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Urara's Guide to Writing CHARACTER DIARIES


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A purple-haired orc woman crashes through the ceiling. She gets up, dusts herself off, and gives you a big, tusky, toothy orc-smile. 

 

Ug, lats! 'ow lats duin dis muun? Mi naym am Urara da Uruk!

 

She coughs into her hand and clears her throat.

 

Hello, everyone! How y'all doing today? I'm Urara the Orc. Or at least I used to be. These days, I'm playing some dumb twiggie or something, doesn't matter. 

 

You might know me from such hits as "How to RP Romance Without Being Creepy" which is still one of the first results that crops up on Google when you search "how to RP romance."

 

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My legacy... 

 

Today, I'm back with URARA'S GUIDE TO CHARACTER DIARIES.

 

 

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What is a character diary?

 

Exactly what it says on the tin, my friendos. You're writing a diary from the perspective of your character, chronciling the events that happened to them in roleplay.

 

Now, this is not an original idea ofc. People have been writing character diaries since people started roleplaying. But it's not something that's widespread on LOTC at least as far as I can tell, which is kinda weird.

 

I'd love to see more people doing character diaries because I am extremely nosy and I want the hot gossip because they're not only fun to write but also help us understand our characters!

 

Why should I write a character diary?

 

If you enjoy roleplaying, then you probably also enjoy creative writing at least on some level. Roleplay is basically one huge, collaborative creative-writing exercise. We're all writing the story of LOTC together, which I think is beautiful.

 

Creating a character diary is an excellent writing exercise. It will encourage you to write daily because you want to record those RP events while they're fresh in your mind. So it's a good way to establish a regular writing habit, which is necessary for anyone who wants to write professionally. 

 

It's also a great way to get inside your character's head and really solidify their voice, feelings, and perspective on events. You'll develop a deeper understanding of your character by writing daily from his or her perspective. I once started writing a diary for a joke character only to discover that character was actually far more nuanced and complicated than I ever imagined.

 

Character diaries are also excellent memories. I regularly go back and read diaries written by my old characters. Reading the entries reminds me of old friends and fun times that have passed by. 

 

Diaries are also important for IC history too! LOTC as a server has a huge focus on cataloguing RP history. Your character might live through significant events that have an affect on the entire server, so it's important to keep a record of what happened!

 

Okay, how do I get started?

 

Character diaries can take on many forms. You can write it in text or use images. I prefer images myself because I think font choice, paper texture, and color can contribute to characterization. If you want to go this route, I'd recommend installing a photo editing software. It doesn't have to be anything fancy like Photoshop. There are cheap and even free alternatives (such as paint.net, which is what I use mostly). But remember to do your research before downloading anything sketchy.

 

But the aesthetics of the diary are less important than having a good grasp of your character.

 

There are three important things to consider when writing your character's diary.

 

1. Character Voice
2. Character Motivations and Desires
3. Character perspective

 

 

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Allow me to introduce three of my old characters, whom I will be using as examples.

 

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These are my characters Lorina, Tobias, and Anthony. They've got three very different personalities, but each one wrote a diary. Fun fact, they're also all related three to each other!

 

I'd like to show you the first entry from each of their diaries.

 

Lorina’s Diary


 

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Tobias’s Diary

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Anthony’s Diary

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As you can see, they each have a very different voice.

 

Lorina, as a noblewoman, has a calm and polite voice. She writes in flowing sentences. She writes in a somewhat higher register, which means she uses bigger words - ex. "sordid", "populous", "intolerable" -  and less slang. Because she is Raevir, Raevir words also often slip into her writing - ex. "niet" for "no." She also uses Raevir spellings of names instead of Imperial ones - ex. "Aleksandr" and not "Alexander".

 

Tobias was a commoner who grew up in a small village. He writes more conversationally with a lower register. His sentences tend to be shorter and punchier. He writes in more fragments and includes dashes where he pauses his thoughts. He's also less polite - ex. referring to his mother rudely as "woman" and "the old battleax." Tobias is also more likely to use slang phrases like "saw it coming a mile off." And while you don't see it in this entry, Tobias swore a LOT. Later entries would include liberal use of the F-bomb. (Lorina would NEVER swear, dear God no).

 

Anthony is a merchant's son and a struggling writer who dreams of creating a masterpiece. He writes in VERY high register, dropping as many big five-dollar-words as he can - ex. "desolate", "vacuous", "derivative", "dearth". He's very florid in his descriptions and his prose - ex. "the endless wasteland of my brain." Not to mention melodramatic - ex. "I gaze into the void and the void gazes also into me. And I am the void and the void laughs." He's also more melancholy than Lorina or Tobias. Lorina is somewhat pensive and worried but ends her entry on a positive note. Tobias is a little grumpy at being kicked out, but he's looking forward to the future. Whereas Anthony is noticeably more gloomy and hopeless.

 

Your character's voice is extremely important because it's a big part of how you characterize them. So it's critical to sit down and think about just how your character talks. Break it down, analyze it. What is the general MOOD of your character's voice? Are they cheerful? Sad? Worried? Intense? What kind of WORDS do they use - high, medium, or low register? Are they POLITE or RUDE? Do they use SLANG or words in their NATIVE TONGUE often? Are they FORMAL or CONVERSATIONAL? Are they BLUNT or do they use EUPHEMISM? Do they use CONTRACTIONS (ex. 'can't' vs. 'cannot')? 

 

A well-bred noble would probably speak in a high register using more complex words to show their education. Said noble would probably use less slang and speak about subjects in more polite, euphemistic terms - ex. "ladies of the night" instead of "prostitutes" maybe. They would likely write in complete, well-formed sentences with proper grammar. If they are a noble from a specific culture, he or she might use cultural words. The mood of his or her prose would probably be more elevated, refined, calm, and dignified.

 

Alternately, say your character is a soldier. A soldier fighting on the front would probably be more blunt. They'd use more direct, plain language. They might write less than the noble and focus more on events and future plans rather than thoughts or feelings. I wouldn't be surprised if a soldier's journal was just a list of bullet points! The mood of their writing might be a little more intense, a little more angry, or a little more tired if they're a veteran of many wars.

 

A priest character might write a great deal about philosophy, religion, and ideology. To them, what happens in physical space is less important than what happens in the mind. A priest would probably be very polite in their language too, avoiding slang and definitely avoiding any "naughty" subjects!

 

Of course, I can't tell you what your character sounds like. That's up to you. But I hope this will get you thinking about how your character sounds on paper.

 

An important note is that, if your character has an accent, they DO NOT write in their accent. For example, Lorina had a strong Raevir accent. While she uses Raevir words and spellings, you generally cannot hear her accent in her writing. Tobias also had more of an accent when he talked than when he wrote. 

 

The exception to this is orcs, who probably do write in the Blah.

 

 

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So you want to write a character diary. What makes a diary worth reading? Well, your character should have strong motivations and desires that push them through their story. This is good advice not just for writing a diary, but also for RPing in general. 

 

In each of my first entries, I've tried to establish what my characters desire most. Lorina wants to feel safe and start a new life in King Vydra's Oren. Tobias wants a job because his mom kicked him out. Anthony wants to write a great masterpiece. This is a plot thread that you can follow throughout their story.

 

They should also have something that is preventing them from getting what they want - whether it's internal or external. Lorina cannot have a peaceful, safe life because there are enemies trying to kill her. Tobias is going to struggle with getting a job because he's lazy and never worked a day in his life. Anthony wants to write a masterpiece, but he has nothing to write about due to his lack of life experience and also the fact that he's a miserable little jerk.

 

Character motivations can change throughout the course of RP, but you should always have a clear of idea of what's driving your character. For example, Tobias eventually got a job. Later down the road, he fell in love with his wife and got her pregnant. His motivation changed from finding work to being a good husband and father... which was difficult because his wife was unfaithful to him. Desire + challenge = character.

 

A character who just floats through life and reacts to things as they happen is boring. A character who wants things - who has strong desires and the will to chase those desires - is compelling. That's what makes their lives worth reading about.

 

 

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A character diary isn't a history book, which means you don't need to record details exactly as they happened. You don't need to be correct or accurate! In fact, it can be more interesting if your character is an unreliable narrator - which means they might lie, get the facts wrong, or present an unfair, biased portrayal of events. Your character has their own unique perspective which, depending on circumstances, might be accurate or inaccurate, objective or biased. 

 

For example, Lorina lied a great deal in her diary. She frequently wrote things that were not true -- or lied by omission by leaving details out. Why? Well, she was a rather naughty nun who was carrying on a decades-long secret love affair with a duke. If she wrote about the affair in her diary and the diary ever fell into the wrong hands... well, that could get her cast out of the church. Maybe even executed. 

 

Tobias wanted to help his best friend win an election against a corrupt government. When writing in his diary, he would portray the incumbent councilors in the worst possible light while talking up the virtues of his friend. Were the councilors really as bad as Tobias wrote? Probably not. And his best friend was definitely a very flawed person, but Tobias cared for him deeply and overlooked his weaknesses. So therefore Tobias gave a biased account of the election.

 

Anthony had a very distorted sense of reality due to his paranoia and low self-esteem. He constantly assumed that other people hated him and were conspiring against him, even when there was no evidence. He would jump to conclusions about other peoples' motivations and feelings, which would embarrass him later down the line when he found out that the truth was nothing like what he imagined.

 

A clear perspective helps make the diary interesting to read -- and also helps to get you inside your character's head. Their diary SHOULD NOT merely be a list of things that happened. It should also include their colorful feelings and interpretations of those events.

 

Being an unreliable narrator and having a specific perspective also helps to deal with the issue of metagaming. If you're posting your character diary publically, people might read it and be tempted to metagame - especially if your character is involved in high-stakes or sensitive events. I didn't write about the details of Lorina's love affair because I knew there was a high chance of it getting metagamed. But it made sense IC that there were some things too private for the character to write, even in her own diary. As a result, their affair stayed secret up until the big reveal at the end of her diary. Drama!

 

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To sum it up -- character diaries are a wonderful thing and I hope that, with this guide, more of y'all are encouraged to write them!
 

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Now that I read this I can finally write a diary for my roleplay character, Sprinkles the Clown. Thank you Urara, he had many observations and emotions he needed to share.

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I felt inspired by this guide and gave it a go

 

This is an in-character diary. Please do not metagame the contents of this post.

 

Juan’s diary is subjective and contains only his IC perceptions of events. That means he can be wrong. he can be misinformed. he might forget details. he might have bad opinions. Etc. Etc. Probably don’t use this slightly-senile old human Cartographer as an objective news source lmao.

 

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Entry 1

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1 hour ago, howard said:

Now that I read this I can finally write a diary for my roleplay character, Sprinkles the Clown. Thank you Urara, he had many observations and emotions he needed to share.


do it, coward. 
 

I need 50,000 words on the deep and complex inner life of sprinkles by tomorrow 

 

17 minutes ago, King of Cartography said:

I felt inspired by this guide and gave it a go

 

This is an in-character diary. Please do not metagame the contents of this post.

 

Juan’s diary is subjective and contains only his IC perceptions of events. That means he can be wrong. he can be misinformed. he might forget details. he might have bad opinions. Etc. Etc. Probably don’t use this slightly-senile old human Cartographer as an objective news source lmao.

 

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Entry 1

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10/10 amazing read carto I was so moved by the part with the killing 

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This is that good ****... what the craft is about....

 

+1, great job as always Urara!

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I recently started a character for whom I’ve been keeping a diary of every RP session I do on him. It’s proved quite interesting and very useful, since my memory for RP interactions isn’t the best. Being able to look back in my entries and reference the people he’s met and whatnot is really handy.

 

I’ve realized after reading this though that I’ve been writing it more as an OOC tool than an IC document, using it to keep track of events rather than give my character a more defined internal monologue. I’ll have to try and adjust my approach to do more development, as I write it going forwards.

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