Introducing the 2025 RAWR Journal Kit
Welcome, Rogue Writer, to the official build-it-yourself RAWR Journal! You’ve committed to a wild and wonderful creative journey this October and November. This journal will be your essential companion and keepsake. Fill this journal with your ideas, triumphs, motivational tidbits, scribblings, and your words. Along with fun ideas, we have printable worksheets for building dimensional characters and worlds, guides for plotting, several trackers for your daily word count, wellness trackers, and writing-related BINGO sheets to keep you motivated and inspired along the way.
Assembling your RAWR Journal is simple! Some of these materials and ideas might not match your writing and/or planning style, but customization is what RAWR is all about. Each writer’s process is their own and as unique as the stories they create. So, pick and choose what you want, need, and love. You can disregard the rest. If you’re using a binder (or similar), it will be easier to rearrange the content as you go along to fit your needs. The resulting journal will be customized for your very own unique RAWR project and style.
You can find the Journal Download links sprinkled throughout the page and listed on their own at the bottom.
The First Pages
Project Declarations:
- “Why I’m Doing This”: A letter to yourself or declaration, in which you state your personal reasons for embarking on this writing adventure. Refer to this page if you ever feel discouraged or fall out of love with your project.
- Project Overview: A single page with details like title ideas, a brief synopsis, genre(s), and word count goal(s). You might want to liven up the page with scribbles, stamps, and stickers!
- Book Cover: Even if the design concept and title aren’t finalized, having a mockup of your book’s cover art can foster project motivation and commitment. Some members in Rogue Writers offer this service, but you can also whip something up quickly in Canva, Adobe Express, or even just scribble a fun concept by hand. Be sure to include it in your journal.
- Gratitude: Maintain a page of gratitude for everyone and everything helping you along in this journey. Add new names along the way. Parts of this might land on your story’s Acknowledgements page!
Project Tracking & Planning
- Timeline: A chronological list of key events in your story’s history and future. With multiple settings, include more than one timeline sheet or draw them one above the other.
- Scene List: Key scenes, their purpose, and the characters involved. Give yourself space and permission to list scenes out-of-order. Who knows? You just might write them in that order anyway!
- Chapter Tracker: Track each chapter’s title, with a brief synopsis, anticipated word count, and actual word count.
- Revision Checklist: A running list of items to check for during the revision phase, such as pacing, plot holes, and character consistency.
Character & World Building
- Character Builders: Profile sheets for all of your characters, detailing all their motivations, backstories, and physical descriptions. Some of these may be lists, but others will require more in-depth coverage. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- Character Interview Questions: Never as easy as they sound, yet way more fun. These interview questions bring you closer to understanding all the stuff lying under your character’s surface, helping to guide their mannerisms, reactions, and decisions. (DOWNLOAD)
- Character Archetypes: Jenai explains what archetypes are and how to use them in character development. (DOWNLOAD)
- Character Arc Sketches: A visual or written tool to map out a character’s emotional journey and development. Even if it’s not as lengthy or detailed, try to do this for the supporting characters too!
- World Building Guides: We have plenty of printable sheets to detail the rules of your world, including magic systems, geography, technology, and societal/cultural structures. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- Location Profiles: Pages to describe your story’s key settings, their histories, geography, climate, plants, wildlife, and their significance to the plot. Need a boost of inspiration? Try drawing a map!
Creative & Motivational Options
- Quotes: Insert blank pages that you can decorate with your favorite inspirational quotes about writing and creativity.
- Brainstorm Dumps: Tuck in extra pages for notes, mind maps, and random ideas that pop into your head. These can be strategically placed at the end of each character profile, setting profile, timeline, etc.
- Writing Prompts: A list of prompts to use when you’re feeling stuck. We have several in our Rogue Writers “Power Prompts” Discord channel and a helpful Pride Prompts booklet. Jot down your favorites!
- Sketching Pages: These hand-drawn images can be related to your story or just doodles that stir up motivation and inspiration. If you can’t draw, consider collages!
- Notes from your Project Journey: A section for reflection to record your creative journey. This can be anything from a bullet list of reflections to properly dated full diary entries! You might choose to place these pages in the front portion of the journal or in the very back.
Journal Downloads
- Daily Word Count Log & Progress Coloring Sheets: Designed by Kae. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- RAWR BINGO Sheets: By Myles & Co. Print out the ones you want to play with and have fun! (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- Puzzle Plots: Jenai’s plotting method. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- Character Building Sheets: Designed by Jenai. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- Character Interview Questions: From Jenai, with contributions from Rogue Writers and Scribbling Women. (DOWNLOAD)
- Character Archetypes: Jenai’s tips for working with archetypes in character development. (DOWNLOAD)
- World Building Guides: Designed by Jenai. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
- Story Tethers: Jenai’s system for staying connected to her story and characters whenever she’s not writing. (DOWNLOAD)
- Writerly Wellness Trackers: Track and connect your daily creativity and life habits. By Jenai. (DOWNLOAD: US Letter | A4)
