7 Approaches to Journaling in Solo Roleplaying Games!

Alright, I'm way behind in videos I've been talking about and just haven't gotten around to it. Well folks, tonight is the night where I FINALLY sit down and give my thoughts on how to solo journal. It's such a weird emotional thing with journaling - often part of us can feel like we're not doing it "Right" even though we are only doing it for ourselves. So I thought maybe these approaches might help to clarify the path forward on this activity that is the turn-off for most people in soloRPG play.

[@chiefmcclane]

5:09 when the advice begins

[@amanisalone]

Legend

[@stephengilbert8166]

I`m a lifelong solo played (since around 1974-ish). I write complete journals, short stories and whole novels revolving around my long term campaign... I do it for my own pleasure and write up literally every game, and like to include stories that happen between games as well. I`m lucky, because I really love writing (have done ever since I was a kid) and for me it enhances my experience no end.

[@stephengilbert8166]

Its interesting what you say about notes... this is something I was studious about doing years back at college with my lecturers. The only bane of my life is my terrible typos. At least I can catch them with spell checker lol :-)

[@AdlerMow]

Very interesting, you have been soloing since OD&D! How did you start soloing? How many other veterans you found doing the same?

[@stephengilbert8166]

Sadly, of my old original group (we all grew up together, passionately wargaming and playing rpgs) I`m the only one of my childhood and teens group who stayed with it for life. But along the way, marriage, kids etc.. I have a whole family of avid gamers and their boyfriends and girlfriends are also now hooked too haha. I`m met a few who, like me, started way back, and was fortunate enough to know (and play with) the likes of Don Featherstone, George (W Jeffreys), met Edward Woodward and a few others, but apart from some òld school` bloggers I`ve pretty much had to cultivate my own tribe over the years hehe. How did I start.. hmmm.. was wayyyy back when I first watched an episode of Magpie on TV, and watched a wargame being played (Waterloo if memory serves) , and as chance would have it, found my first ever games shop in Ipswitch, on a trip with my Dad, and that was it... I bought my first ever set of rules for 40p (by Arthur taylor) and never looked back... this was still a few years before Gygax`s original D&D, but I was already wrting my own narrative stuff myself by then anyway, only very basic, but the nucleus was there even then. My first proper rpgs were the 3 book D&D set, and the 3 book set Once Upon A Time In The West :-)))... Tunnels and Trolls soon followed, along with Runequest and Thane Tostig :-))

[@AdlerMow]

@@stephengilbert8166 It seems a lot of people were roleplaying even before D&D, but it was the first commercial attempt. So, to you playing solo came first, before you had a group?

[@stephengilbert8166]

Oh yes totally :-) I played narrative role play with my little Airfix boxes and made up my own rules on a d6 as far back as the late 60`s when I was a wee kid. Two things happened for me about the same time. The first was, I watched Watreloo at the cinema and after that I was hooked on recreating lots of scenes from the film, and the second was watching the UK series Callan which had wargames being played in many of the episodes. Its funny, but my early narrativce skirmish role playing was all Napoleonic imagi-nation stuff. I only moved onto fantasy when I reached my teens. But yeah, I played solo first, for a number of years before I started sharing it with others.. at which stage I guess it turned into a full hobby for me. I`ve always enjoyed playing with miniatures (over the years I collected maybe 25000 of them), and ALL my solo affairs aere with miniatures and immersive terrain set ups. But when I play rpgs with friends, at the club, or with family, its mostly all pen and paper and no miniatures. The 19 year old D&D campaign I run rarely uses miniatures in it, but the solo bits of that same campaign do :-)

[@amdza]

I'm a huge personal journal-er for years now, but I've recently decided to hugely simplify my bullet journal routine because it was a way too time consuming in comparison to the organizational value it brought to my life. It's been a while since my DnD group has been able to get together for a campaign, so something like this sounds like a perfect way to make journaling fun again.

[@lachrymalquietus]

00:00 Preamble 05:10 Journal 08:33 Bullet Points (Class Notes) 10:32 Movie Summary 15:53 Sparks ("Passwords" Approach) 17:32 Example Spark 20:22 Investigate 24:05 Don't Write 27:00 Don't... Just Don't 29:42 Record it 36:36 Challenge Yourself 38:19 Homework Assignment 38:54 Products

[@corybanticfire]

with ADHD if I didn't take some kind of notes, I wouldn't be able to remember what happened in each session. I liked that Spark idea along with bullet points/outline style. Markdown notes with Obsidian is great.

[@gorryman]

So glad I found this channel

[@amanisalone]

Not as glad as I am! Happy you’re here @gorryman !!

[@chiefmcclane]

I have found that journaling helps me contextualize when something important is happening in the game. By and large, the game that I play the most solo is Ironsworn/Starforged (Sundered Isles, now!) and my style is somewhere between a movie summary and a bullet point. I write down what is happening that leads up to the actual roll of the dice, abbreviate the move and summarize the mechanical and fictional result of the move (for accountability and convenience!) and keep moving on. Particularly important rolls (usually critical failures and the like) I make note of so that I can pull those threads later. It's also helpful to use the Threads tool from Mythic GME for that last point. The bottom line is that the journaling helps me keep moving forward.

[@Scibelius]

😅 I so recognize that feeling about the journaling... so I switched to something else. It started of in a game of starforge where I was mapping an expedition. It turned into somekind of a timeline with little planets drawn and notes about them and what happened there. So now I keep timelines with little scribly notes and doodles. That works for me.

[@roberthaight1198]

One word to summarize a movie? Inconceivable! 😂

[@amanisalone]

LOL

[@Grognard-Solo-Gaming]

From the Face/Off Wiki: "In secret, Archer reluctantly undergoes a highly experimental face transplant procedure by Dr. Malcolm Walsh to take on Castor Troy's face, voice, and appearance." Man, I had forgotten about this movie. I was going to say I should rewatch it, but who am I kidding. I never will :D

[@AdamKucharczyk]

I was overwhelmed with the journaling - for a silly reason - it gets so easy for me to write, that the journal grows too big too quickly. Your ideas about points, retrospective, keeping it concise, dropping the details (the movie desc) - it's a great starting point for me to get the adventure actually going in a manageable tempo :) I like your channel very much, greetings from over the ocean ;)

[@Bogrin]

I’ve basically spent the last year collecting everything I need to do solo rpg. Also picked up up half a dozen or more new ttrpg systems that seemed interesting and fun to learn. I just need to take the plug now and start haha

[@matthewgoettel2798]

I love the journaling aspect of Solo-RPGing, but it can be an absolute slog at certain points. I love having a lot of raw material to sort out and adapt into a more palpable format...ultimately I want to create comic panels of these epic adventures...but after typing, then editing..and all the hours it takes to actually play inbetween..by the time I get to the storyboard and layout stages of creating a comic, i'm ready to move on... Your method may have just revolutionized that process..SO THANK YOU, GREAT STUFF HERE!!! You're a funny dude too.

[@KatelynJoe]

I find it interesting how you refer to journaling as a reference or something you do after you play, where for me personally, it is the play. It’s my where my character makes choices, does saves, asks questions. I also enjoy writing and the novelization of my games. I find if I take that part away (the writing aspect) I lose half my gameplay and it all feels too surface level and holds no weight for me. Again, these are just my experiences, so it’s interesting to see how others feel the same or feel completely different. 💛✨

[@simontemplar3359]

Oh snap! Thanks for the shout out! That was super cool. I really appreciate how much great information you share. Even just calling out that this stuff is for just you is cool. Of all the people who talk about solo RPGs, I genuinely think the information you share is some of the best. It's not just mechanics or tips, but your thoughts on getting into the mindset. Like Bob Ross videos- you come for the painting, but always leave with more. And that is cool. Also that intro is 🔥

[@amanisalone]

I was like OMG a simontemplar comment that doesn’t mention the intr- Oh never mind HAHAHA. Was hoping you would hear your shout out so happy to have you here and bring your endless enthusiasm for solo roleplay (not just my intro) and your enthusiasm always encourages me and gives me confidence

[@simontemplar3359]

@@amanisalone Fair play. To quote the great luminary Jebediah Atkinson: RUN STUFF INTO THE GROUND MUCH?! 🤣 And right on! I think it's rad that people take the time to do what you do, so I'm always glad to act up in the comments and be enthusiastic about things I like. It's a tough galaxy. You need to know where your towel is. I know I mentioned it before, but I think the sort of person who seeks out Jung is someone I'm cool with. I always imagine him sounding like Alan Watts even though I know he didn't. But the video where you mentioned his concept of engaging with the active imagination like the whole mindfulness thing stuck out because having at least a rudimentary understanding of his ideas I could appreciate the broader context. I think solo is my thing because I am definitely very introverted and while my imagination works fine in a group setting, it's a next-level experience to really create something when it's stupidly late. It's oddly meditative.

[@GooberMcSnorford]

I didnt realize how much i needed to hear these different styles. I think i can dial mine back to much benefit.

[@RealMcoy1000]

Yo, I've been stalling on getting back into solo roleplaying because after having a wonderful first session a few weeks ago, my intensively journaling burned me OUT. I'm not even halfway through this video, and I think it's already given just what I need! The investigation and movie summary suggestions so far are brilliant!

[@GrahamFryeJr]

I really enjoyed your video. I've been playing a solo RPG for about a year now. When I started out trying to imagine what my character would say, it felt pretty awkward. I typed in that fact and changed to describing what was happening. Now, I'm about 400 pages in and write little scenes with multiple characters. My google doc has all sorts of notes, records, dialogue, dice rolls, pictures, etc. It's a mess of different styles as I've been figuring out how to do it. At some point, I realized it's just for me and not to worry about consistency. I'll just have a laugh when I look back to reference a character that popped up again and find I used to record things totally differently. Side note: I started with google voice typing, but playing at night after my wife went to sleep and too many fantasy names I was always correcting had me change to typing it all in. I've gotten better at it.

[@GiovanniCanzanella]

Im all new to solo rpg and your channel has been so helpful. Thanks for sharing your experience! A glass with you, sir!

[@jeansenvaars]

What a nice video. I like the reflections and philosophy of questioning it all. Thanks!

[@hariszark7396]

Oh man, where do I start? First things first. *I like reading* . I enjoy read stories and books. So, What do I want to get from my solo RPG-ing? A) I want to get a new story from my favourite genre (whatever it is) with my own heroes. B) I get to play as a player and as a GM and make up a story but get surprised too at the same time. And because *I love reading* I like to keep those stories in my "bookshelf" for reading from time to time. Because I FORGET the details after a little time, journaling is a good way to record my game-stories and keep them for future reading when I feel like it. And how to record my games? Well, most of the suggestions in the video were good. Anyone can choose what fits him/her best. But *MY suggestion* is to write down what you want to remember. My way is usually write it in a form or a narrative story. Like a book. But because this is a lot of work to do I have decided to go on writing my games as a *Movie Script* . What is this? I suggest everyone take a look how a movie script is written (read the script of your favourite movie) and mimic the writing style at your game journal. Start with a title. Then the opening scene describing the setting and the atmosphere. Then move on to *Act 1* : First scene of your game. Describe the "actors" and what they do or say in small sentences. Why are they there? Your heroes get their mission. After you have set the first scene finished move the time accordingly to the second scene. *Act 2* : Second scene where your heroes are doing the presentation for their mission. Write down their actions and thoughts. *Act 3* : Third scene, your heroes are on the road. Describe the setting and atmosphere.... And so on. You are doing all that WHILE playing. Not after your game. The Journaling IS part of the solo gaming. This way you will have all the info, the most important details, and a nice story to read from time to time or give it to other people to read.

[@RachelNitsche]

🙂I just finished cleaning my bathroom and watch this video as a reward ❤I really like the advice in this video. Gave me a lot of things to try in my next session. I like writing stories and reading them later again (usually a few years later) and than I like them

[@ekurisona663]

amazing analogy to demonstrate function and process of journaling/summarizing - well done - you must be a teacher irl!

[@AlbertoRodriguez-zb3iu]

What I've come to know in the short time that I've played solo rpgs is that most solo games focuses on an aspect of role-playing, Journaling is a aspect that some games rely heavily on but without actually any purpose. (Although some are totally dependent on writing like Quill) if jornaling isn't part of the roll play experience, I'd say dump it completely since writing your campaign exploits are mainly a reminder of what happened, but if in game you don't need to remember the past then it serves no purpose. I've seen few games that integrates jornaling into the game play in a meaningful way.

[@arkanewizdom9363]

Fantastic video. Ty! I'm going to get over the hump, starting with 1,000 Year-old Vampire and the "sparks" method. :)

[@gameofwraith]

Haha jokes on you! I'm listening to this AND cleaning my bathroom 🧹🚽🤣

[@agincourt_archer]

Wise words - thanks for the video. Erm...when does the homework have to be in?

[@ekurisona663]

i would recommend bupple map constellations (tracking relationships), as well as timelines to go along with bullet notes. i would also recommend tracking gear, items, food, water, and weight you are carrying.

[@ekurisona663]

that dagger i dropped was literally the dagger of the gods!!! 🤣

[@Umbra00000]

I hate writing with a passion 😢 That being said, bullet points work great for me! It's easy to jot down info about important events that happen while I'm playing solo

[@vintoks]

Insightful, and Charming. Your "brutal honesty" is excellent. Subscribed!

[@amanisalone]

So happy to have you here and hope to share brutal kindness

[@RobertMcGovernTarasis]

lol my dude, I do appreciate your both focused and rambling style. Just clicks for me (admittedly I've only watched 3 of your videos so far, but sshhhh). I've discovered / think I am somewhere on a spectrum of needing multiple different ones. I riff best on audio, like I'm trying to set up the world / area for a solo rpg I'm starting. If I just sit at the editor my focus just wanders off and feel like a failure. Sure the tables and such help and hopefully as I get used to use them they will help more. But if I get onto audio ... i may ramble & go off on side tangents ... but it sparks my imagination and I riff off myself and suddenly things start to take shape in 10-15 minutes where it hasn't in the 30-60 minutes I've been sitting at the editor or with the blank piece of paper in front of me. Then its transcribing that audio (thank you speech to text tool I found yesterday), and using a mixture of bullet points and spark words I can then expand it out further (writing or more audio). My goal for the actual game part when I get there soon is a mixture of journaling, with tables & dice, but also videoing/recording to play as a way of doing. Partly because I want to be able to speak bits and I feel less silly that way, but then it loops back to the being able to riff which speaking/recording allows me to do. Because I'm quite sure when I start talking the characters will start going off on their own tangents well outside what I might be thinking. (Loosely reminds me of something JMS once talked about regards his B5 characters living in his head and having conversations with them, or them telling him things) Err ... sorry for the ramble :)

[@donc7664]

So much truth in this ep, especially the opening monolog, I felt like I went to solo rp church and got smacked with the gospel according to Man (Alone). 🙏. Going to try to get off early now to get my shxt together and finally game...and clean my bathroom.

[@mattjackson]

One of the biggest moments for me was the realization that I was doing this for ME. If I made rule mistakes, forgot something, fudged a roll to make the scene amazing….oh freaking well. If I played for ME and not worry about what other people say or think, I ended up having a great time. I feel the exact same way about Colostle. The book looks amazing, the concept is so unique….but I have no desire to play it as written. It just fails to drive interest in me as a player with the rules. 🤷‍♂️

[@SerpC]

This is a great video; love how thorough it is.

[@JCB82787]

I love doing journaling as a supplement to soloing traditional systems. I come up with a lot of the fun story beats I play through during this process. Even with me loving this process I’ve never been able to get into a game where journaling is the system.

[@Solospelunking]

Great video! I think that finding the right way to document and record your session is essential in unlocking the door to the joyful world of solo rpging. This was the thing I struggled with the most when I started solo rpging. Now, over a decade later I have found my way and I am happy with it. My approach is, that the journaling actually is also playing. I don't seperate it. I document in first person what I do but very streamlined. This for me replaces the act of describing your actions in a group session. Doing it all in my head does not work for me, I tried, but I found that I need some sort of focus to keep my thoughts chained to the story.

[@michellejulia384]

This was a very useful vid. Thanks. Will kickstart my solo play.

[@BrianKolm_art]

Hey, thanks for the great videos you are making that cover more general subjects of solo RPGing. Keep up the good work. For my journaling I mix bullet points to record rolls and info, writing out dialog/conversations and doing drawings that capture (to me) emotional and action beats. Drawing allows for me to better feel the emotions of a scene, and it's faster and flip back to an image then words.

[@Kanakadea]

The Investigate mode sounds interesting. I've been meaning to try the Mythic GME Mystery mechanics, and I might try that when I do.

[@arkanewizdom9363]

...and good for you regarding Colostle!

[@MrGeneralPB]

journaling my own solo traveller game as i put this on ^^, looking forward to your inputs on it

[@therizinosauruscheloniform2162]

This was so helpful! I personally speak out loud, but I am going to try the others to see whether they I enjoy them more or not!

[@rayraffiki1856]

It's funny that you mentioned a captain's log because Star Trek Aventures solo supplement is called Captain's Log

[@amanisalone]

Have some videos using it from a few months ago, great system!!

[@bradhenry832]

I have dictation software for when i feel like keeping everything without writing, as my solo games tend to be full narrative.

[@christopherdecator9742]

When I play a solo game, I prefer to play a game that conforms well to procedure, like Rules Cyclopedia, as a go-to. I use a composition notebook. I use 2 page spreads to break up the subject matter, it makes it easier to index, and easier to jump around; easier to go back and write more on a topic. A session would get at least a 2 page spread. The notes themselves are really a timeline. Time spent traveling broken into events per day, time spent resting into events per watch, time spent below ground might get compacted to the 10 minute turn. Combats are noted by the number and composition of the opposition and outcome, treasure, xp etc and take at least one turn in game. If nothing happens in a time segment, skip writing anything. The experience takes place in your head at the table. The story emerges from choices and events. The journal is to keep track of where I am in the game, and to reference game information.

[@Lt.Dan5768]

Great video

[@N8ThaGr8r]

Lol, i was cleaning my bathroom while listening to this

[@Pleasant_Boredom]

I think for me solo play is something that I’d use to enhance the dnd game I run for my friends. I think it’d accomplish this by 1: making NPCs actually make decisions and pursue goals while the PCs do 2: give the NPCs more depth by playing them. And 3: fleshing out locations or at least providing a basic skeleton. Of course it also just sound fun

[@PlateauWizard-vd7pk]

Good stuff

[@amanisalone]

Thank you my friend!!

[@RockyMtnRC]

Great vid. Quick question when filming with phone... do you film a total 40+ minutes onto your phone then upload or do you stream to your channel? I can't imagine the first option... do phones hold that much recording time?

[@amanisalone]

Good Q! I download OBS on my computer and then just use my iPhone camera to stream the video and record it on my computer. OBS has a tiny learning curve but easy to get a hang of and best part is that it is FREE

[@RockyMtnRC]

@@amanisalone Thanks mate

[@ashenwalls3558]

It would be really interesting to switch from fully written sessions to just a recap!

[@Grognard-Solo-Gaming]

Cool! Ignore the comment about the document looking wonky, it was caused by me previewing in Gmail. When opened to Word, it looked much better.

[@amanisalone]

Once I’m done, I’ll have to export it in Affinity, which is apparently now owned by Canva

[@TheWiepi]

15:59 That's a very interesting way of holding a pen. How does your nail bed not hurt after 10 s of writing like this?

[@Grognard-Solo-Gaming]

I have emailed you about Called to the Green. I realized I had one more thing to add, and that is that I have probably used "the Green" in some places, while technically referring to another area on the bigger map. So I sloppily used the Green to refer to the module's adventure area. You'll figure it out though.

[@amanisalone]

Oh no I did not receive an email! Did it send?

[@Grognard-Solo-Gaming]

@@amanisalone According to my gmail, yes. Maybe delayed? I’ll send it again, and we’ll see.

[@abstractbybrian]

@1:37 yep, I resemble that…

[@RobertMcGovernTarasis]

Def can’t do movie summary, I’m awful at describing things to others even when I really enjoy it.

[@ekurisona663]

can you do a playthrough of colostle?

[@diannalynnYT]

7:39 Lone Wolf Roleplaying Discord channel is perfect for those who want to share their notes, gameplay. Highly recommended for all solo players.

[@TheRedPolyhedral]

Another outlet could be RPG Geek's Solo Roleplaying Games on Your Table, which is where people post details of their sessions and discuss games, rules and process.

[@IAcePTI]

I found that even if we like one style of journaling, that same style may not work with diferent system. For example, i loved when i wrotte everything, from dice results, move mechanics and even thoughts when i was playing Ironsworn. The game is realy good for that, the mechanics dont get in the way. Tryed the same thing with Scarlet Heroes and i realy cant. Is like writting a shopping list. Example: Turn 1 combat, Heroe atack goblin one. Roll to hit: Success. Roll for damage: 2 Heroe kills 2 gobs. Is righting but theres no narrative. I want to wright the fight, the trading blows and not heroe hit goblin for 1 dmg and goblin dies. So yes, even if we like one style , that style mai not fit the game. Now... is me not liking the game as i was thinking i will or i need to find a new way to record the things so i can remember later? XD In the end, people just need to try diferent things and see what gave them the most fun. Good talking in the video, thanks.

[@PlateauWizard-vd7pk]

Going to funnel my solo campaign to novels via AI 😂.

[@Grognard-Solo-Gaming]

I have sent it again. If you get both, look at the second one.

[@amanisalone]

Not sure what’s up but no emails received…I checked my spam and trash too but I’ll keep looking! [e-mail] to be sure…

[@amanisalone]

Oh! Oh! I think I figured it out. Send it once more. I think I had it so it was forwarding to my other email and then my other email thought forwarded email was spam and deleted it. I was wondering why I’ve received one email in the last two weeks lol. Sorry I def want to read it tho!!!

[@magicmike29]

Sorry dude, completely off topic, but is that a Mr Bean figurine clock on your table?

[@amanisalone]

I can neither confirm nor deny this

[@blueredlover1060]

The only thing I can think of when it comes to password is that time when two women were matched up and one said something to the effect of the ugly sandals that lesbians wear, and her partner immediately answered Birkenstocks. It was the answer they were looking for.

[@carolinelabbott2451]

Keywords is another way of saying the same thing. Firetruck, cliff-face, weathered wooden-fence. These three words or less can be used as a way to recall that part of the solo adventure during note taking.

[@ekurisona663]

nfts!!! 🤣

[@Jack-gs6sd]

Not only do I love this video, but my laser eye thinks it sees (based on my own videos) that those are… Printable Heroes paper minis printed to fit 25mm Litko bases? Am I right? EDIT: no, some other minis maker who’s not PrintableHeroes, can’t tell who…

[@Grognard-Solo-Gaming]

Check again, third time’s the charm? 😂

[@amanisalone]

Okay I’ve got it! lol sorry about that I’ll read it tonight

[@BobbyMC1996]

collecting NFTs lmfao

[@marcnno6323]

Don't do it just don't

[@timetomakethecalligraphy6923]

@18:05 Man invents flux capacitor.