Thread: Formatting Journal Entry Story

Hey all,

I wrote a story some years ago that's a series of journal entries. I love the story and am happy with it, but I'll be submitting it to a magazine.

How should I format the separate entries?

Day One. This is a journal entry, this is a journal entry, blah blah blah.

Day One. This is a journal entry, this is a journal entry, blah blah blah.

Day One

This is a journal entry, this is a journal entry, blah blah blah.

...or something else? Should I make up actual dates instead of just saying the day? It's set in the present, but I don't want to link it to a certain year (which I would necessarily do if I had dates and days of the week).

Any and all help is appreciated, thanks.

-JW

Formatting is all about the effect. Putting it in bold will make it look formal. Is your character formal? Same with separate lines; it looks slightly more professional. Hasving it on the same line and in the same font as the entry conveys an informal attitude. Again, you'd have to match it up to your character, or whoever in the book is writing these things. It won't make or break the story, though, so don't worry too much. I have similar issues with the anecdotes I put in whenever I start a new chapter.

On actual dates, I think that it would make it too complex. It might stunt the reader's imagination - some gaps are better left unfilled.

Hmm, fair point about the formality / informality.

The character is at work and keeping a journal of things. He's a very logical person. I mean, he is entirely crazy by the end of the story, but he keeps a certain rigid adherence to principles throughout.

It's flash fiction, I should also mention; most of the entries are one or two paragraphs in length. The entire piece is 1300 words.

Maybe you should change the style as the story develops; if he develops as a character, then it might be worth ditching congruency and changing it each time, or every few entries. It starts looking nice, but by the end of it all, he doesn't care how his journal looks.