DM Blues

[LordotTrinkets]

As probably any DM/ writer has or will experience, I seem to be going through a bout of writer's block. I've been doing a Play-By-Post for a nice healthy span of time and there's definitely more to come in the distance, but I'm just having trouble coming up with things right now.

Part of this seems to be cropping from the fact that I let the PCs run amok, giving me four separate stories to manage (currently trying to get other to meet with others, but that's slow going).

What should I do in this kind of straight? Is taking a day off for thinking up what to do the best course of action? Is there anything else that would be a good idea to do right now? What do you, fellow DM's, do when faced with this kind of indecision?

[Garimeth]

I don't PbP, but in a RL game I'd tell them my dilemma and explain I need them to stick together more so its easier to manage. Gotta be a nightmare in a PbP game.

[Cikomyr]

First of all, PC running amok is draining. You need to mentally sustain three or four story thread at the same time, and manage time between them. Professional tv shows have trouble doing it (the reason there is a trope named "Three lines, all waiting").

Second, it always helps if the Amok they run happens to relate to the overall plot you planned. The hardest thing to pull off is having your PC not needing the plot hooks anymore for being directly engaged in your game and plot.

But its also the most rewarding as a GM