Dairy Writing

A Diarist can simply be defined as a person who writes a diary. The art of Diarists becoming famous Authors has since been forgotten, many people who write diaries now, only do so privately. Publishers have no interest in diaries, only Autobiographies, so you ask aren't autobiographies a form of diary, yes. However you have to remember most Autobiographies are composed in such a way to fit what the publisher or Author , believe their target market would like to read and buy, in reality very few of these Autobiographies would have been published as diaries during the 1940s, 50s , 1880s or at anytime period in which Diaries and their Diarist where famous.

Diary writing is a special skill, it requires the utmost vulnerability from the writer, to detail every moment of their life, every emotion, every thought expressed lyrically through pen and paper. This isn't just a character telling their story, its you as a human being at your most vulnerable, writing and documenting everything you feel, want to say.

Basically, Diary publications (whether full dairy or autobiographical diaries) should no longer be limited to only a certain group of people. We need more Diaries documenting everyday people's lives, experiences, feelings and thoughts. We need publishers to give a chance to diarist to be published. Before you say Diaries would never sell, yes they would. If autobiographies, personal blogs and YouTube creation can sell then diaries can sell, people are looking for something more authentic, someone they can identify with, someone who is not afraid to write down what they want to say or feel, someone who shows that Books are no limited to their being proper, grammar but that books have a great diversity that goes beyond the genres that we currently have.

Famous Diarist to check out:

1. Henry Miller - Probably the most famous Diarist of all time, Henry Miller is an American Author who is famous for the Frankness of his feelings in his Diaries, his ability to freely express his emotions, feelings whether sexual or otherwise, shaped a lot of modern writing. His books are easy to read and funny, as he freely admits a lot of things people back then and even now would be too scared to admit. Read his diary and you will be able to clearly his influence on modern literature.

Recommended Book: Tropic Cancer ( His autobiography which documents his life in France during the Depression)

2. Samuel Pepys - The most famous English Diarist, He is famous for his written diaries that offered the world insight, into the daily life of Londoners during the 17th century as well as a detailed accounts of historical events.

Recommended book: The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1925) (this diary details this life of Samuel Pepys during a lot of famous British historical events, from Charles II coronation to the great fire of 1666 and many more events. It a must read.

3. Edward Seago - Famous for his Artwork, Edward Seago produced one of the written masterpieces of all time in his only book, Peace In War. This book is an artist diary written by a painter forced into Military, and having no other way of expressing his feeling and thoughts. It can be a hard read, because unlike other diarist, his thoughts might seem unorganized when you just begin the book and yet as you read though, you understand that this is the thoughts of someone seeking peace in chaos, just we all do. His thoughts and words begin to resonate with our own thoughts about peace.

Recommended Books: Peace in War, High Endeavour (although this is not a diary per say, this is a true story/narrative detailing the life of a poorly educated circus worker, who has his life turned upside down as he joins the military, its a masterpiece and I would recommend reading it. )

4. Anais Nin - She is probably the most famous, Female Diarist of all-time, having written from age eleven till her death, her works like Henry Miller have helped shape the Romance genre among other genres in the writing world, She was one of the first female writer to go beyond the norm and write down her uninhabited thoughts, pushing the boundaries and influencing the unrestrained nature of modern literature.

Recommended Books: Fire: From a Journal of love (this diary detailed her married life, as well as her extramarital affair with Henry Miller at the time), The early Diary of Anais Nin (this diary has 4 volumes, each published after the people involved in it were no longer living)

Their are many more famous or infamous Diarists, I have not had the chance to list here, who probably have excellent books that every avid reader or aspiring novelist should read. Therefore I would recommend if you look for some books to inspire your writing, inspire you are a person or even help you explore your boundaries, I would recommend adding diarist and their books to your list of daily reads.