I've recently begun playing the wildly popular game Dungeons and Dragons. Being the only player in my party with storytelling experience I was chosen to be the dungeon master. The dungeon master is the person who guides the other players through a world of their design, sends them on quest, and keeps things on track as much as possible.
As I was molding the world my friends players would be dropped into I found that I had to keep a lot of pieces missing. I had background and lore, an end goal, conflict, NPC's, and a map. The body of the story or the "meat" was up to the players. This was their world to play with, I just made it for them. As the weeks went by I realized that this game required me to really stretch my improvisational story telling skills.
Right from the beginning when a player got into an awkward situation, rolled to kill themselves, and failed so bad they killed someone else. To one party member deciding that instead of going on a quest that they'd stay behind and try and sleep with an elven couple. My friends have stolen, flirted, and fought their way through man story breaking scenarios, but somehow I real it back in.
That is the beauty of DnD. You write you're story through the eyes and adventures of your friends. The characters aren't people of your own design with morals and obligations that you decide. These characters are extensions of your friends and by their very nature unpredictable.
I would encourage any aspiring writer to sink their mind into this game. Create a new world, laugh with friends, and play. As a DM you'll find yourself being able to make world decision quicker, become more creative with characters, and have more advanced world designs.
So get out there writers! New worlds and adventures await!
Thank you for listening to this little tail about how DnD has helped me become a better writer. I hope you all have fun on any campaigns that you begin!
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