Hi guys,
Great to hear that you're already starting work on your journals. My first suggestion is to read any EE2 information/guidelines your school has given to you, and secondly, to read anti's sticky in the main EE2 forum about your journal.
Aside from that, there really are no rules when it comes to your journal - quite literally, put anything in there that you wish
(excluding your name, names of your teachers, and schools. If you prefer to use them for now - as I did - then just bear in mind that they will need to be blacked out or whited out - or pinked out, if you like - before it's handed in to the Board).
For now, your two main objectives will be to explore any ideas you come across and to begin researching. With the concept development, don't feel frustrated if you have a huge bungle of ideas, or if you have none. Jot down anything that takes your fancy - even if you have two concepts that hit you at once, but you don't think you can use them both because they're so contrasting, WRITE IT DOWN ANYWAY - chances are you'll stick with one, but use elements or underlying themes from the other bit of divine inspiration.
And when you get an idea and want to develop it, do NOT sit there thinking "This is such a good idea!". Instead, DEVELOP that concept. This process may uncover new concepts or sub-plots, or may reveal that it really wasn't as flashy as you first thought it was. Whilst most people won't really settle on their concept until Dec/Jan, an ever-looming danger in EE2 is becoming complacent and not moving forward. Whilst you can't plan 'emergency editing time', you can definately expect it at least once. For that reason, it's not a good idea to assume everything will work out ok. When you get ideas, try them out - then you can find out whether they work or not, and if they don't, you can start thinking of new ideas
With research - this can be as basic as researching your chosen/potential medium (which you should all be doing - I'll call it medium research for now), or a little more specific, like character names, written Japanese characters during the 1200's, whatever is needed for your story (ie concept research). With the medium research, you can read books about writing (Kate Grenville has written loads, there's also another one called "The Art of Fiction" that I found helpful) however you should also be reading LOTS of examples of your chosen medium, as well. While I remember - "Finding Forrester" (the film) is a great source, and everyone should watch it!
^ With the reading, you also need to document this in your journal. My teacher got me into a system of Reading, Reviewing and Reflecting that worked really well for me. It's basically listing what you read (or watched), then writing a short essay/review of the text, then reflecting on how this has affected you - has it given you ideas, changed existing ideas, have you been inspired to take your story in a different direction?
