We’ve decided that Tuesday’s theme will be advice for both prospective & newbie role playing game players. Whether it’s helping you to give playing stories a shot to tips to making you a better player, Tuesdays will be a forum for you here at StoryTogether.
Today’s theme centers on the role of creativity in being a valued player at the table. There is no denying that uber-talented creative forces both have a place at the table as players and bring tremendous value to the story. But today’s post is all about keeping that skill set in perspective and not letting it deter or intimidate you from simply being yourself.
When you’re new to playing stories, it can be challenging to immediately grasp the nuances on where to interject yourself into the action, what to say, what choices to make etc. And we’ve talked to some players who tell us that when they started, they were hesitant to release the creative forces within because of their lack of comfort level with those decisions.
And that’s where creativity comes in at the beginning. The reason why those all-star players are s o comfortable being creative is because they’ve come to grasp all those various decision-making nuances like old habit, thus freeing them up to focus on how just they want to take it to the next level.
So StoryTogether’s advice for new players is to simply, for the time being, forget about “being creative” and instead begin with asking yourself “what would I do in this situation?” That simple question is a crucial building block for new players as it’s a straightforward device that empowers anyone of any skill set to be able to project themselves into virtually any situation and story.
Like riding a bike, playing an instrument, or writing books, being a player of stories takes time to build a solid skill set. And the best way to learn is to remove the silly pressure of the perceptions of other’s excellence and simply focus on taking that first step.
And in this case, we recommend that first step be forgetting about “being creative” and, for now, just ask yourself WWID? (what would I do?)…
