Articles from September 2011
Posted by Ravyn on September 29, 2011
As with getting from setting to plot, getting from character to plot is often helped by asking yourself questions and seeing if one shakes loose a few ideas. You’ll note that many of these questions are similar to the setting to plot questions; there’s a lot in common between the thought processes. Note also that [...]
Categories: For Roleplayers, For Writers, GM Advice, Inspiration, Player Advice, Plot, Technique |
Tags: character, Inspiration, plot, roleplaying, writing | 
1 Comment »
Posted by Ravyn on September 28, 2011
In the first post in my series on getting from a character to a plot, I alluded to the idea that you couldn’t do it with just a character and nothing else whatsoever. A character in a vacuum is no fun whatsoever. She touches nothing, changes nothing, is changed by nothing; at best, she wanders [...]
Categories: For Roleplayers, For Writers, GM Advice, Inspiration, Player Advice, Plot, Technique |
Tags: character, Inspiration, plot, roleplaying, writing | 5 Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 27, 2011
As I noted in my introductory post, one of the most vital parts of getting from a character to a plot is having a character strong enough to push said plot. But what sort of character is it that can do that?
They need to be the type that will do things. This is one of [...]
Categories: Characterization, For Roleplayers, For Writers, GM Advice, Inspiration, Player Advice, Plot, Technique |
Tags: character, Inspiration, plot, roleplaying, writing | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 26, 2011
Last week, I talked about some ways to get to a plot when what you have is a setting. Sometimes this works—and sometimes you need something else. My favorite tactic is deriving a plot from a character, whether than plot is something big and overarching or just enough complication and consequence to cover a session [...]
Categories: For Roleplayers, For Writers, GM Advice, Inspiration, Plot, Technique |
Tags: character, Inspiration, plot, roleplaying, writing | 4 Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 25, 2011
Finally, a question!
Tu Eanna asks,
Dear Generic Villain,
I am doing some freelance work for a small evil enterprise, and while I have no qualms about behaving in ways that would ping as evil to the average normal, to say nothing of the hero sorts, I also don’t want to fall into the trap [...]
Categories: Ask GV, Generic Villain |
Tags: advice for antagonists, Ask GV, feigning evil, Generic Villain | No Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 24, 2011
Earlier this week, I talked about semi-generic characters, ones repeatedly used as often as the [character of a certain type] slot will accommodate them. While I don’t have too many characters of this type—all right, unless you count the NPCs borrowed by enough of my groupmates for their games that they might as well be [...]
Categories: Impractical Applications |
Tags: Generic Wyld Hunt, impractical applications, semi-generic characters | 1 Comment »
Posted by Ravyn on September 22, 2011
Let’s say you’re one of those people who specializes in worldbuilding. You’ve got a grand world laid out, some combination of metaphysics and cultures and maps and history and… whatever, really. If you’re lucky, you’ve got a few characters, or at least an idea what kind of archetypes are going to be wandering around. But [...]
Categories: For Roleplayers, For Writers, GM Advice, Inspiration, Plot, Technique |
Tags: Inspiration, plot, roleplaying, setting, writing | 7 Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 21, 2011
Every now and then, you just need a character(s) from a certain group. Such and such a cult. Such and such a location. Such and such an army. The personalities don’t matter as much, just as long as the characters have the appropriate background and will deal with the group in a certain way. Sure, [...]
Categories: Characterization, Characters in the world, For Roleplayers, For Writers, GM Advice, Secondary characters, Tactics |
Tags: quick character use, roleplaying, secondary characters, semi-generic characters, writing | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 20, 2011
“Art is a conversation, not a patent office.” –Reality Hunger: A Manifesto.
Sounds good: I’m ready to converse.
Take that first quote. A conversation, not a patent office. I’ve been thinking something like this for a while, though I never really managed to put it into words—perhaps it started when I started poking around webcomics and reading [...]
Categories: Concepts, For Roleplayers, For Writers, Technique, The Real World |
Tags: art, collaboration, conversation, Reality Hunger, roleplaying, writing | 2 Comments »
Posted by Ravyn on September 19, 2011
I find Reality Hunger: A Manifesto , a book calling for “a blurring of any distinction between fiction and nonfiction”, on the new nonfiction table one Wednesday morning at the library. There are things I should probably be reading, but it takes dibs: I love this book by the time I’ve finished the first chapter. [...]
Categories: Concepts, For Writers, Reviews and technique, The Real World |
Tags: plagiarism, Reality Hunger, reviews, writing | No Comments »