Similar thoughts to Todd. I used to write events down as dialogue and narration which always wakes up my inner critic/editor. Now I have started to write dialogue as I imagine a GM and a Player would talk to each other.
I'm of those who tend to write the story as it happens, and I must say that even though the end results are fantastic because they're incredibly detailed, they just take FOREVER to transcribe. It's pretty much like writing pulp fiction.
I'm planning on trying a text-lite approach with my next adventure. Maybe, recording what happens as a voice note or something similar, so to make my game go a little bit faster. My current style makes me feel envious of those who manage to play for 20 minutes or so.
I like to write the story out as I go. I mean, yes, sometimes I stall out and don't finish. But I'd know I'd absolutely never go back and turn spare notes into an actual play report!
For me, things that happen aren't "real" unless they are part of the fiction. It's more fun to go back and read a story later, too, even if it's a sketched in one that's obviously predicated on mechanics, at least for me.
Yea the detailed writing takes so much more time. I started initially with that and really enjoyed it, but it just took forever to do. I have found notes with light descriptions to be almost as effective at jogging my memory when I look back on play sessions.
I started out writing full stories using the RPG to help with ideas. I needed about 4 hours at a time though. I've got a 2 year old, and we just bought a house. I switched to notes/dice rolls because I only have about 5 minutes at a time. I keep it all on my phone.
I tend to over-write the fiction, which makes the game take forever. I like it though. I've thought about trying a game with sparse notes just to get through it faster, but I always end up writing more anyway. I guess I have just decided that speed of gameplay is not the goal.
I feel like I fall in the middle. I write out a narrative, but it's not even remotely polished and it's punctuated by dice rolls and random note type thoughts from me. It's like mostly grammatically correct notes? I will say I have written full stories based off of game notes, too.
My notes are very messy and contain (hopefully) just enough to spark my memory when I write them up into something nice.
Most of the conversations are written out as fast I can type, but without punctuation or 'she said' or any of that stuff to slow me down, just a line break to indicate change of speaker. This I find actually forces me to develop the characters enough so they have a unique voice.
I try to limit my writing but it turns into a narrative instead of basic notes within minutes. My wife and kids like to read them as a story so it's kind of fun embellishing descriptions of the scenes and characters. It also keeps the internal monologue of the various characters dialog from feeling like I'm talking to myself.
Aerzyk Thomas I do that too. I like to record almost all dice rolls, and also the explanation for how I interpret various random prompts from Mythic, and so on.
Do you mean writing as you play or as an after play activity?
ReplyDeleteEither one really.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying in the past several months to do more "game as notes" so I can focus more on PLAYING than on writing.
ReplyDeleteSimilar thoughts to Todd. I used to write events down as dialogue and narration which always wakes up my inner critic/editor. Now I have started to write dialogue as I imagine a GM and a Player would talk to each other.
ReplyDeleteNormally I take the narrative path. But inspired by Alex and others, I'm trying the GM/PC dialogue style for my current game.
ReplyDeleteI'm of those who tend to write the story as it happens, and I must say that even though the end results are fantastic because they're incredibly detailed, they just take FOREVER to transcribe. It's pretty much like writing pulp fiction.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on trying a text-lite approach with my next adventure. Maybe, recording what happens as a voice note or something similar, so to make my game go a little bit faster. My current style makes me feel envious of those who manage to play for 20 minutes or so.
I like to write the story out as I go. I mean, yes, sometimes I stall out and don't finish. But I'd know I'd absolutely never go back and turn spare notes into an actual play report!
ReplyDeleteFor me, things that happen aren't "real" unless they are part of the fiction. It's more fun to go back and read a story later, too, even if it's a sketched in one that's obviously predicated on mechanics, at least for me.
I'm also in the notes camp. I struggle to keep momentum as it is, so any greater detail would stall me out for sure.
ReplyDeleteYea the detailed writing takes so much more time. I started initially with that and really enjoyed it, but it just took forever to do. I have found notes with light descriptions to be almost as effective at jogging my memory when I look back on play sessions.
ReplyDeleteI started out writing full stories using the RPG to help with ideas. I needed about 4 hours at a time though. I've got a 2 year old, and we just bought a house. I switched to notes/dice rolls because I only have about 5 minutes at a time. I keep it all on my phone.
ReplyDeleteI tend to over-write the fiction, which makes the game take forever. I like it though. I've thought about trying a game with sparse notes just to get through it faster, but I always end up writing more anyway. I guess I have just decided that speed of gameplay is not the goal.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I fall in the middle. I write out a narrative, but it's not even remotely polished and it's punctuated by dice rolls and random note type thoughts from me. It's like mostly grammatically correct notes? I will say I have written full stories based off of game notes, too.
ReplyDeleteMy notes are very messy and contain (hopefully) just enough to spark my memory when I write them up into something nice.
ReplyDeleteMost of the conversations are written out as fast I can type, but without punctuation or 'she said' or any of that stuff to slow me down, just a line break to indicate change of speaker. This I find actually forces me to develop the characters enough so they have a unique voice.
I try to limit my writing but it turns into a narrative instead of basic notes within minutes. My wife and kids like to read them as a story so it's kind of fun embellishing descriptions of the scenes and characters. It also keeps the internal monologue of the various characters dialog from feeling like I'm talking to myself.
ReplyDeleteCool, do you get to incorporate feedback from you audience? :-)
ReplyDeleteI use my games to write stories. My characters develop as I play and a large part of my enjoyment comes from chronicling their adventures.
ReplyDeleteAerzyk Thomas I do that too. I like to record almost all dice rolls, and also the explanation for how I interpret various random prompts from Mythic, and so on.
ReplyDelete