What do you think about diary-style stories?

[MFontana]

Sounds like a fun read, always a fan of that type of thing cause of all the specific games I've played.
Some people get annoyed by all the like 'telling' not showing, but I enjoy it when done right and not just info dumps.

Since I'm not sure if I'll ever actually get around to writing the story itself, I typed up all of my notes for it into a google-doc if you, or anyone else, would like to take a look. I also included an Open-use license for all the content contained within the notes in case anyone else decides they want to use them. (It's simple. Give credit where it's due and you can use anything in those notes.)
>>Survival-Horror Story Idea Notes<<

 

[SouthernMaiden]

Now, to anyone who has the misfortune of knowing who I am, you're likely thinking things such as:

• Stfu retard. No one likes you.
• Are you trying to gain attention to your story? Cringe.

And you might be right.
But am I actually trying to draw attention to my diary-formatted story?
Not really, surprisingly.

I wanted to know if anyone else has ever read any books/web novels that were written like diaries/journals. And as niche as it is, you've seen it a lot actually. You've likely seen stray pages to collect and read in video games that hand-feed you lore. Little notes, crumpled diary entries, audio logs, etc.

Best well known examples from games I've played that you probably know:

• Resident Evil - all the diary and lab notes detailing the outbreak
• Silent hill - letters and personal notes
• Bioshock - audio diaries
• Dead Space - audio logs, video/text
• SCP Foundation - those fake reports/documents
• Doki Doki Literature Club - (for all you gay anime fans) - lot of unreliable perspective, journal-ish meta fragmentation

From movies/books/other media I can think of off the top of my head:

• ARGS - pretty much all of them, some better than others
• Dracula - journals, letters, telegrams, newspaper clippings
• Frankenstein - letters & testimonies
• The Color Purple - letters
• Stephen King's Carrie - news reports, documents weaved in
• The Martian - mission/journal logs
• The Blair Witch Project - found/recovered footage
• Paranormal Activity - home recordings
• As Above, So Below - expedition footage

This type of storytelling essentially weaponizes intimacy. No, not that kind.

I love found evidence/footage. Especially when it's done right and feels authentic and or immersive. So whether you like it or not, there's likely been at least one time where you've had the voyeurism 'interest'.

Don't lie to yourself, you like some of this shit.

I would say House of Leaves is the ULTIMATE book of this type. Its the diary entries of a cracked out tattoo artist decoding the work of a dead blind writer, who wrote a book analyzing the Navidson Record. The navidson record which describes a family moving into a house that grows new rooms...

Several layers of perspectives.

 

[AliceMoonvale]

I would say House of Leaves is the ULTIMATE book of this type. Its the diary entries of a cracked out tattoo artist decoding the work of a dead blind writer, who wrote a book analyzing the Navidson Record. The navidson record which describes a family moving into a house that grows new rooms...

Several layers of perspectives.

I heard of that one but never read it. I might check it out sometime.
Growing new rooms? That reminds me of the Winchester House, sounds neat.