--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: David Gascoyne once told me that the only…" description: "\"“David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the diurnal minutiae, and forget the great si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png" --- # David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping… ![“David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the diurnal minutiae, and forget the great significant events in the world at large.” quote by William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png) > ““David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the diurnal minutiae, and forget the great significant events in the world at large.”” [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Keeping a journal focuses attention on everyday personal details, letting larger world events fade into the background. **In simple terms:** Journaling highlights daily life over big events. Key Takeaway Write daily, notice small moments. Themes reflection mindfulness personal growth Mood introspective thoughtful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapy - self‑awareness Key Concepts Journaling subjectivity memory Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on minutiae affect your perception of larger events? - What benefits arise from ignoring big news? A Different Perspective May overlook important broader context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Keeping a journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-a-journal/) ## 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. 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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/) > [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 William Boyd > [Sometimes limbo is a tolerable place to be stuck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/sometimes-limbo-is-a-tolerable-place-to-be-stuck/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“Here at its extremities the terrified transients gathered, gazing out at the vast refulgent ocean for some sign of security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/here-at-its-extremities-the-terrified-transients-gathered-gazing-out/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“We all possess, like it or not, the people we know, and are possessed by them in turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/we-all-possess-like-it-or-not-the-people-we-know-and-are-possessed-by/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“Old Testament prophets. ‘You savvy dis fetish thing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/old-testament-prophets-you-savvy-dis-fetish-thing/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [Human beings are interested in the human condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/human-beings-are-interested-in-the-human-condition/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“A warm sunny evening, the plash and gurgle of the waves in the rock pools, the rush of the cold gin. 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Total.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/i-am-a-total-stranger-you-see-total/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [There is a disconnect between the film Bond and the literary Bond which is their contemporaneity. I don't suffer from that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/there-is-a-disconnect-between-the-film-bond-and-the-literary-bond/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“So much for my great vendetta, so much for the tireless hunt for my betrayer. Isn't this how life turns out, more often than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/so-much-for-my-great-vendetta-so-much-for-the-tireless-hunt-for-my/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) [Explore all 125 William Boyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) ## More Keeping a journal quotes > [There's pressure to come up with something genius every time. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-had-started-keeping-a-journal-and-i-was-discovering-that-i-didn-t/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [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/) > [“Now I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again." Catherine turned away her head, not knowing whether she might venture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/now-i-must-give-one-smirk-and-then-we-may-be-rational-again-catherine/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [ 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/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-leonetti/it-wasn-t-really-a-journal-i-tried-keeping-a-journal-but-it-would/) Charlotte Leonetti > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) [Browse all 47 Keeping a journal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-a-journal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the diurnal minutiae, and forget the great significant events in the world at large.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Boyd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-only-point-of-keeping-a-journal/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Keeping a journal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-only-point-of-keeping-a-journal/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/william-boyd-3581_keeping-a-journal_david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-onl_544574.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“David Gascoyne once told me that the only point of keeping a journal was to concentrate of the personal, the…” — William Boyd", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Boyd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“David Gascoyne once told me that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-only-point-of-keeping-a-journal/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/david-gascoyne-once-told-me-that-the-only-point-of-keeping-a-journal/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```