The Trail of the Writer- Alan Wake 2

The Trail of the Writer is a secret achievement in Alan Wake 2 that requires you to watch all of the Writer’s Journal videos. In total, there are eight different videos to watch, with three being tied to the story and the other five being hidden.

The Trail of the Writer is worth 10 points. It’s also required for 100% game completion.

How To Find The Flare Gun

The Koskela Brothers

All Writer’s Journey Tapes

Watch all the Writer’s Journal Videos

In order to complete The Trail of the Writer, all you need to do is watch all the Writer’s Journey videos. You will need to watch eight commercials in total. You will earn 10 points as a reward.

Because The Trail of the Writer is a secret achievement, it’s very easy to miss. And if you want to 100% complete Alan Wake 2, completing the secret achievements is going to take up most of your time.

How to Watch The Videos

Watching the videos is the easiest part of this entire process. All you have to do is walk up to a TV and look at it while it plays the video! This follows a very similar format to the Koskela Brothers’ commercials. Though, the Writer’s Journal Videos aren’t quite as entertaining as the commercials. They’re much darker and are more important for the story, hence why several are actually unmissable.

The only thing to remember when watching the videos is to watch them in full. In other words, don’t walk away from the TV when the video is still playing. This way, you’ll make sure that the game doesn’t glitch in any way by failing to track your progress.

How to Complete the Trail of the Writer

What’s really going to take up most of your time is actually finding the videos. With that in mind, here are the locations of all eight videos needed to complete the Trail of the Writer.

Story-Locked Videos

The following videos for The Trail of the Writer can only be unlocked during the main story:

Video 1 (The Dark Place)- Unlocked at the end of ‘Inititaion 1: Late Night’. The video will play during the final cutscene.
Video 2 (Writing)- Found in the talk show studio, on the TV next to the ringing payphone. Alternatively, you will automatically unlock this video at the end of the ‘Initiation 2: Casey’ Chapter.
Video 3 (Murder Sites)- The final video is unlocked during the ‘Initiation 2: Casey’ Chapter. As you’re exploring the subway, there will be a moment when you have to walk through a break room. Inside this room, you should see a TV playing one of the videos.

Missable Videos for the Trail of the Writer

The next five videos for The Trail of the Writer are missable. As such, you need to be extra careful when looking for them.

You can find them in the following locations:

Video 4 (The Dark Presence)- You will find this video during the ‘Initiation 4: We Sing’ chapter. Simply walk up to the TVs at the Vision TV Shop and the video will start playing. However, this room will only be available until the end of the ‘Initiation 5: Room 665’ chapter.
Video 5 (Visions)- Unlocked during Initiation 5. Simply go to room 1010 of the Oceanview Hotel, and you should see a TV playing the video. Likewise, you can miss this video if you finish the chapter without watching it.
Video 6 (Drowning)- You’ll be able to unlock this video during the ‘Initition 7: Masks’ Chapter. First, you’ll want to head to the Janitor’s Room, which will allow you to enter the Workshop. Then, find a shoebox with Alice’s photographs before heading out of the room and walking to the TV in the north-west area. The video will only trigger if you pick up the photographs. This is probably the hardest video to find for The Trail of the Writer, so be careful!
Video 7 (Stop Writing)- Unlocked during Chapter 8. Simply head to the break room in Poet’s Cinema and you will find a TV playing the video.
Video 8 (Initiation)- Likewise found in Poet’s Cinema. It should be in a room next to the projector room.