Challenge Dear Diary Challenge 2017 | 11/30: 2018 Challenge Discussion Now Open

The Dear Diary Challenge was originally created in 2007 by the_wandering_shadow, and made into a yearly challenge and competition by MsLanna. It has been so much fun that this will be its tenth year--and surely there will be more. The sock is currently run by Kahara and Pandora.


What is the Dear Diary Challenge about?

For our purposes, we are defining a diary as a first person narrative, usually intended to be private, that covers anything from day-to-day events to reflections on the past and present.


Teh Rulez:

1)
The objective of this challenge is to keep a journal going for an entire year. You can write the diary of an original character or canon character, Star Wars or non-Star Wars, droid or Killer Alien Robot--or even Yoda’s lightsaber. While you will be writing this journal for a year, your character’s story can cover a shorter or longer period of time; they can go days or even months without an entry. Do what you want. The TOS is your only limit.

See Rule # 4 for new posting guidelines on diaries with multiple narrators (yes, they will be allowed).

2)
No posting (or writing) until the clock strikes midnight, your time zone, on January 1, 2017. But you can plan as much as you want before that.

3)
The deadline for posting the first two entries is January 31, 2017.

4)
You must write a minimum of twenty-four entries for the entire year, with at least one entry a month. You can, of course, have as many entries as you want—but remember that this is a year-long challenge, so pace yourself.

Note: Starting this year, diaries with two or more narrators will be allowed. The number of entries for each narrator should be a minimum of 24 (just like any other), and your entries for each narrator need to keep up with the posting schedule the same as for an individual diary.

5)
There is no minimum or maximum length limit for the entries. Write a paragraph, write pages, or write a haiku. Just do it.

6)
Please PM the Diary_Challenge_Sock when you update your diaries. Though not required, it would help if you could also provide a link to each new entry in the PM. It makes the checking process go much faster!

7)
I'm the keeper of the documents, meaning the Indexer. If you fail to update for a month, I'll send you a reminder and give you another week to update.

This means seven days from the missed month update, not seven days from the date of the PM.

For example, if your diary was last updated on March 3, and you haven't updated in 31 days, your updates are due April 3. You then have your 7 days until April 10 to update. This is regardless of when you get the warning PM, which is just a reminder for you.

8)
If you miss your monthly post and don't update after the extended 7 days, you're out of the competition portion of the challenge.

If you failed to update for a month three times, the next time you don't update for a month, the diary will automatically drop out of the challenge. It does not matter if that three times are in a row or scattered across the year.

You can, however, label your diary as Out of Competition. This means that the story will not be eligible to win at the end of the year, but it is still listed with any other active diaries that are out of competition.

Alternately, you can also let your story be moved to the Dead Diaries category, which is for diaries whose authors have no intention of continuing. Unless we're asked by the author to put something in Out of Competition, this is the default for stories that haven't updated three times.

9)
There will be a mini-challenge each month. I will give you a theme or topic to integrate into the diary. It is not obligatory, just something to get your imagination running.

10)
Voting for the winner will be in the first two weeks of January. Everybody may vote, so invite your readers and others you know here to do so. (For example, a line in your sig is a good way to let lots of people know about a Resource event.)

Rules originally written by MsLanna. Current version written and revised by Kahara and Pandora, with input from Briannakin, jcgoble3, and Ewok Poet.


A Few Reminders:

*We have recently revised "teh rulez," and there have been a few changes--so make certain to check that out.

*If you are writing a Rogue One inspired diary, remember to observe the boards spoiler policy.

*While you are welcome to link to the opening post of your diary, please send all subsequent updates via PM only.

*And that is all. If there are any questions left, post them here in the thread, or send a PM to either the sock or one of the hosts.

Old Challenge Threads:
Dear Diary Challenge 2007
Dear Diary Challenge 2008
Dear Diary Challenge 2009
Dear Diary Challenge 2010
Dear Diary Challenge 2011
Dear Diary Challenge 2012
Dear Diary Challenge 2013
Dear Diary Challenge 2014
Dear Diary Challenge 2015
Dear Diary Challenge 2016

 

2017 Index

The Winners:

Doaba Ke'demii: The Diary of a Young Comradette by Ewok Poet (First Place)

Memory Books and Personal Logs by Lady_Misty and The Journal of Talon Tantiss: [Part 5]-Secrets Revealed Vol 2 by Jedi_Lover (Second Place)

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The index will be sorted by era and title. The color coding is as follows:

Green= within the updating schedule
Red = one month without update, you have 7 days to update, or you're out of the challenge
Blue = Out of competition. Diary is currently still being updated.


Before the Saga

Memory Books and Personal Logs by Lady_Misty Completed 2017 December 27


The Saga

Healer on Moniron by earlybird-obi-wan Completed 2017 December 18

Doaba Ke'demii: The Diary of a Young Comradette by Ewok Poet Completed 2017 December 24


Beyond the Saga

The Journal of Talon Tantiss: [Part 5]-Secrets Revealed Vol 2 by Jedi_Lover Completed 2018 June 30


Non-Star Wars

[The West Wing] Canadians in the East Wing by Briannakin Completed 2017 December 30


The Force Awakens

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Out of Competition

Teenage Rebellion by Raissa Baiard Completed 2018 June 25 (Ezra Bridger and Mara Jade Blayne)

[Faraway, So Close!] Watching You Watching Me by Ewok Poet Updated 2017 April 9

Code Breaker: The Journal of Kash Ferros by divapilot Completed 2017 December 27

Diary of an Angry Hothan by A Blind Prophet Updated 2017 March 24

Not so blind: The Diary of Teafa Phaidraig by A Blind Prophet Updated 2017 March 25

Legitimate Salvage by DARTH_MU Updated 2017 July 23


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Mini Challenges
January: From a Certain Point of View
February: Mush
March: Allergies
April: "All I Have to do is Dream"
May: Very Bad Day
June: "I'm your huckleberry"
August: Mysterious Objects
September: Unleaving
November: Guest Starring...

Monthly Discussions
January: Home is...where, exactly?
February: "Dear Diary: Today was the most embarrassing day of my life" (Part One of The Things We Don't Talk About)
March: Technology
April: Talking about the weather
May: Role Models, Heroes, and Mentors
June: The Dark Side of Your Narrator (Part Two of the The Things We Don't Talk About)
August: Time Travel
September: Changes
November: The Hardest Test
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Dead Diaries

Mirror of the Knowing Soul by leiamoody Updated 2017 January 3
Repentance: The Diary of Tristan Kenobi by JediMaster_Jen Updated 2017 January 8
Yoda in Training by Lea-El Updated 2017 January 24
Phoenix Rising: The Journal of a Rebel Pilot by Volund Starfire Updated 2017 May 23
[The West Wing] The Life and Times of Leo Lyman by mavjade Updated 2017 June 1
[Magnus Chase] Seeking the Past: Diary of Otis the Goat by s_heffley Updated 2017 July 21

 

2016 Index - Last year

The Winners:

Letters Never Sent by Ewok Poet (First Place)

The Journal of the Former Emperor's Hand by Carlos Danger (Second Place)

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The index will be sorted by era and title. The color coding is as follows:

Green = within the updating schedule
Orange = 14 days without an update.
Red = one month without update, you have 7 days to update, or you're out of the challenge
Blue = Out of competition. Diary is currently still being updated.

Before the Saga

(none)

The Saga

The Force is guiding me, Kaagi Adin by earlybird-obi-wan Completed 2016 December 16

Letters Never Sent by Ewok Poet Completed 2016 December 31


Beyond the Saga

The Journal of Talon Tantiss Part four by Jedi Lover Completed 2016 December 31


Non-Star Wars

diary of Nick Roberts by earlybird-Obi-Wan Completed 2016 December 16


The Force Awakens

The Journal of the Former Emperor's Hand by Carlos Danger Completed 2019 July 27


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Out of Competition

My Holodrama Is Like Life by leiamoody Updated 2016 September 14

And Let the Shadows Fall Behind You by JadeLotus Updated 2016 September 9

Something is shining like gold, but better by Pandora Updated 2017 January 21


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Mini Challenges

January: New Starts
February: Startling Observations
March N/A
April N/A
May: Half Asleep
June N/A
July N/A
August N/A
September: Hobbies
October: "The Ghosts that Haunt Me"
November: Out of Place

Monthly Discussions

September:Diary Keepers
October: "Life will sooner or later shows its claws."
November: Career Day

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Dead Diaries

Captain and Pilot (a Mara Jade diary) – part 2 by Tarsier Updated January 07 2016
Hunter's Log: Tales From the Shadows by SabyneAmberle Updated February 07 2016
The Face behind the Mask a 501st Journal by gaarastar58 and CheckSix Updated February 27, 2016
Watching Death: The Secret Journal of Praetor Ordo by Volund Starfire Updated 2016 April 7
A Secret Ally: Clone Trouble by Falcon Updated 2016 May 10
140 Characters by Chyntuck Updated 2016 May 11
Inner Struggle by Falcon Updated 2016 May 13
The Force Energized by RX_Sith Updated 2016 May 23
A Shining Light into Darkness: Caught between Worlds by Falcon Updated 2016 May 27
Busted by Lazy K Updated 2016 May 30
Listening, Learning and Loving by Nyota’s Heart Updated 2016 August 20

 

Yay! I'm thinking I may do a diary again this year. Getting my ideas together already.

 

First off, the revised rules look great Kahara and Pandora! It really gives a fresh new feel to a (now) classic challenge. I also hope you guys continue to do the monthly discussions in 2017 - I haven’t participated in the first few you guys did for this year, but I’ve enjoyed reading others’ replies.

I didn’t do a DDC in 2016 and I really missed it, so I’m coming back in 2017 with diary I’ve been plotting since September (I really missed it). I’m jumping to the NSWFF side with a The West Wing diary.

It’s going to be a diary ‘written’ by First Lady Helen Santos and her chief of staff, Donnatella Moss that eventually got published (so there will be publisher’s notes). I’m hoping non-TWW fans will be able to enjoy it (if they want to venture into a fandom they know really don’t know about, which I know can be scary). Helen Santos was a relatively minor/undeveloped character in the “passing of the torch” arc over the final two seasons, so hoping between some youtube videos, the diary being “self-aware” of an audience, it taking place after the show, PLUS the show (and fic) being set in the real world, you won’t HAVE to be a fan of the show to read it. Of course, there will still be Donna goodness for the (few) fans. It will mostly just be me getting really sarcastic at American politics.

Spoiler: Bri’s random and long rant for TWW fans

AND I KNOW people find Helen Santos to be a really annoying/rude character when she appears. She is at time and I honestly blame the writing. Most of her appearances are just there as an obstacle (to illustrate what strain a presidential campaign has on a family) and she wasn’t developed beyond that. She could have been a very sympathetic, but sometimes opposing, force (if she had been in more episodes, but season 6/7 was kinda two different stories sharing the same TV show). I’m hoping to write the character as I think the writers wanted her to be - a regular person thrust into a very political and public role, and to be really in over her head. It’s one of the reasons why I want to write this diary She had a fair amount of sass, but had moments of being very supporting.

I’m considering doing a second diary as well - a SW one, just encase I get worn out writing a fic about American politics. I did a Beru Lars diary way back that got killed by TEH MOVE and I always say I’m going to revisit the idea.

That was really long and I’m sorry. I’m in an blabbing mood.

 

What happens if I want to write more than 24 entries?

Everything else is clear, thank you for crediting me for suggestions.

 

Not the challenge host but... see rule 4. 24 entries has always been just the minimum, I know I often end up in the 26-30 entry range and I've seen diaries with WAAAY more.

 

I swear that the word "minimum" was not there this morning. O_O Now it's OK.

 

Ewok Poet: Pandora just edited it, that's why!

 

Ewok Poet: Yes, I sneaked in with an edit, and then I arrived late to announce it. But anyhow: after I read your earlier post, I re-read the pertinent rule, #4, and I realized that the wording (which I confess I'm responsible for) was a little unclear.

To make this all official, here is the new version of rule 4:

4)
You must write a minimum of twenty-four entries for the entire year, with at least one entry a month. You can, of course, have as many entries as you want—but remember that this is a year-long challenge, so pace yourself.

 

I haven't attempted a Diary in years as I'm pretty much terrible at long challenges that require commitment. But I've got two bunnies for this year so I think I might give it a shot... again. Both bunnies are on the NSWFF side with (no surprise, I'm sure) The West Wing.

My first idea is kinda strange as the diary would basically be of an inanimate object. My second thought is the diary of the OC I made for the OTP thead's romcom in space challenge. I'm not sure which I'll do yet, I just know I really can't do both.

 

A child's view on what adults are doing, changing as he growing up would be one heckuva read, IMHO.

 

Both would be great reads Mav, but I still want the diary of Josh's beloved backpack. Though I totally would love to see more of your OC, plus it might be easier for 'non-fans' to enjoy.

 

That's it, I'm using this new, elusive term in the masthead of all my fics.

 

Thinking of rewriting Complications (Wedge/Iella fic) as a diary. Am I able to have both Wedge and Iella having diary entries?


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nm

 

Is there a deadline to sign up or do we just let the sock know if/when we post the first entry? I am toying with an idea, but I'm not sure if I want to do it as first person narrative; I am used to doing third person limited.

 

I was used to third person omnipresent, but first person is super-easy compared to all other narrative types. You still don't know everything (something I'm not used to, because I am normally in god mode and all ), but you can be slightly more relaxed. And if you completely avoid dialogue - like in a real-life diary, you get to explore alternate ways of expressing oneself, which was fun.

This said, I'll be taking part in this challenge again in 2017, but the diary won't have more than 30 entries. I feel that one of the principal characters in my microuniverse needs some background and now that I elaborated on some others way too much, it's more or less unfair not to give the girl a diary. So, coming up in January 2017: The Diary of a Young Comradette. Expect the Legends character whom, as I have seen, people don't like before she's in her thirties, rich and marred to a guy no sane person would ever marry, to feature throughout.

Ummm...how do I use that "new fans" buzzword again? MESA BAD WITH MARKETHINK. Anybody want to be a fan of an angsty, unpopular, teenage girl who keeps all of her anger inside, has bizarre beliefs and whatnot?

 

@Katana_Sundancer:

Thanks for asking that, I know Briannakin had mentioned it as well. Yes, you can do a diary with two narrators. However, it'll be double the posts.

Here are the new additions to the rules:

(Under Rule # 1): See Rule # 4 for new posting guidelines on diaries with multiple narrators (yes, they will be allowed).


(Under Rule # 4): Note: Starting this year, diaries with two or more narrators will be allowed. The number of entries for each narrator should be a minimum of 24 (just like any other), and your entries for each narrator need to keep up with the posting schedule the same as for an individual diary.

 

Thank you.


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Side note, but it's been done (a few times) to have a character commenting on another's diary entries -- but this was extra to the diary itself, if that makes sense. Just remembered that and thought I should mention it.

 

Yes, my 2016 DDC is a fresh example of that - probably. I didn't even know that somebody else was doing it when I did it.

 

Yeah. I thought about doing just the "one narrator with a second character providing notes/comments" style, but I think what I am going to do is each post (and there will be at least 24 posts) by me will have separate entry by each of my narrators like this:

And I might do subtly different fonts and different colors BUT I'm not sure if that will be too much. I also might do a 'co-written' introduction, then go into the first entries. I'll experimenting with the sort of "published diary of a famous figure (and her Chief of staff)" sort of thing.


Having read Katana_Sundancer 's Complications (WHICH I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO HOPEFULLY REVIVE BECAUSE GOSH DARN IT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A CONCLUSION FOREVER!) I know the whole published public diary thing probably won't work. If you don't want to do 24 entries written by Iella AND 24 by Wedge (which I kinda want you to do for my own selfish reasons), you could do the 24 by Iella and do the whole "Wedge wrote me a wonderful letter today. I feel so loved. Here is what it said..." thing, which more than one diarists of this challenge have employed

Do I really have to insert the "The code is more what you call guidelines, than actual rules" gif?

 

I thought you might like that, Briannakin . I'll possibly just make it her diary, with him doing comments and notes, but I really think they'll both have a lot to say.

This revival will be a bit different - still the same in the basics, but I have actually experienced pregnancy now, so that'll definitely colour things. Getting super excited for this, actually - it's been living in my head for a long time.


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Oh boy....the idea I was kicking around was going to have three narrators, which would mean 72 posts! The "commenting on entries" angle wouldn't work at all for it.