How to post a great Campaign Journal?

[LughSpear]

I see that sometimes people post Campaign Journals of their adventures and that's something I really want to do… Me and my players went through some really epic adventures and I hate the fact it's going to die between us, I want to share those experiences, maybe with you guys!

Any tip on how to make a Campaign Journal post interesting? What makes a good journal Thread? What should I avoid doing? How to make the text engaging and fun? Any examples of your favorite camping?

Thanks.

[Anxe]

Well successful and "what you want to do" are different things. The campaign journals I prefer tend to refer to the PCs by their class. My campaign journal doesn't do that though, because that's not the way I enjoy writing. My style has also evolved over time with feedback from my players (not so much from my silent audience here).

The general question I ask myself when writing is, "How much do I treat this as a game as opposed to a story?" Do I reference that when a character said something that a player snorted Coke out of his nose? Do I talk about the relevant side chatter going on in the campaign. Do I refer to PCs by their class, their character name, or their player name?

While some of those choices may be more popular than others, that isn't necessarily the right choice for you. I've enjoyed writing my campaign log for myself and for my players to enjoy. My writing style reflects that. I write what I want to reread. I know that there is an audience here, but I'm not writing primarily for them.

That doesn't mean that you can't try to write for the people here. Just be aware that if you don't enjoy what you're creating, then regardless of whether others like it, you'll probably stop before its completed. Leaving a log unfinished kind of ruins it for yourself and the forum audience.

[Joe the Rat]

I love a good journal.

1) Pick your voice. First person or third person? In game focus or at-table focus? Sharp division or blended? Some of this will depend on your own role in the game (1st person only from your character's perspective or you (the author - as player or GM). More immersive/theatrical roleplay best supports a sharp in-game / out-of-game narrative, out-of-game talk is necessary for the meta-elements of the game.

2) Story and Mechanics (Note: AND, not OR). We're gamers. We like games, and the trappings thereof. Even if you don't take the player-level perspective in your narrative, there are certain mechanical elements you will need to address. You don't need to name every game mechanic in the action, but you will need to recognize its presence. You can be a story, or an action report - and decide what action -decribing the fights, or describing the spells and abilities being used, in varying degrees.

But the core of it is the game narrative - the story, as it is. Decide how you want to tell the tale, an be consistent. Silverclaw's tales are more story driven - mechanics are referenced, but are rarely the focus. Kaveman's tales are very much gamer tales - The characters have their personalities, and in-character discussions, but they are a highly strategic bunch, and the character and style of the individual players is as much a part as the in-game story. It's their using and abusing the rules and abilities to their greatest effect (without going over into Munchkinism) to pull of insane antics that makes much of the epic fun. And Snickle. DiegoHavoc's Battle Century G journal seems very in-character... with some rather meta-aware characters. The only times the mechanics really pop up is when the dice hit the table in epicly bad or good ways.

3) Write before you post. This gives you time to organize, error-check, and cross-reference other sources (recordings, the other players) before you go out. it also gives you a copy so you don't have to dig through the actual campaign journal to find details of what happened, or write for two hours and then discover that it didn't load, or half of what you did went over limits.

[LordEntrails]

I like what Joe says, but this is the part that I think is by and far the most important;


... I've enjoyed writing my campaign log for myself and for my players to enjoy. My writing style reflects that. I write what I want to reread. I know that there is an audience here, but I'm not writing primarily for them.

That doesn't mean that you can't try to write for the people here. Just be aware that if you don't enjoy what you're creating, then regardless of whether others like it, you'll probably stop before its completed. Leaving a log unfinished kind of ruins it for yourself and the forum audience.

You have to enjoy the writing or else it is just a chore. Currently I've been documenting a game I'm playing in here (http://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?38028-Terrorists-Aliens-Megacorps-Politicians-A-New-Campaign-Of-An-Old-Classic&p=342879&viewfull=1#post342879). Not really sure what my original intent was. But now it has become something like a public diary for the character.

It's not written in the same voice that I play the character in. She's much more ... normal than the last of these posts show. Here you can read her inner voice, things that would distract at the table. I find it enjoyable to write in this voice, and the DM (Dulux) and the other players seem to be enjoying it as well.

Does it capture all of the details? Certainly not. But it captures enough that in a year or three someone can read back through it and remember the important parts and relive them a little bit. And, in the meantime it provides a little bit of fun and out of session interaction for the gamers. IMO, that's what makes it worth the time to write.