Storytelling Tips

[Doubtful]

This is something I saw originally a few weeks ago and have been meaning to post ever since. I follow James Gurneys very interesting blog (GurneyJourney) and he posted this lot up, I've re-posted it pretty much as-was here, it's worth reading. After all role-play, be it digital, Pen and Paper or other, is simply collaborative storytelling.

One thing I would encourage amongst our players and writers is the idea of keeping it simple, at least to begin with. Some of the most memorable characters the server has hosted over the years were not the product of some outlandish and embellished back story, but humble ones who've grown and developed in accordance to their core beliefs and the events of the world around them rather than according to some predestined outline. After all it makes little sense for a character who has apparently undergone staggering trials, mastered epic magics, become master of a specialist trade, played dice with the gods, bested dragons and beaten demon princes at violin contests to be arriving in Sundren as mere level 3 waifs.

Another thing I'd encourage people to answer when working out their characters is 'Why are they here' What's brought your character to Sundren, are they looking for something, hiding from something, on an errand or chasing a dream? Even a simple motive can go a long way and having simple long term goals can really help drive things forward or create conflict. Having your character on an initial story arc will help them when it comes to interacting with other arcs.

Anyway, I hope others find this as useful as I did, I'm currently using these tips to flesh out some lore that certain players might be happy about!


Storytelling Tips:
(reposted from GurneyJourney)
If you're interested in telling stories, you'll love these lists of tips:

The first list comes from storyteller Joel Ben Izzy, a contributor to the podcast Snap Judgment. Like Moth Radio, This American Life, and StoryCorps, Snap Judgment is one of the best sources for stories told out loud.

1) Have a clear conflict
In its most basic form, a story is about someone who wants something, and either gets it or does not. That character's desire brings out the conflict that moves a story forward. The appearance of the conflict is the beginning, the resolution is its ending.

2) Keep it simple
You can always elaborate by adding details and nuance to a simple story. It is much harder - and less satisfying - to simplify a complicated story. To make a long story short is to ruin it. Find the simplest version of your tale and build on that.

3) Take your time when you tell the story
Beginning storytellers often worry about their audiences getting bored and sometimes try to avoid this by speeding up their telling. Unfortunately, this has just the opposite of the desired effect. Take your time in telling the story, let it breathe, and your audience will appreciate it.

4) Remember the sensory details in your story…
Your words are making a world real, and to do so you need to bring in all elements of that world - sounds, sights, smells, tastes and feelings. These are what root your listener in the world of the story you are telling.

5) …but don't get lost in extraneous details
…because extraneous details can make a story boring. The problematic details tend to be expository, giving information that is unnecessary at the time. Give your listeners information on a “need to know” basis, providing just enough to understand what happens next.

6) Every story is a mystery
A well told story is one where you can stop at any point and have the reader wonder “….and then what happened?” Each time a piece of the mystery is solved, another one appears, and that's what keeps us listening until we reach the ending. If you find yourself lecturing, step back and find the mystery.

7) Know the ending of your story
Know your ending line. And after you say it, stop.

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More about storyteller Joel Ben Izzy at his website. The second group is from Pixar's story artist Emma Coates. I made a few slight edits for clarity.
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PIXAR STORY RULES
#1: You admire a character more for trying than for succeeding.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about until you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___. OR: Establish norm. Upset norm. Complicate & Escalate. Climax. Resolution.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the first thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it's not working, let go and move on - it'll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How do you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

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Via Pixar Touch. Also, check out the book: The Pixar Touch
Joel Ben Izzy's recordings: The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness: A True Story

[wangxiuming]

Great post! Thumbs up.

[Snowmane]

I would also encourage folks to use the character bios section of the wiki to chronicle their PC's story. RP posts get lost so quickly. I personally like to add links to my RP posts from my character bio to make it easier for folks who are interested to see the development of my characters.

[GodBeastX]

Great post, Doubtful!

It's amazing how different I am at GMing and writing these days than I used to be back in the day. Of course, people can tell when I'm around because I probably should named [DM] Fool.

I think what helped was running impromptu stories all over the place, from MMO Guilds, to the fact I probably play 6 games of P&P a week (Virtual Table Top for the win).

I have found from players they enjoy three major things:

1) NPC Personalities

It's easy to have allies who just point the way to things like random walking characters in a CRPG that have one liners. Or it's easy to just have a bad guy who is evil. However, when you go the extra mile and give them personalities and influence on a PC, for better or worse, people tend to enjoy it that much more. To quote what someone said about one of my villains recently:

"I don't know whether to hug them or put a sword through their stomach."

This all comes down to one major question someone should ask about an NPC. That question is Why? Why are they doing anything they are doing? Why does that antagonist stand off against the PCs? I am evil is a terrible excuse. Even Demons have motivators.

2) Feeling Useful

Something I noticed a lot of GM/DMs do in plots is try to turn OFF someone's power and cripple PCs. If someone is fire spells, they'll throw fire immunity on things. If someone is great at intimidation, they'll make someone fearless. I have always felt, especially in GURPS, if someone puts time and effort, point or feats, whatever the value of a character is, into an ability, that ability SHOULD BE USEFUL! People like to contribute, and they like to have an impact.

It doesn't mean always being successful, but there is a fine line between challenging a PC and smiting a PC.

3) Choices!

Why do we RP instead of hopping in video games and running along that story? We like to choose what we do! And as a GM your best tool is the ability to adapt to what a person might choose.

When I first started GMing in P&P again (It had been awhile) I spent hours upon hours laying out plot and story, putting players into it and trying to keep them going. I learned one major thing from this...

Players never do what you expect them to do.

Sometimes that one nobody NPC you put in the game turns out to be hours of RP for someone. To give an example, I had a cafe clerk who was a pothead... somehow interacting with this NPC was two hours of play for the PCs when I figured it'd be a 15 minute scene. That's players for you!

What is even funnier is when they come up with whole plots on their own! Sometimes it's best to let PCs fly free and just built up story around that. It's a sandbox, so let them play in it!



So these guidelines for story, I feel very much. I may as well write my own list of DOs and DON'Ts as storytellers/GMs!



1) Do give motive!

Motives help you respond to whatever you throw at an NPC. If you know why and how your NPCs think, you should know how they will react to anything the PCs do! It doesn't take much effort, and sometimes the cliche can be the most fun! Nothing like a dwarf whose whole motive for aiding a PC is because they're hoping the PC will buy them a keg. CLiche and Cheesy don't mean the same thing!

2) Write the End First, but write ANYTHING after that!

There's no need to write out entire plots. Writing two or three sentences tends to be enough to fill in an entire story in ways you would never have imagined.

See how you want your campaigns to end, but throw together scenarios you simply think are cool, even if you're not about to use them. You never know when you'll borrow ideas and intermingle them on the fly!

"Huh, they decided to trek this way... I did have an idea for something in a woods... I guess I can use that here, I just gotta change it from a ghost to a zombie!"

3) Use the rule of Cool!

Plausible is less important than cool. That's my feeling for life. I'd rather someone as a player come up with some ridiculously awesome way to go about something and worry less about whether it's able to be pulled off, then award a bonus just for it being a good idea!

This encourages players to be entertaining and involved in events unfolding. When you let that wild idea shine, it can be fun for everyone involved.


4) Don't have NPCs speak to each other too much

This is like having cutscenes play out in video games! Shit gets old! As my favorite video game reviewer Yahtzee would say "Boy, I wish -I- was having that much fun!"

People are there to play!


5) Always keep going!

People are always afraid of whether someone will like a plot or hate it. This is why there are 1000x more players in RP than GM/DMs. Really, people are NOT that hard to entertain. Don't be afraid. Some of the best plots I've been in could be summed up with "Some goblins were near a village..." and we have fun!

Writer's block is USUALLY something akin to "Players won't like this... what can I think of that's COOL!?" guess what? Writers, directors, GMs, game designers and more, all work on multiple products. We all have our favorites, that doesn't mean each one will be better than the last or award winning. But since the point is RP, story is just an excuse to RP!

As one of my favorite writers would say "Getting over writer's block is just a matter of sitting down and writing anything, despite how you think people will take it. It'll usually flow free and branch into something you can use!"


6) Have fun!

GMing for people has been a rewarding experience for me. So rewarding I had trouble becoming a player in other games. It's fun to see your madness become reality that people enjoy. Even the stupidest things I came up with!

"God, people will hate me for this..."

I say that a lot to myself before I do things. So far Lotus is the only one who HATES MEH! I still love em though.

[Fury]

Most awesome post ever, I need to save all of this, on every device I have.