1. Don’t wait for inspiration or a great idea, just write! I know time is an issue but we all have 24 hours in a day. We can find time in the crannies. Between activities. 10 minutes here, 15 there. Bit by bit we can accumulate a lot of stuff. Use what you have at reach.
I use my cellphone for most of my writing and note taking. Google docs and OneNote are free and very helpful for that. Start small. A NPC, a monster a location, and grow from there. Build on top of what you made before.
2. Keep at it. Practice makes it less sucky.
Nothing is perfect, and seeking perfection will drive you insane. Done is better than perfect. Try to work everyday, no matter what. Routine is important to get your creativite muscles accustomed to the work.
Nothing is perfect, and seeking perfection will drive you insane. Done is better than perfect. Try to work everyday, no matter what. Routine is important to get your creativite muscles accustomed to the work.
Set reachable goals, like 500 words or something. You can increase this as you get more comfortable. No matter what, reach the goal. Don’t censure yourself. Write even if you think it’s not perfect. It’s a draft. You can improve it later.
3. Keep a notebook always near you.
They are perfect to take notes and to write down those ideas you have while doing something totally unrelated to gaming. BTW, do boring stuff. This lets your brain rest and help it germinate ideas. You will have great ideas doing the dishes!
They are perfect to take notes and to write down those ideas you have while doing something totally unrelated to gaming. BTW, do boring stuff. This lets your brain rest and help it germinate ideas. You will have great ideas doing the dishes!
When that happens, write it down. I use OneNote for that, but anything similar an analog will do fine. I use cellphone apps because these things are always near us.
4. Keep a record of your process.
It really helps to record how you are doing. This keeps me motivated. I set a goal to do something everyday, and when I do it, I mark an big X on the calender. After weeks of marking X everyday, I feel very happy and all I need is to keep going!
It really helps to record how you are doing. This keeps me motivated. I set a goal to do something everyday, and when I do it, I mark an big X on the calender. After weeks of marking X everyday, I feel very happy and all I need is to keep going!
Keep a journal of your process as well, write about what you’re working on, what you’ve done, what you read, watched and all. It’s a creative record of your journey. After a year or so, look back at it. It will tell you your story and how much you’ve travelled!
5. Show your work. Post about what you are doing here, on a blog, anywhere people can see it. This not only help you get feedback and help you feel you have something to show for your work, but it also helps your audience find you. When you’re done, they’ll be there already.
And don’t keep secrets. If you learned something useful, share it with others. People will appreciate you and your work much more and they will share their secrets with you too. Everybody will gain from this.
Even if you are only starting and learning how to do something. Learn publicly and share what you learned. You will find many friends to embark on this adventure with you. And some helpful hands to point to the right direction as well!
6. Learn with others. You are free to learn from anyone. Seek the stuff you really like and look at it with new eyes. Why do you like it? How is it done? What can you learn from it? What can you steal? Do that with all your favorites. Steal from all of them.
And combine all you stole with somebody unique that’s yours. Your experiences, your views, your passions. Don’t worry about making a “copy” of something. We can’t make perfect copies even if we tried. And that’s good. Find out what inspired those that inspire you, and study that.
7. Consume good stuff to make good stuff.
Play more games. Different games. Good games. Don’t limit yourself with just the think you know you like. Try new things. Ask around for games other people like and experiment with them. You can learn new things from all of them.
Play more games. Different games. Good games. Don’t limit yourself with just the think you know you like. Try new things. Ask around for games other people like and experiment with them. You can learn new things from all of them.
I love OSR games for example, but I play, read and study all sorts of games, including story games, for example, and incorporate what I learn from them in my games too. Look for the source of the inspiration, go deeper if you can, look for what inspired your favorite stories.
And this goes from all sources of inspiration, not only other #TTRPG games, but literature, movies, cartoons, comics and everything else! What comes in, comes out.
8. Accept criticism and ignore insults.
We are not perfect and our creations won’t be either. Everything can be improved. And people will tell you were you could be better. Don’t ignore this feedback, but control your impulses to immediately react to them.
We are not perfect and our creations won’t be either. Everything can be improved. And people will tell you were you could be better. Don’t ignore this feedback, but control your impulses to immediately react to them.
We tend to defend our work fiercely, but try to wait a few days to hit reply and think about the critic you got. Maybe you can learn something from it and make something better next time. Be polite and thank people for their feedback. They took their time to try to contribute.
However, ignore insults and criticism that do not offer anything useful and constructive. If you can, delete and even block these from your view. You don’t need that. No one does.
Finally, be faithful to yourself and what you want from your creations. Always.
Finally, be faithful to yourself and what you want from your creations. Always.
9. Be interested to be interesting.
You need to really be interested in your work for it to be interesting to others. Making something you really like helps make it something others will like too. Additionally, be interested in other people’s work too.
You need to really be interested in your work for it to be interesting to others. Making something you really like helps make it something others will like too. Additionally, be interested in other people’s work too.
#TTRPG is a social game, and the creation of it is also social. If want to be part of a community, you have to be interested in that community. Talk about the stuff you like, creators you admire, share what others are producing. Lift each other up!
10. Use your ending for new beginnings.
Keep the momentum going. If you’re keeping the note book with you all the time, you’ll have tons of ideas. After you finish something, start another one immediately. Be like a shark and always keep swimming!
Keep the momentum going. If you’re keeping the note book with you all the time, you’ll have tons of ideas. After you finish something, start another one immediately. Be like a shark and always keep swimming!
If you need an idea to start another project, look for what you left unanswered in yout last one. If you talked about a city in the east where everyone wear masks, write about the City of Masks. Keep a record of the possibilities.
Bonus tips!
The action of writing, even without clear ideas, kickstart new ideas in your head.
Divide your project in small chunks so you can process it little by little.
Playtest as much as you can, with as many different people as you can.
Create the stuff you want to play!
The action of writing, even without clear ideas, kickstart new ideas in your head.
Divide your project in small chunks so you can process it little by little.
Playtest as much as you can, with as many different people as you can.
Create the stuff you want to play!
My latest project, #LostInTheFantasyWorld was born out of a #PamphletJam on itchio, began really small, based on something that I love, was influenced by many creators, playtested and became something much bigger and better!
From a pamphlet to a this: kck.st/2SUeofJ
From a pamphlet to a this: kck.st/2SUeofJ
