This blog post comes to you hot off the press of my own character-diary writing on the heels of an amazing first duet session of a new campaign! (Yes, another new campaign—more on that later!)
And from this burst of enthusiasm, I thought it would be fun to share my tips for how to write a character diary in your duet game and why you’ll enjoy it!
Rule #1: There are no rules (only guidelines)
Let’s start by establishing pirate guidelines—there’s not a right or wrong way to keep a character diary so long as it’s fun for you and is adding to the fun of your duet game!
I’ll turn to one of my writing coach’s favorite guidelines here too in case you’re more of a rule-follower: Is it generative? If yes, you’re doing it right!
As this is one of the rule-averse aspects of duet gaming, perhaps it would be more helpful to first define what a character diary is, how it’s different from a campaign diary, and then get into why you might want to keep one.
What is a character diary?
I’m going to approach this answer, as with everything we do here, from the lens of one-on-one gaming, but if you want to keep a character diary in your group game, feel free!
A character diary, for our present purposes, is an epistolary document the player keeps on behalf of their PC that adds to the in-session immersion of their gameplay. The diary might consist of entries from individual sessions or it might catalog events from beyond the scope of the game.
Fun personal fact: I actually kept a diary for our first D&D campaign, and it became so lengthy and involved that it actually helped me get over my fear of never being able to complete a novel as I had a near-novel-length manuscript on my hands! Down the line, our game did make it into novel form, a lifelong dream of mine, in the Age of Azuria high fantasy series!
What’s the difference between a character diary and a campaign diary?
To me, while a character diary is a set of journal entries or even perhaps letters the character writes for themselves or to a close friend, a campaign diary is a series of notes about what transpires in your campaign and in individual sessions.
I see the two documents as having very different purposes: A character diary can help you get to know your character and immerse you in their perspective. A campaign diary helps you keep track of the wider events in the world and how the story of your game develops over time.
Why keep a character diary?
As I’ve said before and you’ll undoubtedly hear/read me say again, duet gaming brings the GM one step closer to the role of the player through the necessity of a GMPC and the player one step closer to the role of the GM through the necessity of character motivation.
reason one: uncover character motivation
As the player, you need to know what motivates your PC—what’s driving them. (This can be positive motivation, toward something they want, or negative motivation, away from something they despise, fear, or are desperate to avoid.)
Knowledge of character motivation comes more naturally to some players than others and can also vary by character and by situation. When you first start playing D&D, for instance, and you don’t know what your character can do, this can be harder to figure out. And if you, like me, are both an intuitive storyteller and prone to thinking a great deal about things (my positive way of spinning what others might call “overthinking”), you can get stuck partway into a campaign or a character’s journey and lose sight of their core motivation.
Some characters are quieter about what drives them than others, and we also have to watch ourselves and make sure we aren’t glossing over what the character wants because we worry it isn’t deep or original enough.
Keeping a character diary can help immensely with keeping track of or uncovering character motivation.
reason two: develop PC backstory
We have a couple previous posts on character backstory, which you can check out here.
Jonathan did something rather brilliant for the start of this new campaign which I’m excited to write about in a future post. (For another post on how to start a duet campaign, click here.) In the short version, he opened our campaign with a prequel/coming-of-age story for my character that had major implications for her future. Then we skipped ahead a few years with a brief montage of what transpired during that time and an updated state of the world!
I am still buzzing with delight at how great this was on a couple different levels but, for our immediate purposes, this fast-forward left me in a really interesting place as the player—my character had changed in profound ways and moved toward a future I hadn’t planned for her. The shift in expectations, of course, mirrored the shift my character made herself which had an immediately immersive effect!
After our first session, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our game and characters, which is pretty normal for me. My character, Draeza, is also rather different than I’d originally imagined her to be, which also feels pretty normal for this point in the process. (It’s also one of my favorite things about designing a character and then actually getting to play as that character!)
What to do with these shifts between expectation and reality? I started a character diary to catalog Draeza’s thoughts from different moments in times over the years we passed in montage.
unanticipated character diary bonuses
From this angle of PC development and immersion, character diaries have a couple additional bonuses:
- I’m not pestering Jonathan with endless questions about the world and characters and can work some of Draeza’s experiences out for myself.
- Keeping a character diary gives me a chance to spend time during the week immersed in my character’s mind and world, even when we can’t play.
- Writing out Draeza’s thoughts over an extended period of time lets me see which of her concerns truly come to the fore. The alternative is me running over the ideas again and again but not really getting anywhere.
How to start your character diary
As with several other types of story advice, I find it easiest to start a character diary in medias res, in the middle of things. I left a blank at the top of Draeza’s entry as I don’t know the conventions for months and years in the world, and they’re not really important.
In her diary entries, Draeza (and I) worked through a few internal conflicts and concerns she’s been dealing with, only briefly touching on subjects she kinda wants to avoid and turning to more intriguing matters instead. In Draeza’s case, that was a partial journal she discovered that surprised her in several ways and loosely related to her present life but will, I am nearly certain, resonate profoundly with what’s still to come.
Start with your character’s day, but the sort of moment in a day one might like to deliberate on a little more. What does your character need extra time and space to process? Where are they experiencing dissonance or conflicting emotions?
be clear about your goals
I think this is pretty much always important to point out when giving advice—Be clear about your goals for your character diary and what you want, and let those goals guide you.
If your goals are to get to know your character better, then the mission before you and its scope are pretty straightforward. Let your diary be for you and your PC, and don’t worry about it being comprehensive. I’d also wait before you show it to your GM—see where it takes you and how you feel about it first.
I’ve spoken with patrons who have kept a character diary through the whole of their Land of Vampires campaign, for instance. The player shared her diary with her GM, and this helped the two of them stay connected to their campaign and one another while one was away at school. I think this is a beautiful use of a character diary!
One reason I’m turning to a character diary now is that the world we’re in for this campaign is new to me. I want to get to know my character better so I can also grow to better understand her world.
But now it’s your turn: Have you ever kept a character diary for your campaign? Please share your experience in the comments below!
We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions!