I was originally going to post my edit of the diary as a separate mod on the Steam workshop, but there seems to be an issue with my computer that causes Project Zomboid's workshop page to refuse to accept my mod files, even when everything is named and formatted correctly. That, coupled with the fact that making what would have been a complete clone of this mod with 7 edited lines of code would be a general waste, has prompted me to make a discussion and show you how to make your own diary entries to improve your roleplaying experience.

Editing the diary requires zero coding expertise; you just need to know where to find it.

The first thing you will need to do is navigate to your computer's Steam workshop folder for Project Zomboid, labeled 108600. If you don't already know where that is, here are the directories to reach it for both PC and Mac computers:

PC: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\108600

Mac: /Users/YOURNAME/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/workshop/content/108600

Once you're there, find the folder that contains the Immersive Barricaded Start mod. It's name is the same as the mod id: 3031475005. Open the folder, and go through mods > ImmersiveBarricadedStart > media > lua > client until you see the WMAR_main.lua file.

Editing the diary entries should cause absolutely no problems, but you should still backup the WMAR_main.lua file, just in case something does go wrong and you need to start over, or you still want the default diary entries to use for another playthrough.

Open the WMAR_main.lua, and scroll down until you see a block of code with seven identical lines, each formatted like this:

noteBook:addPage(1, "[TITLE]:\n\n[SALUTATION],\n[ENTRY]");

Inside the quotations, you should see the title, salutation ("Dear Diary"), and the bulk of the diary entry written in plain text, as is shown above. From here, you can edit the title, salutation, and entry to your heart's content. You can even copy & paste or delete lines in the code block to add or delete entries, modifying the amount of entries present in the journal at the start of your game. /n is used to create spaces in between lines. Just make sure that you keep your entries under 500-600 characters to preserve formatting and prevent any text from being cut off in-game, and that the amount of entries you choose to add doesn't exceed 20 (the amount of pages in the journal).

As an example, here is my edit of the diary, made with the purpose of being more accurate to the lore of the Knox Event and providing a broader scope of the outbreak in Kentucky. Feel free to use it if you so wish:

[TITLE] July 3, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] It's been a surreal day... The roads and sidewalks used to be bustling with people on their daily commutes, but now there's barely anyone outside. It probably has something to do with that foul smell that's been lingering in the air for several weeks now. Each passing day the odor has gotten worse, and today it's like a fog that constricts my lungs and blankets the entire outside world. It's become so unbearable that some of my neighbors are packing up to go on vacation for a while. The empty streets are eerie to say the least, and the fact that the phone lines are still down isn't helping my growing unease.

[TITLE] July 4, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] Today mostly consisted of me stocking up on food and other essentials whilst simultaneously trying not to vomit from the stench that had evidently intensified and still seemed to permeate the entire lower atmosphere. The roads remained uncannily silent, save for the occasional passing truck or blaring police cruiser, in stark contrast to the stores that were crowded with those still gathering fireworks for their Independence Day festivities. I plan to spend the rest of my holiday relaxing at home for however long it takes for this awful smell to clear out. Maybe that will ease the growing pit in my stomach about all this.

[TITLE] July 5, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] I woke up this morning to find that the fetid scent in the air had all but dissipated overnight, leaving behind a pungent aftertaste. For once, everybody seems eager to embrace the outdoors and conform to their regular routines. Everyone except for the Anderson couple next door, that is. I think they've both caught a bad flu bug, because I saw Mr. Anderson sweating and shaking like a leaf when he was taking out the garbage, all while Mrs. Anderson was audibly vomiting up a storm from inside their house. Come to think of it, I've seen a lot of sick people around lately. I hope they all get better soon.

[TITLE] July 6, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] I wanted to order a delivery from Spiffo's, but the phone lines are still down, so I took to eating out at their restaurant in hopes that I could forget the strangeness of the past few days. The roads are busy again, but not with the kind of activity that I would have liked to see. There are even more police cruisers now, as well as fire trucks and ambulances, either patrolling or speeding by with their lights flashing towards an unknown destination. The strangest of all was a military convoy I saw roll by the front entrance to Spiffo's not too long ago. Just what is going on out there?

[TITLE] July 7, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] I still can't believe I'm writing this. The military has set up blockades around Knox County, and they're not anyone leave. We're trapped here. The anchors on NNR are saying this is a quarantine. Why didn't I check the news sooner? Three police cruisers and a fire truck barreled past my house an hour ago, and now there's a man slouching down the sidewalk...his face is covered in blood. I've shut my curtains, and I'm too afraid to look back outside now. All I hear are the occasional rumblings of helicopters soaring above me and a persistent banging noise emanating from inside the Andersons' place.

[TITLE] July 8, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] My neighbor, Paul, died today. I saw it happen as I feverishly peeked through the curtains, half-expecting that bloody-faced man to be staring back at me with his cold, empty eyes. Instead, I saw Paul stepping outside to survey his immediate surroundings before hurriedly jogging down the sidewalk. He'd only made it a few paces when a mob of people, or what used to be people, descended upon him from the opposite direction. Among them were the Anderson couple. Those things tore into Paul like he a candy package...and then they started eating him. And yet, somehow, as I write this, Paul is getting back up.

[TITLE] July 9, 1993

[SALUTATION] Dear Diary,
[ENTRY] With a lot of time, effort, and fear that the dead things shuffling around outside might hear the racket I make, I've managed to secure every door and window separating me from the outside world, somehow even quieter now than it was when this all first started. I've also taken inventory of what remains of my food and other essentials. As much as I dread stepping back into the unknown, I know the supplies I bought on the 4th of July won't be enough to last me for much longer. I'll have to venture out for a loot run.

Wish me luck...
(Character's Name)

I hope this helpful for anyone wanting to change up the diaries to suit their setting! Enjoy!