i-was-young-and/) [George Fetherling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-fetherling/) > [It is this delightful habit of journalizing which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-this-delightful-habit-of-journalizing-which-largely-contributes/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [If you feel like keeping a journal-that neither you nor anyone else on earth will ever want to read-be my guest. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/if-you-feel-like-keeping-a-journal-that-neither-you-nor-anyone-else/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [I've never been one for keeping a journal, so my songs were my journals. They allowed me to express my feelings and let people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-ve-never-been-one-for-keeping-a-journal-so-my-songs-were-my/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [Whether you're keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it's the same thing. What's important is you're having a relationship with your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/whether-you-re-keeping-a-journal-or-writing-as-a-meditation-it-s-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“Perhaps you are not sitting in this room, and I am not sitting by you. These are points in which a doubt is equally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/perhaps-you-are-not-sitting-in-this-room-and-i-am-not-sitting-by-you/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Keeping a journal is like taking good care of one’s heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kooser/keeping-a-journal-is-like-taking-good-care-of-one-s-heart/) [Ted Kooser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-kooser/) > [I guess whatever maturity is there may be there because I've been keeping a journal forever. In high school my friends would make fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-guess-whatever-maturity-is-there-may-be-there-because-i-ve-been/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“At certain periods it becomes the dearest ambition of a man to keep a faithful record of his performances in a book; and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/at-certain-periods-it-becomes-the-dearest-ambition-of-a-man-to-keep-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ Keeping a \[journal\] need not be a major chore-just a few minutes of notes each day can be valuable. Writing crystallizes insights, fools the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-n-walsh/keeping-a-journal-need-not-be-a-major-chore-just-a-few-minutes-of/) [Roger N. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-n-walsh/) > [Keeping a journal will change your life in ways that you'd never imagine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/keeping-a-journal-will-change-your-life-in-ways-that-you-d-never/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Keeping a journal implies hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/keeping-a-journal-implies-hope/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“One of the most helpful tools a writer has is his journals. Whenever someone asks how to become an author, I suggest keeping a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-most-helpful-tools-a-writer-has-is-his-journals-whenever/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the diurnal minutiae, and forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-only-point-of-keeping-a-journal/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [I feel happy to be keeping a journal again. I've missed it, missed naming things as they appear, missed the half hour when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/i-feel-happy-to-be-keeping-a-journal-again-i-ve-missed-it-missed/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) ## More by Charlotte Leonetti > [“Pilar, if anyone, should have understood how awful it was to be surrounded by people who had their own version of the truth. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-leonetti/pilar-if-anyone-should-have-understood-how-awful-it-was-to-be/) [Charlotte Leonetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-leonetti/) > [“He knocked politely and entered the principal’s office with his dad face in full effect. He put his hand on my shoulder in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-leonetti/he-knocked-politely-and-entered-the-principal-s-office-with-his-dad/) [Charlotte Leonetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-leonetti/) [Explore all 3 Charlotte Leonetti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-leonetti/) ## More Journals quotes > [Just as Wall Street needs to break the hold of the bonus culture, which drives risk-taking that is rational for individuals but damaging to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-schekman/just-as-wall-street-needs-to-break-the-hold-of-the-bonus-culture/) [Randy Schekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-schekman/) > [Fans are always asking me where I get my ideas from. The answer is that I'm very curious, and I get inspiration from everywhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-gerritsen/fans-are-always-asking-me-where-i-get-my-ideas-from-the-answer-is/) [Tess Gerritsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-gerritsen/) > [My mother sent me to speech classes, but the other kids still teased me. I was shy. I stooped. Instead of talking, I kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-domingo/my-mother-sent-me-to-speech-classes-but-the-other-kids-still-teased/) [Colman Domingo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-domingo/) > [When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/when-i-go-back-and-read-my-journals-or-fiction-i-am-always-surprised/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“The journals may give you an opportunity to express your feelings without inviting further tables.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-patneaude/the-journals-may-give-you-an-opportunity-to-express-your-feelings/) [David Patneaude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-patneaude/) > [“I dream that someone in space says to me: So let us rush, then, to see the world. It is shaped like an egg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-someone-in-space-says-to-me-so-let-us-rush-then-to-see/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Could slavery suggest a more complete servility than some of these journals exhibit? Is there any dust which their conduct does not lick, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/could-slavery-suggest-a-more-complete-servility-than-some-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have deposited some of my journals here for fear of accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-john-wills/i-have-deposited-some-of-my-journals-here-for-fear-of-accidents/) [William John Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-john-wills/) > [Reading the several thousand pages of Christopher Isherwood's complete journals is an instructive corrective to the prissiness of reading fiction. Isherwood had faults that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/reading-the-several-thousand-pages-of-christopher-isherwood-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [But it's never just been the journals that have made the difference, I don't think. It's also the way the students are with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/but-it-s-never-just-been-the-journals-that-have-made-the-difference-i/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I promise that if you will keep your journals and records, they will indeed be a source of great inspiration to your families, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/i-promise-that-if-you-will-keep-your-journals-and-records-they-will/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [People who keep journals have life twice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessamyn-west/people-who-keep-journals-have-life-twice/) [Jessamyn West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessamyn-west/) > [ I wish I could \[keep a journal\]. I have a lot of journals with one page half written in. I sometimes will write myself… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-wish-i-could-keep-a-journal-i-have-a-lot-of-journals-with-one-page/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [“It's 4am again and I'm just getting started. People are boring and I want to burn with excitement or anger and bleed, bleed through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/it-s-4am-again-and-i-m-just-getting-started-people-are-boring-and-i/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [I hope my journals relating to World War II will help clarify issues of the past and thereby contribute to understanding the issues and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/i-hope-my-journals-relating-to-world-war-ii-will-help-clarify-issues/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) [Browse all 57 Journals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It wasn’t really a journal. I tried keeping a journal, but it would always be one long entry filling the first seven pages, and then just nothing. 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