JOURNALS

The Diary of Anne Frank and compilations of letters by Jawaharlal Nehru, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Emily Dickinson brought the personal into the public sphere.

While celebrities have written the letters, Anne Frank’s diary revealed the horrors of a situation that attracted worldwide attention.

Is it a violation of personal space?

What exactly happens when writers publish their diaries? Do they edit masterfully and induce cohesiveness in what is essentially a record of random thoughts?

What is the intent of the author and the reader?

Each of these factors will shape the publication and the target audience.

If no one has taken the time to understand my point of view during my lifetime, why should anyone want to read it after I am gone?

Most of us blog, and some of those are personal reflections. Apart from fiction and comedy writers, every piece carries a part of our soul.

This is why writing fiction seems difficult to me compared to poetry and non-fiction. I need to step back from my creation and utilise specific skills.

This is what separates content written for a target audience with SEO from a heartfelt piece of one’s thoughts or beliefs. At times, one is published under the garb of another, and I can see through the difference after checking the author’s profile.

Orhan Pamuk, the author of “Memories of Distant Mountains”, raises another ethical concern.

“There is a literary and human problem here. How innocent is our desire to represent others, to describe others to those who do not know?”

I quote again from the book review mentioned above.

Pamuk’s cryptic comments are not signs of narrative weakness but demonstrations of the episodic nature of the diary as a literary form. Unlike autobiographies, diaries don’t always privilege continuity or consistency of thought or action; rather, they provide room for change and variation.

OTHER FORMS OF DOCUMENTATION

I see several trends on Instagram or Facebook where people record their day-to-day activities.

1. Outfit of the Day #OOTD
2. Food
3. Dejunking
4. Losing weight
5. 30-day journey to …

I’m sure some viewers benefit from the experience of others, but the thought that always stops me is, why should it interest anyone else? At most, I may post something on a FB/Insta story or WhatsApp Status. It highlights the non-professional aspects of my life – cooking, my dogs, books I enjoy and participation in literary or academic activities. It ends there.

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RXC #380