After posting my “tips” on keeping a diary about a month ago, I had some additional thoughts on that topic. At the core of these additional thoughts are two basic facts. First, your purpose in keeping a diary will determine in large part what you include and exclude in your entries. Second, unless you plan to destroy it before you die, the diary will be seen and read by at least one other person and possibly quite a few more after you have left this earth. With that in mind, here are some additional ideas to consider:

• If you are keeping a handwritten diary, make sure your handwriting is legible. It can be frustrating to try to decipher words and sentences that look like the person who wrote them was operating a pneumatic drill at the same time.
• Is the purpose of your diary to show future generations what kind of person you were? If so, discuss what makes you happy, sad, angry, fearful, or surprised. Offer insights to what you value in life and why.
• Is the purpose of your diary instructional or informational? If so, two other questions arise. Do you want to focus on local happenings, such as the opening of a new park or a championship won by the high school football team? Or will your focus go beyond your community to state, national, and even international events.
• Whatever the purpose of your diary, be as specific as possible. The more detail you put into your entries, the more understanding and empathy you will generate in future readers. Consider the difference between these two hypothetical entries: (1) I’m mad at Jack and won’t speak to him ever again. (2) I made the mistake of introducing my girlfriend Janet to my former best friend Jack. Before I knew it, she dumped me for him. Claimed he understood her better than I did. I think his fancy clothes and high-paying job had more to do with it. Anyway, I’m never speaking to him again.
• Is there ever an occasion when your diary should be discarded or destroyed? That is something to consider if your diary serves as an outlet for your frustrations and worries. That is even more the case, if your diary expresses your dislike of certain people or if it reveals secrets that could be embarrassing to them or to you. Another thing to consider is whether people you care about could be hurt by your diary’s content. If the diary allows you to vent your anger at people or events, then it may well have served its purpose by the time you finish the last page.

In closing, one final question needs to be addressed: Do you tell anyone you are keeping a dairy? In most cases, it won’t do any harm to tell family members or close friends. But if your diary is serving a cathartic purpose for you, you might want to keep it a secret. The key question is, how will any given person react if he or she reads what you have written? Speaking for myself, I believe there is enough pain and sorrow in the world without me adding to it through ill-advised words either written or spoken.