“Here is reason to keep a journal. You will learn how to observe the things that happen to you, how to sort out the important from the unimportant, how to put your observations into words, and perhaps how to make sense of your life. The daily practice of writing your own autobiography will develop the habit of writing that is essential to anyone who wants to become a writer. In years to come you can rediscover your own life by seeing what you have preserved of your earlier thoughts and experiences. When you write every day about yourself and your immediate world, you will develop habits that will help you observe the greater world beyond yourself.”

Richard Marius, A Writer’s Companion 17 (1985).