Often times when I'm planning out a campaign I eventually get to that point where I can't think of what encounters or story elements I want to include next. Whenever that happens I have a tendency to watch games being played on Youtube. Seeing how players behave in games usually gives me an idea of what to do next.
Other than that I just leave for a while and hope I can think of something while I'm distracted.
I like to write lists. Jay Little suggested making alphabetical lists of possible plot hooks, and so I'll do that if I can't think of anything specific to write. Just write A-Z on a piece of paper, and then write a word or a short phrase for each letter, each of which starts with that letter. Gives me 26 "things" to work with, and incorporate into a campaign.
It is also useful for running a game, just make up a quick list and then use that list while you run the game, on the fly, in response to what the players do. So sometimes if I get writer's block, I just leave it as "space" for the players to fill in-game.
Edited by awayputurwpnhttps://triumphdespair.wordpress.com/edge-of-the-empire-alphabet/
Look under Heists, Operations, Quests. The other items could provide you with something too.
Nice!
Also, another thing I do when I get writers' block: run a published module
Take a shower! When I am stumped and need to clear out, I will go take a good hot shower and let creativity unfold. I figure if I could take about 20 showers a day, I could solve most of the world's major problems. Alas, they will not let me do this during work hours...
Go somewhere different. A laptop is invaluable for being able to go to somewhere different and work out writer's block. Typically I go to the local coffee house (cause with WiFi, I can go look something up if I have an odd inspiration).
Rummage through old modules from other systems. Not to copy wholesale, but to spark an idea... and maybe lift a name or two with attitude.
Look back at where we have gone recently with an analytical mind. It is easy to fall into doing the same thing over and over without realizing it. Then I try to think of something that doesn't involve any of those tropes, memes, ideas, plots, etc. Then go take a hot shower and let it unfold.
I usually go for a long walk, weather permitting (and sometimes even if it doesn't). Just putting one foot in front of the other while my brain riffs on whatever half-finished idea I've been working on. Or I sit down by the keyboard with a glass of single malt and relax and let my mind drift. It's been getting the job done for 20+ years now.
My best ideas come to me in the places where I have no access to writing implements - while bathing, or driving. I've gotten out of some sticky plot details doing both of those. I can only imagine what kinds of things I could come up with were I able to do both at the same time!
Also, I'm more than happy to steal good ideas from my players. I take plenty of notes, and sometimes I'll change a storyline to fit their suppositions, especially if what they think is happening is better than what I had planned!
The human mind gets a burst of creativity when it experiences something new - they've measured this by observing neural activity to certain parts of the brain. The research strongly suggests getting yourself out of your routine and doing something brand new will spur your creative juices. Of course this probably doesn't apply to 100% of people, but something as simple as altering your pre-writing routine could yield good results.
What works for me:
Hitting up my favorite image haunts like http://fscape.tumblr.com/ or some of the many digital maps I've picked up over the years
That’s pretty good.
My favorite SF artist is Chris Foss. He’s the guy who got me hooked. As a result of this comment and spending way too much time browsing that collection, I have now ordered one copy each of the four books currently available of his art.
Thanks!
Work backwards, think of an exciting scene/battle and work backwards. Think about what scenario can set things up to get to get the PCs to that scene/battle.
Also, when thinking about a scene/battle, ask yourself this:
1) Create an exciting villain
2) Create an exciting backdrop/visual (Lava exploding around them, star destroyers crashing into each other, beautiful sunset).
3) Comedic Relief (This can be a funny character that breaks the tension occasionally (ewok)).
4) Intrigue (this could be a dark mysterious character or device that motivates the party to seek answers due to curiosity).
Don't get hung up on 'Why would this be? Why are they there?..." think about that AFTER you have the awesome scene/setting.
I usually have a broad outline of the campaign written down. Then start with small sections at a time. As the game progresses I will jot down ideas about future sections of the campaign, basically creating a living document. OneNote works great for this. The file is linked to a file in my dropbox so I can access it any time inspiration strikes!
You have a lot of good tips here already (I've used that shower one quite often for college papers; it's gold!). Here's a few extras:
1) If you've been gaming for a while, look at campaigns you've run in the past. My current group is getting a small taste of a Star Wars mini-campaign I ran one summer, and so far they are eating it up. All I did was take the concept and turn it into a hook. The rest just clicked into place and I make up a hole new campaign hook based off of one little thing.
2) If the campaign has been going on for a while, review what you've written up to date. Sometimes, you'll realize that something hasn't gotten much love beyond the introduction, and it's surprisingly easy to tie it in. In my current case, the first NPC the group took a job from hasn't made an appearance since Game 1 (we're in double digits now; slowed down by a playtest and reduced to once a month sessions due to a player's home life). I was recently hitting a wall with the group, and looking at the notes, I said "Hey, this guy hasn't been around in a while. Let's bring him back!"
Hilarity has ensued.
3) Any time I am running a game, I always look for source material. The last time I ran Deadlands, I grabbed a cope of Tombstone and 3:10 to Yuma from the library for "background noise" while I wrote out the adventure. I was looking at the webcomic "The Zombie Hunters" when I ran an All Flesh Must Be Eaten game.
For Star Wars, I spend some free time reading comics/novels, watching the TV shows/films, and gawking at artwork (fanart and official). Sometimes, I just look at other sci-fi series and get ideas; part of the story line my group is working with is inspired by The Old Republic and Phantasy Star Online.
On the art side: sometimes, seeing something really cool just sparks something, and you just HAVE to write it out.
4) Do something different. Not going to lie, I've dealt with a LOT of GM burnout (dealing with it a bit right now as I'm the perma-GM), and just needed a chance of pace. Sometimes that meant turning our game night into a large round of Cards Against Humanity. Sometimes I'd spend my lunch breaks at work reading a Marvel comic instead of writing the next session. I've been caught playing chess against myself when I hit a snag, just to give myself something to "focus" on while the backburner plugs away at the project.
Recently one of my players offered to give me a break by running a game (hasn't gotten far due to scheduling), but sometimes getting that new perspective by doing something drastically different can fix everything.
Those are some of the ways I get around it. I hope that helps for you. Good luck!
Housework and lawn care are my go to activities for brainstorming. Mowing the lawn is especially good for spawning creative ideas. Often what I do is start an in-character conversation (in my head, not out loud). I'll play through it for a while and sometimes I'll get some good ideas from it. If this sounds a bit schizophrenic... please don't report me.
So, there is one thing that happens to me, whether I like it or not. I have certain favourite characters that I’ve played over the years, and it takes me a really long time to go to sleep at night — almost always over an hour to slowly shut my brain down, one section at a time.
So, like it or not, one of the things that occurs is that I start thinking about how one of my favourite characters would handle a certain scene from a book or movie or TV show that I read/saw recently. Or maybe current world events. And then I go off down the rabbit hole of what the consequences might be, and how they would react to those, and so on.
There are usually multiple cycles of this, sometimes with the same character in various situations, sometimes with various characters in the same situation. It all depends on which direction my brain decides to go wandering off in.
Yes — This process happens every single night. The algorithm might look something like this (written in a language kind of like Bourne-Again-SHell):
But this does sometimes give me good ideas of interesting twists to throw into various games.
I like to hone my brainstorms, too. One idea could actually result in several different storylines if I reskin them and tweak minor details. For example, we do like our chase scenes in Star Wars. Just swapping swoops for kybucks and underground maintenance tunnels for desert canyons and it's like new.
[edit: this is the essence of Set Pieces, really.]
Edited by themenschYep. And you can go all iconic and Lucas if you want. Think of an adventure arc and three different style terrains. Do different things in each of the styles. Use a ship for transition, viola!
As I make my living by creative writing, I can hardly afford writer's block, since I so do like to eat. Some good advice in here already. One thing that works for me is taking your mind of the subject at hand, i.e. do something completely different. Physical exertion often helps me - I sometimes let my mind wander when swimming or running. Let your subconscious do the heavy lifting.
Always write anything that resembles an idea down. It might be bad, or might become the seed for something good. Go through your old ideas, see if some of them ring a bell.
There are lots of creativity techniques out there, brainstorming, mind mapping and so on. Learn about a few and see if they work for you (in my experience, it is different strokes for different folk).
I know it sounds trite, but just write. You can always delete, but if you do not write, you have nothing. Create stuff when you are under no pressure for later use. Flex those creative muscles!
Creativity needs input; always feed it. Read, watch, listen. Take notes. Try to find out why you like what you like and how to emulate it.
This is all such great stuff. Thanks a lot guys, I'm not much of a writer right now so I tend to hit the block quite often. I will definitely be writing these tips down for future reference.
When I'm blocked, I like to go to other media for inspiration. For example, I'll spend a few minutes surfing IMDB for a movie with a cool plotline and convert it over by substituting in Star Wars characters and locales. Even really popular movie plots that you think would be immediately obvious become difficult to recognize when you shift the genre far enough. Using a song you like as an idea seed can also work well, providing both plot (from the lyrics) and mood/theme (from the melody) -- this can work for a one shot, or even an entire campaign if you have an album in mind.
Plus, you'll blow your players' minds if, down the road a while, you tell them what the adventure was based on ;-)
Edited by hyperfocalTry thinking of things related to what you want to run
I've been coming up with a campaign for my players and I've got a good 3-4 pages for a new campaign lined up for them, complete with a few big fights etc.
Stop trying to write a plot and just look at your characters.
They have weaknesses, ideals, and connections.
Write down a few things that would apply pressure to those things. It doesn't have to be life-or-death, just something to screw with the character. Maybe visualize it as a scene or even piece of a scene.
In that little scenario-fragment, look for a choice the PC has to make.
That is your core. From there build a plot around it, ideally upping the stakes.
Stop trying to write a plot and just look at your characters.
This right here - this is the the root of the story. A quick look at your pc's motivations/duties/obligations can and often should fuel the ongoing story.
Often times when I'm planning out a campaign I eventually get to that point where I can't think of what encounters or story elements I want to include next. Whenever that happens I have a tendency to watch games being played on Youtube. Seeing how players behave in games usually gives me an idea of what to do next.
Other than that I just leave for a while and hope I can think of something while I'm distracted.
Start writing a scene. Anywhere, any situation, and just let it grow from there. Often as not, you'll end up with something you can use.