The Vampire Diaries - Season 4 - Julie Plec and Michael Narducci Interview

Question: What made you decide to bring back the actual diaries?

JULIE PLEC: Well, it is the title of the show, so we always knew that we wanted it to exist out there in the ether. What we’ve said, since Season 1, is that a diary is your most personal place to give your most personal messages. When you’re in a functional friendship or a functional relationship, and you feel like you’ve got something to share, you can share it with a friend, a lover or whatever. Elena (Nina Dobrev) has always had that in Stefan (Paul Wesley) or Damon (Ian Somerhalder), but right now she feels more lost and alone than she ever has, so it felt like the right time for her to need to have a voice for that. She doesn’t feel she can admit to her friends and loved ones that she hates who she’s become. So, it felt like the right time.

Source and more: Collider