D&D 5E Running The Game Advice

Be sure to check out https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/ where you can ask advice as a new DM.
And their bigger sister subreddit is https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/ where you can get plenty of ideas.
Do read their posting rules.

There's a lot of great advice here and I'm not sure how much I can add. However a couple of things I haven't seen.

First, relax. Have fun. Make mistakes, and learn from them. All DMS (good ones anyway) know they can improve so don't be too hard on yourself.

Don't be afraid to limit some options, at least at first. For example, I decided a long time ago that Drow were the boogie man, so they're not allowed as an option. You don't need to allow feats or multi-classing right away if you don't want to.

Don't get too caught up in the rules during the game. With brand new people, I like to have an intro section where we just go over the basics - basically throw them into a simple fight and explain what their options are. That may include pulling out the books, reading up on things, making sure we all agree. After that? I usually just make a ruling during the game that makes sense to me and we worry about it after the game. See my first rule.

Being a DM is awesome. You get to paint a picture of a world, but remember that the players are there to help you shape that world. I remember an interview with an author that had started out as a D&D player. When they were asked if they still played they admitted that they did not because they always wanted to dictate the story and decide what the PCs should do. They realized that in order to be a good DM sometimes you need to let the PCs go so far off the rails you're not even sure what the original plan was, and that's okay.

I'm sure I could ramble on for a while. Things like get a random list of names for NPCs, shops and towns. There are a lot of tools online, I just use them to generate a list of names and then if I need an NPC on the spur of the moment I just grab one from the list. You can also get random descriptions. People are always amazed when I look up my "notes" that I had figured out ahead of time that they'd want to talk to the the baker's cousin and that his name was Josef who walks with a limp.

But remember the first rule. Relax, have fun, don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Good Luck!

All great advice.

I've run a series of articles (tag: gm boot camp) on my blog where I try to look at the practical setup of things at the game table or during the prep phase.

Highlights:
What's on my DM screen
DM binders (2 articles)
Using published adventures and campaigns
Table rules
Playing online
GMPCs and bait & switch campaigns
Managing group size
Monster & player tactics
Tracking stuff

Make sure to click "Older Posts" to scroll through them and find them all.

Oofta said:

Being a DM is awesome. You get to paint a picture of a world, but remember that the players are there to help you shape that world. I remember an interview with an author that had started out as a D&D player. When they were asked if they still played they admitted that they did not because they always wanted to dictate the story and decide what the PCs should do. They realized that in order to be a good DM sometimes you need to let the PCs go so far off the rails you're not even sure what the original plan was, and that's okay.
Good Luck!

Click to expand...

You might be thinking of Patrick Rothfuss, jump to 46:30 in the following Dragon Talk podcast where he is interviewed:

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/patrick-rothfuss-fantasy-kids

Pat Rothfuss: "I'll also say I've never been a great GM.... My problem is that I tend to be very controlling and I make like a huge world and then I'm like here's all the things that can happen and either it's too open and people just kinda feel lost or I'm too like 'go to the east, go to the east" and they're like 'we want to explore the town of Greybin.' And I'm like grrrrrrrruuuhhhhggg! No! Its been everything I'm ready for--everything I want to do is over here, so--"

Interviewer (Greg Tito): "So you're a railroader"

Pat Rothfuss: "I have that tendency and that sucks as a tendency for a GM. It's good for a novelist. A lot of my novelist tendencies interfere with, I think. I haven't tried a serious GM gig for a while. I think if I did it again, I would be better. Just watchin Chris Perkins do it. Because he's next level."

Welcome! I am a reasonably new DM (but old player)

Have fun

Make sure the players have fun

Watch some D&D streams to observe different styles/ideas (time permitted)

Keep using the people in this community. They are very kind, helpful and knowledgeable, and will answer your queries.

Congrats. I tip my hat to you and all who become a DM.

Lots of great advice so far. Here’s mine

1) Before a session, I make a rough outline and create/decide on 2 or 3 possible add ins or off shoots (sometimes I create them and keep them in my back pocket for later use too when I need to improvise or inject excitement into a session).

2) I also try to imagine the personality and motivation of npcs the party is likely to meet. That helps me improvise dialogue (sometimes I pre-write some dialogue).

3) With my outline, I imagine possible pathways, but I don’t focus on one pathway so that I become more flexible and fluid during play when players decide to go in different directions.

Depending on the game session, all of this should take me between 30 min - 1 hour. And, counterinuitively, it actually takes longer when I run pre- written adventure paths. It is actually more time consuming to read and digest and see the possible paths with many of the pre- written material.

4) Oh, I also watch Chris Perkins and Matt Mercer, but I also try to forget about them and just be myself in sessions. To thine own self be true. Be passionate and confident and most sessions will be rewarding. (I’m also a high school English teacher and the same skills I use to prep and run classes are the ones that make my games run well ).

Overall, have fun.

Cheers.