Show, don’t tell!
09 Aug 2011 1 Comment
On top of all of my gaming nerdiness, I have a more “professional” side. I coach people in speech writing and delivery, and one of the things I see the most often is failed opportunities with stories. All too often, I see people fall into this trap:
He said, “I think I’d like a dozen eggs.” And I said, “What color, brown, white, or green?” And then he said, “What do you think I am, Dr. Seuss? Who eats green eggs!?”
When we get all too caught up in the story’s content, we forget just how important the delivery is. Sure, the content is the meat of everything, but what about the potatoes? The gravy? The vegetables!? …Well, okay, no one really wants to eat their veggies, but what I mean is that if you just serve people a bland piece of meat, they won’t enjoy it like you want them to. You have to spice it up! Like this:
“I think I’d like a dozen green eggs.” I looked at him. Why was he asking me this, of all people? I didn’t even work at the grocery store! You would think that the giant hole in the left leg of my jeans and the paint-splattered t-shirt would have given it away. “What color? Brown, white, or green?” I was messing with him now, and the look he gave me was worth it.
Not a great example, but what did you expect at 1:00 AM? You get the idea, though. Descriptive words, more substance to your meat. It’s what makes the difference in being entertaining and being boring. You could have a great story, but if you don’t know how to flavor it, people will pass on it and they won’t be looking for seconds.
Another thing one must consider when telling a story (or in the case of GMing or playing, coloring a scene) is the way that their body and face reacts to things. Looking angry when the NPCs kill your brother is far more effective than simply saying, “Red with rage, the wizard yells, ‘die!’” Just drop the description here, hold your breath till your face is almost pink, and yell “DIE!” The golden rule here?
Show, don’t tell.
If you are uncomfortable with your acting or with throwing yourself all-out into a moment, that’s understandable. Just remember to use adjectives and avoid the monotonous pattern of “he said this, then I said that, then he said this…” Pace yourself, take a moment to flavor your game, and I promise you, your players will notice. They’ll definitely appreciate it, too!
Forget me not!
01 Aug 2011 3 Comments
I often forget that the very basics of writing and creativity that I’ve practiced for so long may not come as second nature to everyone. Therefore, I don’t usually think to give out advice that, to me, seems like common knowledge. I was having a conversation with someone the other day who was lamenting the fact that they always get these random ideas, and then forget about them. When I asked them why they didn’t write them down, they just looked at me like I was crazy — which, I am, but for totally different reasons.
The number one rule of being creative (whether you’re a writer, an artist, a game master, what have you) is this:
Always always always always ALWAYS have something to write with and something to write on.
You think I’m kidding? Heck, no. At the very least, keep a pen on you at all times; you can find something to write on (your hand, for example) in a pinch, but if you don’t have a utensil, you’re SOL. Ideas come and go, filtering in and our of our heads all the time, whether we realize it or not. It’s impossible to remember everything without a little help.
While I was in college, the apartments I lived in re-did the bathrooms in all of their buildings one summer. When I returned, I found this giant, huge, shiny white plastic wall. Initially, it didn’t mean anything. But, one day, as I had an idea while taking a shower (the shower was my favorite thinking place, since no one really disturbed me there) and jumped out, dripping wet and freezing cold, running to my bedroom, I realized something.
I had a big, blank, white wall.
The solution was simple: BATH CRAYONS!
That’s right, bath crayons. I ran out to Target that night and bought a set of multi-colored bath crayons! I proceeded to do things like this:
The best part about bath crayons was reading all the silly comments your friends would leave on your idea webs.
I would take a picture of it and then reference it later when I needed to remember my ideas. As crazy as it seems, it worked; I never forgot a brilliant (well, okay, arguably brilliant) idea again. I learned, as time went on, to be somewhat detailed in my jotting down of ideas also; if I go back and look at a note that just says “T-rex”, for example, I’ll wonder what the heck I was smoking. But if I see, “T-Rex rampages through NYC,” I’ll remember my idea (and have terrible visions of Jurassic Park 2, ugh) and be able to do something with it.
So, what you need to glean from this post is this:
- Always have a writing utensil.
- Be a little detailed when you write your ideas down.
- Write your idea down AS SOON AS you have it.
- You are never too old to color with crayons.
Stay tuned for some crazy ideas of mine later!
Player & GM Relationship – aka, Raising a Healthy Character
25 May 2011 2 Comments
When I first started playing D&D some 13 years ago, I played with my friend and her brother (who was our GM), and once or twice with my sister in the group as well. Now, although this GM had some good ideas and my friend and I enjoyed our interactions, he had a misconception about what D&D was. To me, it was a method of playing in and creating a story in tandem with players and my game master. To him, it was a competition. Survival of the fittest. He threw every nasty critter and trap he could at us until we were dead, dead, dead. We never stood a chance, never had a prayer.
Where the hell is the fun in that?
I am not suggesting that you take the fear or threat of death away from your players (and believe me, I have been guilty of that because I am too nice and I just don’t like killing people. Doesn’t fit with my “nice girl” image). That fear should always be there, because that prevents players from doing a few things: a) taking advantage of you, b) ignoring wishes of the other players and bringing them ALL heedlessly into danger, and c) doing something outright stupid.
…ok, well, sometimes the threat of death doesn’t even stop those things outright (just ask my friend Kristie about a certain red mage), but it at least helps most of the time! At least, we can all hope. At any rate, we must never forget – as players or as GMs – that role playing is really meant to be an effort made in tandem. The GM supplies the motion to the story, as well as the general outline, while the players bring in the real “meat and potatoes” of the story – the characters, the strife, and the triumph.
To create a character that works well for the story, I suggest that players sit down with their GMs before hand. GMs, make some time for your players and hear them out. Often just by listening to them tell you about their character ideas, you will get ideas for your game. When writing a backstory for a character, leave lots of holes and opportunities for your GM to interject NPCs or plot twists. Remember, while it’s good to be a little bit thorough about your origins, you don’t want to lock the GM in or out of something because you could potentially miss something really cool. And GMs, if a player doesn’t fit quite the mold you had in mind for the game, talk to them about it! Tell them what your game entails, communicate, and maybe work together to change some details and find a common ground that is happy for both of you. Don’t try to shove your players into a box to suit your needs, because both of you will end up being miserable.
In my next post this week, I’ll include a list of questions I think it’s helpful for GMs and Players to ask each other/themselves. In the mean time, remember that communication via player and GM is the most important thing for a happy game!
-Kristy
