Since the age of 5, I have been an on and off diary writer. My earliest entries were fairly basic as I had no grammar, spelling, or structure skills. As I began to develop skills during my pre-teen years, I started to appreciate the creative outlet. My journal was an excellent place where I could express myself, reflect on my actions, and develop my writing skills. My actions of keeping a journal are not uncommon, a study by LifeJournal,  shows that  50% of her random selection of 114 people kept a journal at least once in their lives and 16% of the people currently kept a journal. This study can signify that diaries are not uncommon as 66% of people had at least journaled once in their lives.

As journaling is not an uncommon occurrence, there is a variety of ways people can keep a diary. Not all diaries are personal accounts and someone may keep a food entry diary, a travel diary, a personal journal, etc. This decision is based on one’s preference. In this blog post, I will be looking at personal diaries as a literary genre and the debate of their significance as a genre in the literary world, and how they have inspired other pieces of work. Looking at journals is important as we can see how diaries’ natural versatility play a crucial role in the literary community.

To begin, I will establish why there is debate regarding diaries as a literary genre. Bruce Merry declares that journals are often dismissed as they are seen as simple pieces of work (3). Personal writings may be disregarded as they can range from a brain dump of ideas to carefully crafted short stories about one’s actual experiences. “The diary is an intimate journal, a personal dialogue between the writer and his private persona, in which anything can be discussed outside the pull and push of editorial fashion” (3).  The genre of journal writing is unconventional due to everyone’s personal interests and style of writing, this makes it difficult to create a set definition. Merry highlights this in his article by using the example of how some people choose to write dates for each entry while others write dates for more important days (holidays, birthdays, etc.) (7). Despite the debates surrounding diaries as a genre, it can be shown that these types of personal work are sometimes not seen as valid.

Regardless of the diary as a genre debate, diaries are powerful forms of work. These personal accounts can benefit a person’s health, and in some cases, they can also inspire others. Jennifer Ryan wrote a novel, entitled The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir about women living on the Homefront during the second world war. She writes about their struggles of women watching their loved ones leave for the war and how they begin to start a choir to light the spirits of their idyllic village. This novel was inspired by the journals of a woman living during World War II. Ryan stated that she was “so moved by Nella’s diaries that [she] wanted to write a novel that in some way fictionalized her experience, making it more accessible for a larger audience” (Last Paragraph). Ryan’s actions of producing a novel based off personal journals may indicate the importance of diaries because she was able to read primary accounts of the struggles women faced during this time period and she expanded these entries by writing a novel with similar themes.

In conclusion, this blog discussed the debate of diaries as a widely accepted genre in the literary world and how diaries are able to influence the work of others. Journals may not be widely accepted because of their extreme versatility and, with the exception of well-known authors, many diaries are kept hidden. However, it is this same versatility that can make all diaries special as they are created to suit the writer’s creative interests. Therefore, this can suggest that where diaries find their weakness in adaptability, it can also be their greatest strength.

Further Reading:

The diaries of Olive Allen Biller inspired this website for my ASTU 100 Archives Project. Please visit if interested in learning about a female artist living turning the turn of the 19th century.

Works Cited