Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats over Twitter posted 22 tips/rules to storytelling and as I was reading though them, I immediately thought of how this could be taken and applied to any Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Below you'll find the list of the tips/rules between each and an application of how those tips can be incorporated into a campaign.
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
I’ve had a few characters that I’ve gotten to play as before, and some of the best stories that I have from them are trying out of the box ideas. Most notably, our group were trying to revive a party-member who had been killed by a nightmare (horse-like creature not dream) and we spent at least an hour of time trying all these different solutions to try to help him when we could have just let him be.
#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.
As a DM this is probably the hardest thing to work with at first because you have to find out what sort of personalities are brought to the table and then be able to adapt anything you have planned to fit those personalities in some way. This can also be one of your greatest tools too, as you can potentially lead the group a little bit without taking control of the story. Your goal is to make the players feel like they’ve arrived at the situation on their own and not to have them feel like they’ve been forced there (though sometimes, a more direct method is needed).
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.
More often than not, when I try coming up with a story line with a point A and point B in mind, it becomes convoluted, and I end up re-tuning the story to make it seem like a more natural progression.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
This is a very Disney formula for storytelling, but it works:
Once upon a time there was a coyote. Every day the coyote would go up to the tallest hill in the desert and look up at the moon. One day, the coyote there was an eclipse that covered the moon. Because of that the coyote began howling in hopes the moon would return. Because of that other coyotes howled to quite the coyote on the hill. Because of that the coyote believed that they were all trying to make the moon return, until finally the moon returned. Therefore, all coyotes howl at the moon to ensure it stays visible in the sky.
A simple formula, but it is now something that has a point a and a point be with some basic details that bring everything together.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
Even if something you planned to stand in the way of the party is funny, clever, exciting, etc. if it impedes the story, it may be best to skip it for now and perhaps revisit/retool it for later.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
When I’m a playable character (PC) I try to role-play (RP) the character as best I can which means you need to develop out a backstory, personality traits, and mentality that will make you act different in various situations. A good way to make PCs think outside the box for a solution is to throw these opposing situations so in theory the solution isn’t always breach and clear.
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
This is probably the one of the things that makes DMing easier. If you can figure out where you want the party to end up you can plan better for what sorts of situations would get the party there without forcing them to get to that point. I also use this when planning sessions too since you want to end at a point that will keep the party hooked and allows yourself time to plan based on the current plans of the party. With one of the campaigns I’m running I have a general idea for where I want it to end, but as the PCs continue session-to-session, the ending may change slightly based on new ideas or actions by the group, but nothing extreme that any actions they’ve done would have nothing to do with the campaign.
#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.
Things happen, NPCs die when they weren’t supposed to, characters die before the end of the story, boss battles last shorter than expected, dice rolls are either going fantastic or horrible. As a DM you are planning for a game of chance so you have to work with whatever happens even if your perfect story crumbles a bit.
#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.
I’ve never tried this before, but when I get stuck in planning, I usually just read some articles, look through the monster manuals and try to draw some inspiration. I’d have to see if this list would work next time I need to come up with a fresh idea.
#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.
This I’ve done a handful of times. Take parts of adventures I’ve listened to, movies I’ve watched, plays, etc. and try to incorporated those elements without making it blatantly obvious that it is inspired by other works. Your goal is to use someone else’s concept and make it your own not to plagiarize.
#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.
No matter how you go about getting organized, if you have a good idea make sure you document it somewhere because it is quite easy to forget that idea. Rather than the negative view of “fixing it”, once you get your ideas documented you can start enhancing it. This tip is better for group DMing which I’ve never taken part in, but it’s always nice to spitball ideas with someone outside of the campaign if needed.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
This one reads to me as don’t be afraid to think outside the box. You may want to go with your initial thoughts, but your group may expect it, so to keep your party on their toes, be willing to try new things to prevent things from getting stale, dull or redundant.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.
Whether it’s an NPC or a PC it is more enjoyable to everyone if your character has some personality more than just flowing with the group. Going back to #1, if you want your character to be memorable, having a personality for your character rather than falling back and following the group can help.
#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.
This is something I hadn’t really addressed before with my campaigns entirely. I generally think of this statement more as a what is the relevance of what I’m showing to the party to their campaign. So as you describe a situation, location, a tale, etc. be sure that it you’ve considered what relevance it could have to the party.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
Putting yourself in the shoes/boots of the PCs is a great way to determine the possible outcomes for any given situation. Use what you know about the characters to your advantage. If you know that your Paladin is brash and will not avoid fights, you can usually assume that diplomacy will not be the solution and that you should probably plan out the encounter. This kind of viewpoint also will allow you to develop situations where there can be multiple solutions.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don't succeed? Stack the odds against.
If there is nothing riding on the situation, it is hard to motivate a group. If a party thinks that any given encounter will be difficult but will not kill anyone, they will tend to just roll with it. If stakes are added such as someone dying, a fugitive getting away, not getting to the king on time to prevent a wrongful execution or an assassination, etc. the party will have to get creative and will feel more engaged to ensure their wishes will happen.
#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.
This definitely is something that can be used for a PC and a DM. In a campaign, if your party comes across something and they can’t get through it right away, it is just as easy to come back to it later and perhaps some new ideas will arise. As a DM you may have this great idea for a tournament, a dungeon, a trap, etc. but you can’t work all the logistics out right away, like with anything that requires intense thought, it can be best to walk away and come back to it again so you don’t finish an idea burnt out and only half as good as it could have become.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
I had to look into this one a little more as the concept didn’t click initially. The explanation I found was more around while you are developing your story out, it isn’t going to be perfect and play-ready off the presses, but it will require you to do your best while developing and not to fret about things that go awry that cause you to need to refine the story. Just as I said back in #8, thing will happen that are outside of your control and you just have to roll with the punches.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
As a DM there is a great balance of keeping your party safe and keeping them honest with themselves that any encounter could be their last. At any point, if the party is getting a little cocky, throwing a hit/crit in when unexpected or making the DC a bit tougher to create a little tension is good. However, this does need balance as everything does. When a character is in peril, having a magical hole appear that releases them from trouble is a cheat and while the person appreciates it, it doesn’t create that feeling that life/death could come at any moment.
While it may be nice to have a divine intervention to save the party from a wipe, the party could just as easily have fled the encounter. This balance is what helps PCs be honest with themselves about what actions their character would take. Would they be heroic and hold off a group while the party flees, would they actually charge headstrong into a hoard of enemies, or is their lifelong goal impeded by their actions since their own missions end up in their own hands.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d'you rearrange them into what you DO like?
This exercise could even expand outside of movies. If you’ve played in a few campaigns, take a situation, a session, etc. that you didn’t like and determine what you would do to make it more enjoyable and perhaps even retool it so you can use it at some point for a future campaign. It can never hurt to have situations ready to go in case your party strays from the projected storyline.
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can't just write ‘cool'. What would make YOU act that way?
As the DM you really are the Director and Narrator of the story so once you have your cast you need to work with them and get them to relate to the role that they’re in. If you want a character to feel uneasiness from the situation that they’re in how would you relay that feeling to them. You have to do a little digging and find the pieces that would make you feel that way and figure how to incorporate it into your story.
#22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
This one is pretty much the cornerstone of building any campaign. When you are starting up a campaign, you should know what the mission of the story is. Are the PCs on a voyage to collect taxes, to recover and artifact, to defeat an enemy, or to prevent a mistake from being made? Regardless, the mission there should be a reason that the storyline they’re on is happening. The second part is a little more loose for Campaigns, some missions should be ones that would be a little more direct, and others may meander a little and cause a party to make decisions that could alter the storyline.
