The Journal Newsletter

July 2003
Volume 4, Issue 7

Introduction
The Journal News
Tips & Tricks
Writing Exercises
How The Journal Blessed Our Family
Submissions

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to The Journal Newsletter!

There is a new update of The Journal available this month. Get the details of what's new, and what's been fixed, in "The Journal News" section below.

Susan has given us our monthly set of writing exercises, and this month's tip is about putting buttons on The Journal's toolbar that insert templates.

Thank you for supporting DavidRM Software's The Journal!

THE JOURNAL NEWS

Current Version
The Journal 3.0 Build #49 is the most recent release. You can download it from here:
http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/

Add-on Packages Available
MemoryGrabber - Start your autobiography or help your loved ones start theirs.
http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/tjfeatures-memoryg.php

Writing Prompts 1 - Improve your writing skills!
http://www.davidrm.com/thejournal/tjfeatures-wprompts1.php

To order these add-on packages for The Journal:
1. Click on the Help menu in The Journal.
2. Choose "Upgrade The Journal".

TIPS & TRICKS

TIP: Putting a Template Entry Button on The Journal's Toolbar

If you have certain templates that you use a lot, it can get tedious to every time have to go through the full right-click (or click on the Insert menu), choose "Insert Template", and then select the template you want. Beginning with The Journal 3 Build #47, though, you can now add a button to The Journal's toolbar that inserts a template entry.

This tip will show you how to create a new toolbar in The Journal, and then put buttons for your templates on that toolbar.

1. Right-click on The Journal's main menu and choose "Customize..."

2. Click on "New..." and enter the name: Templates

3. The new toolbar may be created "floating" over The Journal. If so, you may want to click on it and drag it up so that it is "docked" beneath The Journal's existing toolbars.

4. To add template buttons to your new toolbar:

4.a. Click on The Journal's Insert menu, choose Insert Template, and then select the template you want.

4.b. *Drag* this template from the menu and *drop* it on the new toolbar. The template button is displayed with a "template entry" icon, and the name of the template entry. (This is why I suggest you create a new toolbar for template buttons.)

4.c. Repeat as necessary. Click on "Done" when you're finished.

4.d. You can add new buttons to the toolbar in the future just by right-clicking it and choosing "Customize...". Then follow steps 4.a. - 4.c.

Once you've done that, using a template is as simple as clicking on a button.

WRITING EXERCISES

by Susan Michael

Free Writing Exercise - Write for 20 minutes in any style using the following as your title, "Spending Purgatory with... " Consider using humor.

Poetry Exercise - Create a poem using three trinkets. Such as, a shell, a silver charm, and a feather.

Prose Exercise - 1. Write a children's story about a crow who either is learning to read, or who writes words for others to read. 2. Write a story about a person who is illiterate.

Journaling Exercise - Write a list of things that "stress you out". Then, next to each thing you have listed, write one thing that you can do to alleviate, or lighten the stress. When you know that you are heading into a stressful situation, use this as part of a plan of looking at the situation objectively.

Memoir Prompt - Write a recollection about a friendship you had at some point in your life.

About the author: Susan Michael currently facilitates the Tulsa Writers Cafe for the Arts & Humanities Council in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ms. Michael has also led writing & creativity workshops for children, teenagers, and adults.

HOW THE JOURNAL BLESSED OUR FAMILY

Editor's Note: I received this as an email a couple weeks ago. It touched me, and inspired me, so I asked permission to share it in this month's newsletter.

The Journal has been a real source of healing in our family. My brother, Tony, used The Journal along with Dragon Naturally Speaking software to record his insights and emotions during his struggle against ALS (Lou Gerhigs Disease).

Just prior to passing on, he created a shortcut link on his desktop that opened his journal and bypassed his password. He created a greeting tab that invited our family to read and remember. It has taken us almost two years after his death to really read it, but doing so has brought such healing to all of us.

We are grateful for the program and for David. He helped up reinstall The Journal on our computers and keep Tony's journal intact even after the password shortcut link was inoperative.

Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Suzanne

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

If you would like to contribute to the "How I Use The Journal", "Writing Exercises", or "Tips & Tricks" sections, or would like to submit an article about journaling or another The Journal-related topic, we would love to hear from you.

Submissions for the newsletter should be sent to: davidrm@davidrm.com

If you are submitting for a particulare section, please indicate which one. Try to limit your submissions to 500-1000 words. Submissions may be edited for length and content.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, please state this in the email. Otherwise your name (but not your email) will be used in the article heading.

As always, if you have any suggestions for, or bug reports about, The Journal, please feel free to email them. Both are always welcome.