AMA - Nijineko Prismaticpsion, world-builder for 30 years

World-building: from cosmologies and timelines to various civilization's
fashion trends and musical fads, everything in between and more,
building a world can become an extensive project. Plots, story arcs, and
the differences between an author's story and role playing group
interactions. Where does one draw the lines between detail, art, wonder,
and mystery? How much is too much, and when does less no longer
become more? Languages, should you build one?

For thirty years or so I have been crafting worlds, and helping others
craft theirs. Ask, and I shall do my best to answer.

Do you use a database/tables/spreadsheet for GRRM-level world building? How is the information laid out? Is wiki/hyperlinking the best way to go, or is there a better option?

DMMike said:

Do you use a database/tables/spreadsheet for GRRM-level world building? How is the information laid out? Is wiki/hyperlinking the best way to go, or is there a better option?

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I have used a number of methods over the years, which have changed as I've grown, gained experience, and learned from others. I have found that different forms of information are best presented in different formats - so these days I actually use multiple formats simultaneously, despite the extra effort.

One of the main challenges in presenting means and methods is that each person is different: they learn differently, they process information differently, and the perceive and comprehend differently. So, please keep that in mind - what works best for me may not be the most efficient for you. Having said that....

***

When I am starting a new world setting, I have an outline I use inspired by and expanded from a world-building list found in an old Rolemaster RPG supplement. This outline serves as a baseline bullet point checklist for every world I create. Not all worlds will use all, or even most of the points enumerated, but by having this comprehensive comparative baseline, it makes structuring the initial framework much easier. I started publishing an expanded version of my outline online over at HubPages, but life got a bit busy, and I haven't finished uploading all the parts. (http://nijineko.hubpages.com/hub/GameMasterY-World-Building , warning - multiple parts, very long, unfinished.)

Using this outline helps organize my initial concept into an outline-style list of major concepts, with some smattering of details.

At this point, I start breaking out my colored pencils, pens, pen tablet, scanner & computer. One of my personal favorite parts of the world building creative process is where I start drawing maps, and sketch major locations. I will pencil and ink a number of landscapes, locations, and rough maps, scan them into the computer, and expand upon them. With the landscape views, I will randomly add using a stream of consciousness method various odd bits and details, things that don't fit, or seem out of place. These OoPArts (Out-of-Place-Artifacts) serve to add a sense of wonder, mystery, and inspiration for later stages of the creative process. I may or may not work out an explanation for them, if I do - it's a hidden plot twist or plot hook for my players or readers to uncover - or even to be used in a future work, if I don't - it's a mystery or a wonder left to give the players or readers something to chew on.

While I'm working on that, I'll start developing character bios, notes on civilizations, technology, fashions, culture, cities, lands, ecologies, economies, trade routes and exports/imports; drawing sketches of fashions, jewelry, hand held devices, architecture, vehicles, and other things that strike me as lending flavor and character to a race/civilization/culture/people/individual.

***

I do use database/tables for certain types of information. One common sheet I use is titled "Location matrix" wherein I will list all the major locations across the top, and down the side have rough periods of time, and in the cells I will list what can be found in each location when, color coded by person, place, and thing. I will also build a timeline, especially in the starting phases, in a spreadsheet format.

Another software I use is a flowcharting software - which I use to track three important kinds of information. One, I (also) use it to build a timeline, much like those giant posters you sometimes see in schools, showing the major events that took place in various locations through history. Two, I use it to flowchart plot lines and track how events cascade into other events. And three, I use it to flowchart spheres of influence - the relationships between people and here I usually put their motivations, goals, desires, weaknesses, secrets and other things which I cross-reference with my Plotline flowchart.

As you can imagine, this generates a lot of computer files and a lot of paper. I tend to be a big-picture visual and tactile sort of person, so a lot of my notes first wind up on whiteboards and cork boards hanging around the walls of my basement. Handwritten stuff gets converted to a computer file, and drawn stuff gets scanned or photographed into electronic format using my cell phone. After being digitized, I use my pen tablet to continue editing and playing with the look&feel. My basement usually winds up looking like the young reporter lady's apartment from the animation Megamind right when she cracks the riddle.

Eventually it all gets condensed into a large document containing my original notes in appendixes, drawings, and more polished finished presentations as the main entries.

Oh, and backup, backup, backup!

***

The reason I use this somewhat old-fashioned method relying mostly on handwritten and drawn stuff (at least at first) is because I don't have enough monitors (or the hardware to support as many monitors I would need) to show all this information simultaneously on a computer! If I ever manage to get a setup with 6-8 (or more) monitors, I should probably manage to convert my creative process to a mostly digital format. Besides, I like holding books and paper - so, even if I do manage to mostly convert to digital, I'll probably still hand sketch a lot of the visual stuff and scan it in later, not to mention printing out my more finished notes.

To answer another part of your initial question, I don't use wiki's very much (partly because of the big-picture thing, partly because I lack enough monitors to make it work with my preferences, and partly because I would find the coding portions, formatting and whatnot, distracting). Hyperlinking within a document or multi-document structure, however, is a great way to jump back and forth to related references, especially later on when you need a quick reminder!

I think the best option(s) will depend on the way a given individual processes, stores, and recalls information - and your specific solution should be tailored to fit, after some thoughtful consideration of your abilities. Be flexible and willing to try new things, but don't abandon old things that work without due deliberation, even if they are not the most efficient.

When creating a Modern setting for players, do you prefer using real-world as is, or using real-world as a sample and making your own analog city/town/whatever?

I find when I try to make a modern setting, I am too prone to try and 'copy' existent places rather than let my creativity 'make up' stores, point of interest etc.

Herobizkit said:

When creating a Modern setting for players, do you prefer using real-world as is, or using real-world as a sample and making your own analog city/town/whatever?

I find when I try to make a modern setting, I am too prone to try and 'copy' existent places rather than let my creativity 'make up' stores, point of interest etc.

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Starting with a side-note, I find that I use the real world quite often as inspiration for my games and writing. News headlines past and present refactored into plots, tidbits, and background for fantasy, sci-fi, and alternate history formats work out quite nicely and believably. Lends that added oomph of verisimilitude.

Modern settings can be a tricky balance. Almost all of them add a touch of the fantastical in some fashion, be it fairly realistic like cloak and dagger spies or Illuminati conspiracies; semi-realistic such as a minor alternate history with a recent or simple change, low-powered supernatural elements, secret histories which may go so far as to include aliens past or present; or outright departures from the perceived modern reality such as a major alternate history, a major alternate present/near future (z-pocolypse seems popular these days), alien contact or conquest of Earth, and so forth.

I think these all tend to fall in one of two broad camps: alternate history, and alternate present/near future. One takes what we think we knew and adds, subtracts, or changes some element. In this scenario players may be "in-the-know" and able to pick characters from these alternate elements, or they may be taking the route of discovery with attendant consequences, and thus starting out as 'norms'. The other route starts off with life pretty much as it is, or as it will likely be, and then more-or-less promptly throws it all under the bus. Survival of the fittest.

I am reminded of one interesting novel I read where it started out as life-as-usual... then the aliens showed up and kicked humanity's rears. Almost all of the rest of the novel was the struggle as we lost, lost again, and then lost some more - it was pretty depressing! But then, right towards the end of the book, a chance encounter, and the plot took a sudden turn out of nowhere that I never saw coming. I had to reread it more than once before belief really set in - yes, the author really did just do that. I was in shock, I went back and searched through the book to see if there was any foreshadowing that I had missed, but no, there wasn't. Eventually, after it had set in, I was delighted that I had been surprised! I've read a lot of books in my time, I do not exaggerate when I say a couple of thousand, easy, probably more. But rarely am I so surprised and caught off guard. Rarely does an author pull off such a stunt so believably and without giving hints, or even giving it away early.

***

My digression has a point. That point being, what, exactly, do you want out of your story? And what, exactly, do your players want out of their game? Every player has a play style that they feel happiest when they can enact, and every player has something they want. The variants and details of that are outside the scope of your current question, so I'll forebear details. While an author has only to please themselves, and can still be successful; a game master is in the odd and unique situation of having to please most of the people, most of the time - AND has to try to make sure everyone gets their turn at it, no less.

I always consult with my players before starting a campaign arc, short or long. I try to find out what they want as players, what they want for their characters - and I incorporate that into my plotting. In my case, what usually happens is this: when I am making an alternate history campaign, I do a bit of research - headlines, tech innovations, famous figures, major changes in and to countries, explorations and trade routes - etc, maybe a few days worth of time at most. Then I take my juncture point, and try to cobble a rough outline and idea of how my juncture-change may or may not affect the series of important events I outlined. This leads me into the "real world sample turned into my own analogue" area as you mentioned above.

However, when I go the alternate present/near future toss-em-under-the-bus route, I almost always find myself in the Modern-as-is territory you also mentioned. Not that it usually stays 'as-is' for long under my influence. ^^ I would like to add one caveat to that: not everyone's modern starts at the same point in time. One could do a perfectly valid "modern" campaign with the Renaissance as starting point, and then go all BUS on them from there. It can even be quite fun to do exactly something like that, and then switch to the present time, but with the effects of all the changes they made in place for their new characters. (That also has the makings of a great plot for a time travel game, by the way, especially if they should want to keep the same characters.)

***

If I may make so bold, it seems to me that you were also asking, 'how can I stop myself from always copy-pasting the existing present into my modern games'? I can think of two possible methods off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more methods I'm not thinking of.

The first is more of an exercise in mental flexibility and imagination. As you go about your daily life, shopping, browsing, school, work, home, whatever - randomly stop now and again and play 'what-if'. Look at a store, and try to imagine what sorts of conspiracies might lurk in such a place - how, why, from when. Try to imagine what would happen if it were a different kind of store entirely, who would visit, what would they be looking for. This works with people too: find a comfy spot and people watch. Try to imaging what they are doing, what secrets they might have, what errands they are fulfilling and for whom.

A word of caution: don't let yourself talk out loud, or follow interesting people around as you are musing, or let yourself be overheard speculating on the nefarious plots taking place in a given store - you're likely to get stopped by a friendly police officer or interested security guard. That tends to be counter productive, not to mention embarrassing, and possibly could get you in real trouble these days.

This sort of mental juggling can assist you in loosing and limbering those creative muscles - just like physical muscles: no exercise, no improvement.


The second is inspiration from real life, only not the real life you've always been using up till now - do a little research on tourist attractions and other shops and establishments of interest around your local region, across the country, or even around the world. Make a little file of interesting and amusing places that strike your fancy. Next time you need a spot, randomly grab one and figure out a way to fit it in - don't worry about justifying it, unless the players find it interesting, and then you can work that into your plot somehow.

The idea with this is to take your copy-paste habit a step outside of the comfort zone, deliberately stretch your boundaries and reach out for new stuff. Pick some weird and wacky places, mix it up, and put something in that you wouldn't have thought to do so using your previous methods. The travel channel, the history channel, travel guides, Ripley's belive-it-or-not, Stan Lee's Superhumans, reality tv shows, and even stuff like Scooby Doo can help provide some inspiration in that department.

I recall once finding in a library a book about the history of the Minaguchiya Inn, (caught my eye because I speak Japanese) which started out as a samurai's house, and when things went downhill a few generations later, one of the kids converted it to a high-class inn for others of the samurai class (socially, it wasn't acceptable for samurai to stay at places where the lower classes lived). Decades later, it was a well established Inn for all sorts. It was even visited once by an Emperor of Japan - you can still order today from the same menu as was served then (yes, it is still standing and is still an inn, or at least it was when the book was written, iirc). Quite a fascinating read. Change the theme and genre slightly, and you could drop that in as an attraction into a modern game - a motel or hotel that a President or some other Significant stayed at (assuming America as the setting instead of Japan).

***

There is nothing inherently wrong with copying from existing life, but since you are not happy with how you are doing it, my final advice to you is to step back and look at the big picture. Are your players happy? Are you happy? If the answer is yes/no, then be cautious in what you change, so that you don't lose your player's interest. If the answer is no/no, then throw caution to the winds, jump right in, and try some of these tips out. I have only covered a few possibilities, so keep an open mind, eyes, and ears - there's plenty more to learn and be inspired by out there!

1. Are there a handful of books that are useful as a starting point for thinking about world-building?

2. Are there any books from fields that at first seem unrelated, but are actually helpful for thinking about world-building?
For example, you mentioned the Japanese Inn book (I read that in college).

3. Can you give some examples of terrible world-building?

mflayermonk said:

1. Are there a handful of books that are useful as a starting point for thinking about world-building?

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A mere handful? I will find that somewhat difficult a task, paring down the thousands of books i’ve read to just a few. When I have some books to read, I consume on average, about 300-500 pages a day (double that if it is a lazy day, such as during a vacation). This is relevant because, at it’s core, world-building is about conveying a point of view, a glimpse of emotion, a sense of verisimilitude, evoking wonder and belief (or at least a desire to believe). A world is described though the words used to portray it, be those words written or spoken. Thus any book, literally any book, can become a study in world-building: fiction, non-fiction, DIY, self-help, romance, poetry, travel guides, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery… and so on. This is because a study of the words the author used to portray their story, their ideas, the states of mind and heart prompted and sustained by the flow of meaning… they are describing a world to you, their world. How did they make you feel? What did you think about as you read? Did you get lost in the book? Why? Giving one's self the best quality input you can find, will better enable you to provide quality output. But be mindful of the corollary: GIGO.

Nevertheless, I will pick out five (a literal handful, is it not?) that I personally find valuable. As with all my advice, this worked for me, but your perceptions and experiences may yield a different result even with the same materials.


1: Rolemaster GM Law - This resource contains an excellent framework for starting a world-building project. Usually the first book I reach for whenever a new world commits genesis in my head.

2: Greyhawk Gazetteer - This book is pretty much nothing but world-building notes. Even if you don’t do D&D, it is a great reference.

3: GURPS - GURPS books are widely known for being well written and well researched. Many GMs will own GURPS books simply for the reference value, even if they don’t use the system in game play. (Disclosure: I am a Cell Leader in Steve Jackson Game’s Men In Black volunteer outreach program.) Furthermore, GURPS has managed to obtain the license to produce an RPG for more novels than most other RPGs in the world combined.

4: Roleplaying Bible - An excellent history of roleplaying in general. Oftentimes knowing the context of various events allows one to see how those events shaped the development of rules and mechanics. More of a meta-overview, but nonetheless quite valuable as one should be able to make one’s self aware of the meta-aspects influencing one’s own world-building attempts.

5: Robin’s Laws - As previously mentioned, the art of world-building is inseparable from the art of using words to convey one's concept. As such, this industry standard on how to be a good GM should be mandatory reading for any world-builder. Whether addressing one’s audience via the written word, or via the spoken word, the advice in this book applies handily.

2. Are there any books from fields that at first seem unrelated, but are actually helpful for thinking about world-building?
For example, you mentioned the Japanese Inn book (I read that in college).

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1: Sacred and Holy works - I have been greatly influenced by various Holy Books and the Beliefs of multiple faiths throughout my life. One might even say that my entire world view is founded upon the various experiences, mundane, uncanny, sacred, and scary that I’ve had with things related to and/or considered to be holy. Even if we stick mostly to the mundane aspects - such writings are found referenced in most RPGs. Palladium Fantasy has spells, creatures, effects and other references taken directly from the Judaeo-Christian writings, as does D&D, Rolemaster (MERP) and many others. As most such collections are a mix of history and his-story, they serve as a rich source of common building blocks to reference when laying a world-building foundation. Cosmology, the human condition, human beliefs and desires, conflict, the purpose of life, the universe, and everything. I have explored the myths, legends, religions, philosophies, and sacred writ of many cultures: North, Central, and South Americas, Oceania, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, India, Russia, the Middle East, as well as those of historical cultures that have gone extinct or been absorbed and dissolved over time. Some of my personal favorites were written by the Native Americans. I recommend that you find some works which make you think, ponder deeply, even pray if you feel so inclined. A question or concept worth pondering and meditating upon may just be worth incorporating into and addressing in one’s own works, not to mention real life.


2: Works of Art - In my case, this doesn’t necessarily mean what it means to most other people. I tend to gravitate towards visual and audial works which display some aspect of the fantastical, a touch of surrealism, or an aspect of mystery. Landscapes with paths wandering out of sight, space scenes, alien landscapes, out-of-place-artifacts/people, those Chinese landscape-in-a-glass-box things, psychedelia of the more mild variety (the artwork, not the state inducing substances, mind you - certain relatives of mine and associated friends messed up their lives enough, I’d rather not have anyone else screw up theirs, and definitely not based on misunderstanding my advice, thank you very much!) By way of example, my Dad had some album art from The Who, I believe it was, up on the walls which I would study extensively as a kid. There were a lot of aspects that didn’t make sense, but I would sit there staring at it for hours and hours trying to make sense of it. Exercising the mind in trying to accept or reconcile things that at first don’t make sense or seem contradictory is an excellent work-out for world-building. Artbooks of M. C. Escher and Naohisa Inoue are also good resources for this sort of practice. For myself, I strictly avoid anything and everything containing nudity or eroticism - I have found that it erodes my ability to concentrate, focus, and function creatively; as such, I personally can’t really consider such things seriously as “art”, or even useful.

On the aural side, I find instrumental works best for me. Including but not limited to: electronica, updated versions of classics, the classics themselves (a childhood favorite was Gustav Holst’s ‘The Planets’ - mild by our time but condemned and labeled “disturbing” and “unlistenable” by his contemporaries; a man ahead of his time,) “epic” instrumental tracks (try YouTube for a sampling)… generally any instrumental music which tells a story and is not repetitive-lacking-significant-variation (ie: most forms of trance music). I find most vocals to be distracting and detracting from the music, time and again I’ll be listening to something which has this great lead in, and then the music flattens out to this boring beat and someone starts singing - not to the beat, time, rhythm, melody and/or harmony… very bothersome to me. I even coined a term for some of them: “Virtualoso” (n - a singer whom cannot perform credibly without artificial enhancement… especially when singing the national anthem).


3: Literature - I feel it would be lacking of me to not include at least a few books and/or authors, especially since that was a key component of your questions. As I have previously mentioned, I have read thousands of books up to this point in my life. Of the secular realm, one stands notable in my mind: Patricia A. McKillip. Pick up any of her works, as a wordsmith, she is seldom matched or rivaled.

Other fine examples of world-building include, but are not limited to: Sylvia Louise Engdahl (Enchantress from the Stars, Far Side of Evil, Children of the Star), Louise Cooper (Books of Indigo), Julia E. Czerneda (Web-shifters series), Louis McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan series, of which one of that series is frequently cited as exemplary of the Crowning Moment of Awesome), Beth A. Hilgartner (Dreamweaver’s series), Arthur C. Clarke (Foundation series), Andre Norton (lots to choose from here), Isaac Asimov (his exploration of the laws of robotics is quite fascinating; and he also wrote some rollicking space opera under the pseudonym of Paul French back when it wasn’t good to be Russian in America), Uehashi Nahoko (Moribito series), Garth Nix (Abhorsen series), Anne McCaffrey (the Dragon Lady, though I’m quite fond of her Ship series and Dinosaur Planet series), Gordon R. Dickson (Dragon and George series), Christopher Stasheff (both the Wizard and Warlock series), Randall Garrett & Vicki Ann Heydron (Gandalara Cycle), Resnik’s Santiago Mythos, Stackpole’s Talion Revenant, Sanderson’s Elantris…

Ah, whoops, I started monologuing. Within each of these series or books is found an interesting and unique world worth studying how said world is presented and revealed over the course of the story.

Just start with McKillip, if you would. ^^ It will be worth your time.


4: Other RPGs - Why start from scratch? There are some excellent examples of world-building to be found amongst RPGs already produced. As we are focusing on books, I will skip entire the works of gaming console and computer. Even if one does not intend to play a particular game, seeing how it is put together is a worthwhile study.

The Amber Diceless RPG is considered a classic amongst RPGs, and for good reason. Not only is it a fun companion to the novels, it was one of the early universal systems. It’s unique diceless structure is a fascinating work of rules mechanics, and how it fully enables the game to be role played pretty much just like the novel reads is also worth studying. Rolemaster has some excellent additional resource materials to draw from. In addition to the previously mentioned GM Law, the Treasures book and the Castles book, not to mention the resources on the orient and space/sci-fi are quite handy. Palladium Games’ RIFTS serve as an excellent resource on Post-Apocalyptic, multi-dimensional, and mash-up campaigns, not to mention the TMNT RPG. HERO/Champions is known for it’s erudite handling of the Supers genre. D&D is quite famous for the fantasy genre, and mixing fantasy with other genres (and don’t forget the invaluable Aurora’s Whole Realms Catalogue!) BESM might have claimed the anime slot if it had not been preempted years prior by Teenagers from Outer Space. Traveller and Alternity are frequently cited in the sci-fi realm. Battletech and Mechwarrior pretty much defined the giant robot genre for the West. Ryuutama is a notable Japanese RPG with a unique set of rules designed for ‘emotionally involved play’ and ‘full group’ participation (one of the only RPGs i’m aware of where a DMPC is explicitly part of the game rules), that especially appeals to those who prefer a low-powered role and character emphasizing game style (available in English).


5: SCIENCE! - There is a lot of useful material in the realms of science. I recall studying the nature of sound, vibration, and acoustics for the development of a particular race; books on gemology, geology, and weather for a certain planet; quantum physics for magic systems; the Horrible Histories series (very amusing) and newspaper/newsfeed headlines for plot twists, turns; war histories for tactical combat situations, I recall referring to governmental weather websites for information on how geology affects weather so that my weather systems for various planets could pass a spot check; astrology for ideas on non-repetitive naming systems for months and years; astronomy texts for ideas on how to build and configure solar systems; star indexes for ideas on how local star maps would appear, biology texts for ideas on building flora and fauna; historical fashion and various design books for ideas on clothing and jewelry of various cultures, more history for timelines… the list goes on.


A world-builder is really the modern Renaissance Being, ideally needing a breadth of education that would rival a Master’s degree.

3. Can you give some examples of terrible world-building?

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I had to think a fairly long time on this one.

First, establishing world, setting, and/or character premises, and then later contradicting them in a fashion which is not a plot/character reveal, not an intended mystery, and is not ever re-premised. I can think of a certain RPG which is notorious for this sort of thing. (Despite its flaws, I found it fun to play.) Also, blatantly ignoring implied or stated premises is not a sound building strategy. Some may recall the Dragon-in-a-Dungeon Paradox - giant monster in a big dungeon room with no appropriately sized doors or hallways for the monster to get out, no abilities that allow it to somehow get out, no food or water source, and no waste outlet. Using “MAGIC!” as the hand-wave explanation is not (usually, but see reveal and mystery above) a good building strategy either.

Second, using one's world as a presentation of one's beliefs, ideologies, philosophies, why those seem better, and so forth is fine, but using it as a ban-hammer over and over is not. I can think of one author that presents a specific religious ideology as being the only correct universal way in most of their stories, and handles it quite well, making for a very enjoyable read despite my differences with some of the ideological points presented; I can think of another author that ban-hammered their particular ideology so frequently and so offensively throughout all their works, that despite thinking that they had a valid point, and trying to pick them back up multiple times, reading that author become an ever increasingly painful exercise in torture. I no longer read anything that author writes - I figure giving them as many chances as I did was a pretty good effort on my part, and justifies my declining to further read their offerings. (By contrast, I still pick up pretty much anything new I find by the first author.)

Third, the Tucker’s Kobolds’ College of Dungeoneering for Ignorant Monsters always has room for admissions. For those who may not be familiar with Tucker’s Kobolds, I heartily recommend an acquaintance with the full story. In short, they are the epitome of the concept “it’s the little things, used well, that count”. (Puns intended.) The full story should also be mandatory reading for all aspiring world-builders.



I hope that you’ve found my thoughts and answers useful. If I was unclear or managed to raise more questions than answers, please feel free to ask away.

What do you do after you have decided on a premise for a world (both format-wise (brainstorm/outline/summary) and content-wise (history/nations/species/etc.))?

Displacer Kitten said:

What do you do after you have decided on a premise for a world (both format-wise (brainstorm/outline/summary) and content-wise (history/nations/species/etc.))?

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Well, the short and slightly silly answer is:


Why, I write, of course!


The longer and slightly serious answer is that I do not restrict myself to a given format: I use them all. I will write short notes and summaries of ideas, I will hold brainstorming sessions with myself (and occasionally others), I will write up outlines and timelines, and then I'll draw sketches, or create computer generated artwork, make maps, and on and on. I do gather all the hardcopy into a single place, and all the softcopy into a single folder (and make backups!) so that I have a more or less centrally located project file. Whenever I get stuck, I switch formats and work on the same thing in a new format, or work on something else entirely. Switching gears is the best break or rest your mind can get (doing nothing is the worst, by the way). So when I'm really stuck, I'll go write or perform music, read a book, study some subject of interest, go for a walk, work out, talk with a friend, or even clean up a random section of the house (which earns me brownie points as an added bonus!)

A note about writing - it is amazing how writing by hand can help organize thoughts and progress the development process. When I write by hand, despite or maybe because of, the slowness, it actually helps bring clarity to my thoughts. I usually later transcribe it into a computer, which also doubles as a first edit, in some cases.

Content is always tricky. How much is too much, and how much is enough? I tend to go with a 'more is more' idea when generating content, but not when presenting content. One important aspect of content is keeping your premise in mind - there are lots of great ideas out there, but no all of them will fit the premise. A clearly defined and quantifiable premise, along with some notes on logical conclusions and corollaries derived from said premise can help keep one on track during design and development. How much detail to go into really depends on the scope and nature of the premise.

I hope that targets your question - if not, feel free to ask more!

Still open for questions.