Journal writing vs. writing practice

I have done journal writing on and off over the years, many of my journals are now gone, which is a shame because there were some impressive nuggets in there for writing practice that can never be recovered. I find that journal writing takes a turn the longer I practice. Journal writing for me has always been intense whining about everything that is wrong in my life, and I can whine with the best of them. Now I find with my new thinking and frankly, being sick of my own voice, that journal writing has taken on a more creative slant. This practice is freeing to me. I still whine, make no mistake. Then I get sick of it and find myself moving on to more positive, better topics. This is the place where I can let my grandiose thinking free. I can create characters who are outrageous and who do all of the things I always wanted to do, but never had the courage for. Living large, loving big, taking risks that, in reality, have always been too scary for me. As I advance in my knowledge and work on my craft I believe, eventually, there will be someone in there worth focusing on and developing, and who may help me develop myself and lay my fears of life to rest.

I was thinking about that because I have a book that I use daily for writing prompts and have used for a long time, even in my darkest drinking days, and it has helped me develop enormously in my creativity. It suggests that many writers like to keep a separate notebook for journaling and for writing practice. Because it all seems to flow together for me, I find that simply changing the color of my pen, or switching from pen to pencil is all that I need to do to keep track of where reality ends and fantasy begins. I enjoy my writing tremendously, and I love to see what I will come up with next when I complete my whining and tune into the muse.