JOURNAL

It may be very useful to keep a journal once the apocalypse begins. But before you lick the end of your quill and begin to pen your innermost thoughts and fears, please note that I am not suggesting you become the Anne Frank of the zombie apocalypse. The truth is that no one really cares about anyone else’s innermost thoughts. Be honest. Do you really give a hoot about what any of your friends are feeling deep down? When you occasionally catch them with a sad and wistful look in their eyes do you honestly wonder what dark thought are swooping around the depths of their soul? No. You don’t. You’d much prefer that everyone was talking about you.

So, sorry to burst your bubble, but no one really cares how you felt when you killed your first zombie, or discovered that your Uncle Nancy was infected or when you saw your first badger. Most of them will have been through those experiences themselves. You are, after all, survivors. Instead, your journal should be succinct and to the point. It should detail the areas you’ve been scavenging in, what supplies you have, how many zombies you have killed and where you have seen the hordes massing. The kind of thing that would be useful should you come into contact with other survivors or should you die and need to pass the information on.

Look upon your journal as a constant battle plan and a guide to plan your campaigns. If your groups go on separate scavenging missions you will be able to keep track of who got what from where and who spotted which dead in which areas. This will save your team from going on wasted trips back to areas that have been bled dry of supplies and it will also allow you to track the direction of the zombie migration in order to avoid them.

The information in your journal may mean the difference between life and death when your team is depleted and the days are running into each other and tiredness is setting in. So don’t waste time and space drawing daisies in the margins and smiley faces as dots for your is.