Down the Diary Rabbit Hole

Marcus Aurelius was one of the most respected of Roman emperors during his reign in the second century. He is not remembered for his great successes or his conquests. He is remembered most for his journaling.

He developed a daily habit of journaling, exploring his life, asking questions. He carried out his own spiritual combat on the pages of his journals. They were meant for him, not for others. Yet, those journal entries became book called “Meditations” which is still sold and read today. A public domain version can be downloaded from the Gutenberg site.

One of the many newsletters I receive in my email inbox is one from Ryan Holiday. He’s written several bestselling books. He’s also a huge fan of Aurelius’s writings. It’s a rare newsletter he sends out where he’s not mentioned. I find references to him in many of newsletters I read.

Little Museum of Diary

This morning I was reviewing the newsletters that I’d not yet gone through in my inbox when I followed a link to something called “Little Museum of Diary”. The museum was founded around the Italian village of Pieve Santo Stefano in the province of Arezzo by a journalist and writer, Saverio Tutino.

Pieve Santo Stefano was almost completely destroyed by the Nazis during WW2 after they drove the local population away in 1944. On the church and townhall survived. After the war the residents returned to find their homes and the memory of the town extinct.

The lost heritage was slowly rebuilt through an archive of memories preserved in diaries, messages, autobiographical accounts and personal letters. Some 7,000 have been collected and conserved in the National Diary Archive since 1984. Read more about it here.

History Through the Eyes of Ordinary People

The people who wrote the diaries and materials forming the history of Pieve Santo Stefano were preserving pieces of their lives unaware they would become integral to preserving the heritage of a place destroyed by war.

Historians value finding and exploring letters and diaries written as personal texts. They help them to piece together history beyond the official records and telling. They are written by the literate members of the community and not necessarily by the ruling class.

I’m aware the local library had a project digitizing historical archives. I did some exploring for diaries and letters archived online and I found some.

• Letters & Diaries Online — http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/letters/ldonline.html
• Diary Index — https://diaryindex.com/digitized-diaries/
• Wynne’s Diary — https://wynnesdiary.com/
• Diary File — https://diaryfile.com/

There are many more. People have taken the time to transcribe the writings into text for us to read.

Stealing Like An Artist

About ten years ago the writer Austin Kleon wrote a book called “Steal Like An Artist”. I’ve read the book a couple of times now. He brings life to the phrase ‘there is nothing new under the sun’. Just about any idea you have has been done in some form by someone, some where in history.

Creative work is iterative of others work. Not copied. Inspired by the work of others. If you study fiction works you’ll find the plots narrow down to basic formats. What makes them unique is how the writer envisions the setting, the characters and how they will interact.

Artists will often build on the work of others to create their own unique interpretation of the work, adding their own twists and style to it. Writers do the same.

What Role Do Diaries and Letters Have For Writers?

You can read other books and stories to gain inspiration. You can also explore the real life of real people and what they chose to share in their writings. Those writings can give you some rich ideas for plots, human interactions, viewpoints, customs and the way lives intersect.

I’ve always loved history and do read a lot of historical accounts. Nothing makes history richer than when I read historical fiction.

A skillful writer presents history intertwined with characters that make it living and breathing. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series comes to mind as I’m currently reading her latest book in the series.

You could write your stories in those eras or you could use them as inspiration for a more modern day storyline. You’re limited only by your own imagination.

Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.

She created Prompt A Day to share with others. You can subscribe to Prompt A Day to get started.