The Old Timer Says: A Writing Journal

Everyone has a story to tell. In The Old Timer Says, author and longtime writing teacher Jerry Apps provides writers and non-writers alike space and inspiration to capture their own stories.
Jerry introduces The Old Timer Says by emphasizing the benefits of journaling and sharing his lifelong habit of keeping a journal. He advises that a journal or diary is a personal thing and there is no "right way" to keep one. You might dash off only a few words or write long, flowing pages of text. Your entries could consist of notes on the weather, recipes you'd like to cook, career or travel goals, favorite song lyrics, notes from your dreams, or short stories starring your own made-up characters. You might include sketches or photographs or other visual tidbits. "It doesn't matter how much you write or what you write, only that you write," Jerry says.
On the journal's lined pages, Jerry includes a collection of his favorite "Old Timer" sayings--some funny, some thought-provoking, and all inspired by the one-liners, bits of philosophy, and advice he heard from farmers he knew growing up. They serve as gentle writing prompts while reminding folks that our personal histories are worth recording.


Author: Jerry Apps
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Published: 10/19/2020
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.50w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9780870209543
ISBN10: 087020954X
BISAC Categories:
- Self-Help | Journaling
- Self-Help | Creativity
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Writing | Fiction Writing

About the Author
Jerry Apps was born and raised on a central Wisconsin farm. He is a former county extension agent and professor emeritus for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Today he works as a rural historian, full-time writer, and creative writing instructor. Jerry is the author of more than forty fiction, nonfiction, and children's books, many of them on rural history, country life, and storytelling. His work has won awards from the American Library Association, the Wisconsin Library Association, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the Council for Wisconsin Writers, and he has created five hour-long documentaries about farm life and country living with Wisconsin Public Television. He and his wife, Ruth, divide their time between their home in Madison and their farm, Roshara, in Waushara County.