Calling all Creative Writers.

[KnotKnormal]

Ok.. I'm working on both the backgrounds of a character i plan to play and a few encounters (city backgrounds, important NPCs etc.) that i will be DMing next semester. We just played our last session of the this semester last weekend and all of a sudden my muse decided to bugger off. I know where i want the the stories to go but I'm stuck in fleshing out the details of how they got there. Any tips for ending my writers block? or do I just have to wait it out?

Edit: the DM problem is solved, I still need help with the character background though... I posted it down below. thanks everyone who helped so far.

[Totema]

Try not to get too bogged down in details. You only need to have as much as you think your players will care about; it will differ from group to group, but most of the time they won't want to be bothered with the minutia.

[Spore]

Remember you are not writing up a second Shakespeare or Othello. Not every other sentence has to contain 85% foreshadowing and 25% lamenting about past mistakes. Just write something. The other players and your players won't really care nor react to your character having a red coat or a blue one. Don't give so much emphasis on single minor details.

Another thing is to talk to someone about your story. S/he doesn't necessarily add stuff to your story (they rarely do) but make you realize want you wanted in your story and what you didn't. And if you do not want to spoiler your friends, just throw a bunch of backstory up here. I promise you will get an overflow of input here, both helpful and derailing.

[Brookshw]

Start brainstorming and stealing. Grab a notebook and spam it with locations, npc's with vague descriptions (perhaps based on whatever books/movies/games you've seen recently) and whatever monsters you've found interesting. It's a useful tool for writers trying to overcome this. Once you start to fill out the notebook with ideas you can start connecting the dots on what might make an interesting setting and encounters. As it starts to develop you'll probably start thinking "hmm...it would be more interesting if NPC X had trait Y" and hopefully you'll start customizing things. Fill up the book with things that you and the players like, both in game and out. One player is a basketball fan? How can I translate that into a sport in the game? Who plays it? Is there a league? How is it organized? Do people bet on it? Is there an underground gambling ring that has a vested interest in the game?

Alternatively, pick up a setting book, manual of the planes, a campaign setting, whatever, and just start flipping through it. You'll probably see a plethora of vague references to things that lack substantial definition. Sometimes you'll find one interesting enough that you can start developing it into an adventure hook.

Cruise the campaign journal's posted on the forum, or the story hours on EN world, etc. Perhaps you can find inspiration based on what others have done?

Anyway, good luck!

[Harlot]

simple mindmapping, big lines:

You want them to go from A to B - write down 3 random ways they could do it. (it may be as simple as 'trains boats and planes', but just considering it would change what you thought should happen)

And in the same way:
You want them to meet this particular NPC - write down 3 very different, and ideally mutually exclusive ideas as to why the NPC would even be in the area
Some NPC wants them to go on this quest - write down 3 very different, and ideally mutually exclusive reasons why he wants them to do it.
You want them to go to this city - write down 3 random points of interest in that city
Give them 3 totally random encounters in that city (poor, middleclass, nobles) someone asking a favor of them.


And so on and so forth ... Yes you'll end up with a big map of options, but from there you can narrow it down, which is easier than having the details and go to the whole.

Also one thing that works for me is to discuss my random ideas with someone who doesn't even play D&D, but who has a vivid imagination.

They can give you even more ideas for your various top 3's and also they offer solutions/suggestions that you wouldn't consider because you already know the rules. Maybe their ideas aren't smart rule-wise, but in the narrative they may work if you twist them.

Good luck.

[Red Fel]

I once attended a revue of the work of Stephen Schwartz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Schwartz_%28composer%29), after which the man himself gave a brief lecture, covering, among other things, writer's block. Allow me to share some nuggets of wisdom I learned from a pro. To paraphrase:

Whenever we create (e.g. writing, composing, etc.) we wear two hats - the creative hat and the editing hat. Writer's block occurs when we try to wear both at once - our inner creator tries to produce something, and our inner editor immediately shoots it down. What you have to do is force yourself to put editing aside, and focus exclusively on the act of creation.

Mr. Schwartz described an experience he had with a friend, who was a writer. This friend, before starting any work, would write at the top of the page, "Sh***y First Draft," explicitly stating to himself that this would be a creative rubbish heap. He would then dump every idea he had, no matter how trite or inane or poorly-designed, onto the page. Only after he had completely exhausted his ideas would he put on his editor's hat, look through the rubble, and decide what was worth keeping and refining.

So this is my advice to you. Start by writing down, on a piece of paper, every possible idea you have for the next session, no matter how stupid it seems to you. If it pops into your head, write it down. If you suddenly think "flaming monkey poop," write it down. If you get an image of the Wicked Witch of the West, flying around cackling, "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too," but replace Witch with Warforged Warlock, and "my pretty" with "my adventurers," and "little dog" with "little MacGuffin," write it down. And so forth.

After you've voided your brain's contents onto the page, go back through the list. Eliminate the obviously bad choices. Save the good choices that don't fit this session, but may be usable in the future. And what you're left with is stuff you can use immediately. Refine it and be on your way.

The problem is often just getting started. Once you can shut that editor up for a few minutes, the words just tend to flow more easily.

[lytokk]

Watch a movie. Something appropriate to the type of game you're playing. Try and see something you haven't seen before, and just pay attention to the details in the background. Usually works for me, even if I don't steal directly from the movie, it'll send me on a path to making something work.

[KnotKnormal]

Thank you everyone for the help. I'll let you know if my marvelous missing muse manages manifestation. May you have a memorable holiday season.

[KnotKnormal]

Ok... I solved my DM problem, but i still cant figure out the Character background part.

Her name is Gora Lee, And this is her story so far I'll put my problem at the bottom... It's a bit of a read and I'm sorry for that. mind any spelling or grammar mistakes not the final copy.

I woke in sweat again. Same nightmare I've been having since I was first thrown in prison for treason. It's the same one I had when I was a small girl. Running through a hall set ablaze, on the other end of which is a door way leading out. A large piece of burnt wall crumbles into the hall in front of me, tripping me up. I fall hard, landing on my back. As a look up through a hole in the ceiling, I see a huge burning beam falling toward me through the raging fire. I raise my arms in a petty attempt to save myself from being crushed, and just before impact, I wake up. I never learned what the dream meant, for all I know it could be a forgotten memory of my life before Carthon Lee found me.

Carthon was a very kind and humble man, he stuck close to what he knew and tried to avoid what he didn't. My first memory is of Carthon sitting over me with a wet rag, wiping my forehead. After giving me water and food he explained how he came upon me. He was traveling from his home town of Wray to the town, Baskin, which had a bigger shop for his smithing and more opportunity to make money. He said he said he found me unconscious along the side of the road. The only thing on me other then my torn and dirty clothes was an amulet, on the back a name, "Gora," and a date. The date seamed to match my age so I assumed them to my name and birthday, but I had no memory of where I got it, or even how I ended up on the side of the road. Despite not knowing who I was, he thought it best to stay with him as opposed to being put up in an orphanage, at least until I could remember where I came from. But I never did.

With no memory of who I was Carton took me in and raised me as though I was his own. he taught me much of what I know today including everything I know about blacksmithing, as well as how to turn a profit with just about anything. He gave me a lot of free time to do whatever I wanted. Even as I got older the only time he would want me helping him around the forge is when there were large orders of weapons armor and repairs, usually when military garrisons came through. This gave me a lot of time to play with the other children, and as I got older, a lot of time to get in trouble. Starting from a young age I was constantly getting into trouble for climbing things I shouldn't, plying on the rooftops, and being a general danger to myself. Needless to say these acts typically landed me in the barracks overnight, which is actually how I met my best friend (need better term here) Eurig, or at least he used to be until he threw me in here.

Eurig was a town guard in Baskin. We first met after I was pulled off the wall of the local brewery when I was 13. He was in training at the time, and the holder of the key to my cell. Despite my best efforts I was unable to liberate the key, or even strike an interesting conversation with him, he even called me a lowlife. However over the next few week I managed to gain a bit of a rapport with Eurig, convincing him I was not the evil, vile, waste of life he though me to be. we quickly became close friends, often spending most of my nights in jail laughing and talking about the most random things. When I wasn't running along the rooftops doing errands for Carthon, or aiding at the forge, much of my time was spent with Eurig. A few years had passed when I heard word of Eurig's training coming to an end, and I wanted to give him something as congratulations. I spent two months crafting the perfect sword for him. Forging and re-forging, sharpening to a razor's edge, and polishing to a near mirror finish. I didn't stop until the blade rang out as it cut anything it touched.

I don't know what to do for the presenting of the blade to Eurig as well as what happens immediately after. everything i have come up with so far is so ungodly cheesy and sappy it actually makes my head hurt. also feel free to critique what I've already written.

[Phelix-Mu]

Alright, this isn't terrible. Certainly not beyond a little spiffing up.

1.) Consider having Gora Lee assume that her memories in the dream are real. Usually, after long periods of hearing the same story/remembering the same thing (even if it didn't happen) a person convinces themselves it really did happen that way. This can also add needed obfuscation, as both the "dream sequence" and "amnesia" are quite cliched. So, she isn't quite amnesic, she just has never found the house that burnt down (perhaps she never looked). This could also lead to more fun later if she discovers that it wasn't her in the burning building.

2.) Clarify if Gora actually did anything wrong to get her thrown in the brig that first time. I am unsure if she is really a bit of a troublemaker, or if the town she's in just has really dumb rules about people climbing buildings. A little elaboration here will help us sympathize with her or not.

3.) I don't really get a sense of Gora's personality. You say she gets into trouble, but is it deserved trouble, or is she being singled out unfairly? Does she enjoy eluding those that want to punish her? Is she a glutton for the punishment, enjoying raging against the machine? Is she bitter or carefree? There is a little bit of her personality showing in the scene with Eurig and the laughing and telling of tales, but, honestly, almost anyone behaves like that with enough cajoling. More details about how she looks at the world, what motivates her (before she's making the blade...clearly, his friendship becomes very important to her).

4.) Consider that she was going to present the blade to him one night, maybe under the full moon. Just so happens that some kind of terrible crime happens that night, and Gora Lee and her blade are in the wrong place at the wrong time. She is forced to kill someone, maybe the real traitor (who no one knew was a traitor) and now she looks guilty of treason. I'd advise that it be someone important to Eurig (maybe his older brother, commanding officer, partner on the town watch or whatever). Eurig finds her over the dead body, bloody sword in hand, next to secret documents or whatever that constitute treason or some other high crime.

Still seems pretty cliched, but it's hard to craft something believable and unique as a backstory without also seeming a bit contrived.

Other good elements to include are
- insanity (crazed demon-worship or some such)
- jealousy
- betrayal (which you can do if you make Eurig's important person into a kind of third character...Mr. X betrays Eurig and Gora (and the whole town), but only Gora knows that he did. Can she tell Eurig the terrible truth? Does she blame Eurig for punishing her if she's keeping secrets? stay tuned for scenes from the next episode...)

:smallsmile:

[Bullet06320]

one thought I had on npcs, I have previously posted u some ideas on your world in other posts
one particular is if you use the idea of the war torn city, and have pirates take over the dock
the pirate captain was raised in that city, bullied severely by the people while growing up, ran away, stowed aboard a ship, ended up getting caught and forced to work his passage off on the ship as a cabin boy, enventually training as a seaman, and working his way up, well it happened to be a pirate ship he stowed aboard, and eventually took his own ship, formed his own crew and went a pirateing, during the gods war(or wat ever u happen to call it) he saw opportunity to get revenge on those that bullied him, and sent his ships to blockade and plunder the port. after he secured the docks and his holdings, he has been having his crew round up those that bullied him years ago.

and a piece of advise for creating backgrounds on npcs, u only need a small blurb or outline to start with, and can add more flavor later as u create the story, or the need arises during play, u don't always want to put a lot detail incase the pc's decide to take the character out on their first meeting, lol

[Red Fel]

I don't know what to do for the presenting of the blade to Eurig as well as what happens immediately after. everything i have come up with so far is so ungodly cheesy and sappy it actually makes my head hurt. also feel free to critique what I've already written.

First, my critiques.

1: Presenting a backstory as a first-person narrative is fine, but requires something many writers don't realize - personality. A first-person narrative, unlike a more documentary-style description, is being given by a person. Think about any person you've heard speak for an extended period - they have a personality, a unique voice. How they speak, both by their accent and their style, tells you about who is speaking. Work that into the backstory. As Phelix points out, we need to get a sense of her personality. You can do that by giving us a more personal style of speech. Does she use idioms? Are her stories biased? Is she sarcastic? Does she emphasize visuals, smells, tastes? Does she use a gritty or humorous tone? We can learn a lot about her by how she tells her story, not just by the story itself.

2: The dream sequence, I agree with Phelix, is a bit cliched. It becomes all too obvious if you say "for all I know it could be a forgotten memory." It feels out of place - you're describing a dream your character has, which suggests this will be a "day in the life" story, rather than a "story of my life" story. It's the wrong feel. I would suggest, instead, describing it as a memory, a la "My earliest memory is... blah blah blah ... I still have nightmares about it." This way you're placing it chronologically, and still giving the dream angle.

3: You're using snippets to tell a life story. That's fine; in fact, it's quite pleasant to read. But be sure that (a) they're relevant, and (b) they're well-connected. For example, starting from "My earliest memory," then using "Carthon Lee found me" as a connection to who Carthon was, is a good thing. Using that as a connection to Gora's experiences being raised by Carthon is also good. But expand on it. You jump directly into talking about the other characters (Carthon, Eurig) without actually telling us much about Gora. I would suggest sneaking in an anecdote. For example, "Once, while watching Carthon at the forge..." Little story nuggets that tell us about who Gora was growing up. There are pieces in there that come out of nowhere, and are jarring. For example, "pulled off the wall of the brewery" - what's going on there? And how did Gora start "playing on the rooftops" or "running along the rooftops doing errands"? These things come out of nowhere. Why did Eurig consider Gora a lowlife? Did she do something other than playing as a child? You need to tell us about Gora, not just the other people in her life.

Now, to the next step.

1: What's wrong with cheese? It goes deliciously on most foods. (I'm still working on breakfast cereals, however.) If you don't want cheese in your story, fine. But if you keep getting cheese when you try to make cream, maybe it's just meant to be cheesy. Run with it and see what happens.

2: What's the goal with the Gora/Eurig interaction? Will she be too late to present the present? Will it be his tragic undoing? Will her gift be a sign of more-than-friendship? I can't offer more concrete advice on how to execute that scene until I know what the end-goal is.

You have some solid substance so far. Don't sell yourself short. Don't start censoring yourself, you've still got a serious sojourn before you can start scrubbing your style.

[KnotKnormal]

Thank you very much red and phoenix for your input. I'll.have to over it again once I finish this go.through and add more personality to gora I realize now that in my effort to streamline the story I lost a lot of who she was.

I personally like cliches, they are typically over used because they solve a lot of problems with characters. In this particular instance it gives my dm something to focus in on when he wants to mess with my backstory, as apposed to changing details that I put in place or thought of but just didn't put on paper. It allows for a more expected changes rather then "it was all a lie" which has been done before.

As far as the end goal between the interaction, I'd like it for them to be drawn closer because of it, so sign of something more then friendship. I will introduce yet another character that will tie into the main plot of the campaign as well land her in prison for treason. But that is for later. I'm just stuck trying to neatly tie up the ends on eurig, before moving on to the next important person in her life thus far.

[Red Fel]

Thank you very much red and phoenix for your input. I'll.have to over it again once I finish this go.through and add more personality to gora I realize now that in my effort to streamline the story I lost a lot of who she was.

I personally like cliches, they are typically over used because they solve a lot of problems with characters. In this particular instance it gives my dm something to focus in on when he wants to mess with my backstory, as apposed to changing details that I put in place or thought of but just didn't put on paper. It allows for a more expected changes rather then "it was all a lie" which has been done before.

As far as the end goal between the interaction, I'd like it for them to be drawn closer because of it, so sign of something more then friendship. I will introduce yet another character that will tie into the main plot of the campaign as well land her in prison for treason. But that is for later. I'm just stuck trying to neatly tie up the ends on eurig, before moving on to the next important person in her life thus far.

Given that it's a character background, don't think of it like a typical story; try to leave some threads hanging. Leave things ambiguous. This gives a DM freedom to choose how things play out. For example, with Eurig - say she gives him the sword and he goes off to serve in the King's military. Does he see it as a gift of love or friendship, or would he have expected something more personal? Maybe he never really wanted to serve as a Knight, and was contented to be a guardsman in his hometown - maybe he sees the sword as a goodbye, instead of a hello. Maybe he is even insulted. Or perhaps the sword ends up saving his life in combat. Perhaps there is a tiny imperfection in the weapon that ends up costing him his life. If you tie up the lose ends - if you say, "This was what happened between Gora and Eurig, the end," you're cutting your DM off at the knees.

Leaving loose ends gives your DM more than just character background - it gives him character hooks. Anybody named in your background is a potential NPC, a potential ally or enemy or question mark. You're helping the DM build his world. Keep that in mind as you tell Gora's story.

Also keep in mind that, because the story is from Gora's perspective, Gora only knows half of it. She only knows what she experiences or overhears. So leave ambiguity there, too, in case the DM wants to use it.

[Corinath]

Professional in the entertainment industry here.

Can't read the thread as I have to head out in five minutes, but here's some help. Three things I always recommend to people, particularly when they're in the midst of writers block.

1) When you're stuck, make a list of what wouldn't happen. Lots of times, your answer will be found in the unlikely. (Stolen from Pixar's rules for storytelling (http://io9.com/5916970/the-22-rules-of-storytelling-according-to-pixar))

2) Opposites. I can't emphasize how amazing opposites are in storytelling. Have a character who rescues a princess in a story? Make him HATE royalty. Then explore how to bring those two together. He an orphan who lives on the street? What if it's by choice and not because he has no other means? Is he about to go on a journey that reminds us that life is beautiful and needs to be explored? Inflict clinical depression and social anxiety. Master Swordsman? Make him left handed (so he may not even be trained properly), and of poor birthright (so he may not even have access to most trainers till a "wise sage" type sees through to his potential).

Opposites often time set up a beautiful journey. Even when talking about scenes beat by beat.

3) Everyone is the hero in their own story. The most compelling villains are the ones who believe, TRULY BELIEVE, that what they are doing is necessary for the good of the world. Even if their perspective has become distorted through time. No one ever wakes up thinking "I shall go out and do evil today", unless, somehow, they have become attached to the idea that chaos gives meaning in beauty to life. Even in that case, they still think they are doing greater good by inflicting small amounts of malice.

The truly manipulative rationalize inflicting pain by believing it enhances pleasure in orders of magnitude.

I briefly ran a Star Wars D20 campaign that centered on a lvl 18 Sith Lord who used the dark side of the force for the "greater good", by kidnapping children from a small town who were later found killed.

What no one knew was that the children were sacrificed to keep a world destroyer monster at bay. My villain was "saving the world" by killing children. The players killed his wife, assuming that evil was evil was evil ("But, she's a darksider!"). Villain raged, nearly killed all of them until a grandmaster lvl 20 Jedi (An Ewok, no less. See rule 2, above) they rescued earlier intervened. Then the story came out, and the heroes were tasked with killing the world destroyer.

Everyone is their own hero.

QUICK EDIT: If you're creating a character with a backstory for your DM, it's, obviously, best to leave certain things open ended.

Make him absolutely passionate about something. The more passionate it is, the easier it is to exploit the character into doing immoral things. His passion becomes the carrot on a stick.

If you're DMing the campaign, figure out all your player's "carrots" on the sticks. Then have fun.

[Telonius]

Ok... I solved my DM problem, but i still cant figure out the Character background part.

Her name is Gora Lee, And this is her story so far I'll put my problem at the bottom... It's a bit of a read and I'm sorry for that. mind any spelling or grammar mistakes not the final copy.

I woke in sweat again. Same nightmare I've been having since I was first thrown in prison for treason. It's the same one I had when I was a small girl. Running through a hall set ablaze, on the other end of which is a door way leading out. A large piece of burnt wall crumbles into the hall in front of me, tripping me up. I fall hard, landing on my back. As a look up through a hole in the ceiling, I see a huge burning beam falling toward me through the raging fire. I raise my arms in a petty attempt to save myself from being crushed, and just before impact, I wake up. I never learned what the dream meant, for all I know it could be a forgotten memory of my life before Carthon Lee found me.

Carthon was a very kind and humble man, he stuck close to what he knew and tried to avoid what he didn't. My first memory is of Carthon sitting over me with a wet rag, wiping my forehead. After giving me water and food he explained how he came upon me. He was traveling from his home town of Wray to the town, Baskin, which had a bigger shop for his smithing and more opportunity to make money. He said he said he found me unconscious along the side of the road. The only thing on me other then my torn and dirty clothes was an amulet, on the back a name, "Gora," and a date. The date seamed to match my age so I assumed them to my name and birthday, but I had no memory of where I got it, or even how I ended up on the side of the road. Despite not knowing who I was, he thought it best to stay with him as opposed to being put up in an orphanage, at least until I could remember where I came from. But I never did.

With no memory of who I was Carton took me in and raised me as though I was his own. he taught me much of what I know today including everything I know about blacksmithing, as well as how to turn a profit with just about anything. He gave me a lot of free time to do whatever I wanted. Even as I got older the only time he would want me helping him around the forge is when there were large orders of weapons armor and repairs, usually when military garrisons came through. This gave me a lot of time to play with the other children, and as I got older, a lot of time to get in trouble. Starting from a young age I was constantly getting into trouble for climbing things I shouldn't, plying on the rooftops, and being a general danger to myself. Needless to say these acts typically landed me in the barracks overnight, which is actually how I met my best friend (need better term here) Eurig, or at least he used to be until he threw me in here.

Eurig was a town guard in Baskin. We first met after I was pulled off the wall of the local brewery when I was 13. He was in training at the time, and the holder of the key to my cell. Despite my best efforts I was unable to liberate the key, or even strike an interesting conversation with him, he even called me a lowlife. However over the next few week I managed to gain a bit of a rapport with Eurig, convincing him I was not the evil, vile, waste of life he though me to be. we quickly became close friends, often spending most of my nights in jail laughing and talking about the most random things. When I wasn't running along the rooftops doing errands for Carthon, or aiding at the forge, much of my time was spent with Eurig. A few years had passed when I heard word of Eurig's training coming to an end, and I wanted to give him something as congratulations. I spent two months crafting the perfect sword for him. Forging and re-forging, sharpening to a razor's edge, and polishing to a near mirror finish. I didn't stop until the blade rang out as it cut anything it touched.

I don't know what to do for the presenting of the blade to Eurig as well as what happens immediately after. everything i have come up with so far is so ungodly cheesy and sappy it actually makes my head hurt. also feel free to critique what I've already written.

I think the question I'd ask for you is, how angsty do you want the backstory to be? It cut everything it touched - sounds almost like a fateful curse. The first use of it could be to kill an innocent - or take his own life, betray him or someone he cared about. Or, playfully "knights" her, only to "cut" her metaphorically by leaving, or finding someone else, growing apart, etc.

[KnotKnormal]

I think the question I'd ask for you is, how angsty do you want the backstory to be? It cut everything it touched - sounds almost like a fateful curse. The first use of it could be to kill an innocent - or take his own life, betray him or someone he cared about. Or, playfully "knights" her, only to "cut" her metaphorically by leaving, or finding someone else, growing apart, etc.

I actually plan on having Eurig use the sword on Gora when he arrests her. Not actually cutting her but threatening to.