DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Front of House Play-by-Post Game Studio GM Writer's Block & Keeping Games Fresh

I read an article by Johnn Four (RPG Tips) recently on an approach to GMing that resonated with me. So much so that I created a 'methodology' to help my games. And I know recently a number of GMs have suffered from Writer's Block. Johnn's advice was to do a little each day. Too often prepping a game seems like a mountain that we don't have the energy to climb. So inspired, here are my thoughts - still a work in progress - but I thought it might help others.

Firstly I started to create a file for each character with relevant details and fleshed them out with details from events during the game. These cover family, romance, enemies, ongoing actions, plot hooks, history. And not just the past but notes for future hooks etc to be brought into play.

Then I created a list of ideas that I could select from to do a =small= daily additions to my games. Feel free to copy, change add or do your own. And share your ideas as they may help others which will benefit us all:

1. Add something to a character file
a. Expand background
b. Interested NPC
c. Enemy/Exploiter
d. Training/job

2. Next in line for TCS & JTM & DUC
a. Mission, job, discovery
b. Add detail
c. Link to a character
d. Bring in NPC
e. Dramatic event

3. Think about a link into current/next for
a. Political
b. Intrigue
c. Criminal
d. Romance
e. Friend in need
f. Enemy
g. Religious/herald
h. Useful information

4. Chance to utilise
a. Skill/edge
b. Connection
c. Knowledge

5. Extras for the game
a. NPCs for enemies, romance, friendship, intrigue
b. Treasures with a story
c. Useful items/info
d. Weapons with a story
e. Locations: rooms, buildings, shrines, statues
f. Interesting furnishings for the above

Hope you find this useful. And my players have been warned!

Fun stuff. It 'clarifies' a lot of 'fuzzy' stuff <g> Thanks for sharing!!

I love this Jill. Please don't delete this thread.

My technique is very similar, which makes sense because the trick is to simply keep writing something.

If I'm running a game and it's mired at point B, I'll cast ahead at locations C, D and E where I think the players might be heading and write some description for them ahead of time. Then when the game eventually picks up at the worst possible time because you're busy irl you have less graft to do.

If I'm struggling with motivation, I might write some world-building side scenes that don't directly involve the player characters. A creative change of scenery. Because a change is as good as a rest, as my old nan used to say. Once written, you can post the scenes as "bonus content" effectively and the game world benefits.

But my strongest advice---that I often have to remind myself of---is for when the thing that's blocking you is a ton of work.

Like, the player characters have made it to the busy city but suddenly you have thousands of words to write, most of which will be a bit pedestrian, before you get to the juicy parts again. You're facing so much hard graft that you just can't begin to tackle it... so you stop.

Skip it. Get an idea of what the player characters want to achieve, can even be a quick ooc discussion, then sum up and skip ahead.

Will the players be disappointed? I don't know, but they'll be more disappointed if the game dies.

To reenforce one of Neil's thoughts...

When confronted with a vast scene, area, chunk of the city, what have you... Think about what you might do if you were in a game in front of live players. You wouldn't just start exposition ad nauseum you would start with one NPC, the urchin on the corner who sneaks over to pick a PC's pocket for example.

Like any problem, break it into little pieces and focus on that piece right then and there. Yes that whole can always do with more, but sometimes we don't have the energy, the time, the... to do it all. Doing something can get things flowing creatively, it can keep things from stalling, and by far the most important element...

It gives the players something chew on and return stuff to you on. That generates more elements and more story. It also has the wonderful thing that it literally is all about the PCs and what they think.

Often the players can come up with something even better than what you thought of in isolation, after all it is a hive mind at the gaming table. Work it, enjoy it, and do more when you have more energy to give.

I blame me for this thread... thank you all for the advice so far... keep it up

....so really nothing to do with writer's block, but for those who would like to GM but are hesitant about whether their writing skills are up to par (they are, it is just imposter syndrome), you can always run a prewritten module. Almost every system has them and they have somebody else do 99% of the writing work for you.

As a GM who is running two different prewritten scenarios, I agree. I find it useful to help prod the action. You still have to be somewhat willing to adjust because PCs are a herd of cats and never do what you want. But it can help. It also allows you to try a game that you might otherwise not try.

...as an added benefit, I often find at the end of the module the pcs have left 50%+ of the setting unexplored and so with just a little work it can be reused.

All solid advice adding to Gypsy's excellent ideas!

This thread also reminded me of a list I made years ago. After reviewing all the DreamLyrics games I'd run and before starting Night's Dark Terror (using Dungeon World if you remember that one), I noted down advice for my next game.

• More breaks from the action
• Respond more quickly to players' posts
• Less fine detail and waffle
• Separate story from game mechanics more
• Less players in each thread
• More spectacle and excitement
• Less planning, more characters talking about characters
• Apportion coolness equally
• Proof read [I actually underlined this -- I must've noticed a lot of typos when I re-read my games!]
• Keep the story simple
• Find the drama

Great list!

I am copying that as a reminder to me to get better at playing/gm-ing!

I, too, find many mistakes after I post, even if I have proofread them. I am never afraid to go back and edit for the story or for clarity.