Even when I take a break from behind the scene, drift away from my ever-growing world of Eldar, and sucked into the sometimes blinding reality of daily life, I strive to improve my leisurely craft. It's why I might ponder about the innards of the game I run or the structure of my setting while I sit in endless traffic. It's why I speak in comical voices to my daughter when I read her stories during lunch or in the early hours of the morning. It's why I write these articles, why I spur my mind for ideas to help others when I cannot find the inspiration to create solely for myself.
So what do I focus on improving and how do I do it?
That's advice chunk number one: iterate on constant tasks that require thought until they no longer require thought. This immediately saves your brain some power and allows you to use it for your virtuoso sessions later in the day.
The next chunk is plainly in the header of this section: simply think about your game. There are surprisingly plenty of times to do this in normal life. Here is a concise list for both you and me.
Cheers!
So what do I focus on improving and how do I do it?
Ponder About Your D&D Game
Our daily lives are filled with thought. However, I've been trying more and more to streamline certain aspects of sections of it to alleviate stress in others. For example, I might remove unnecessary steps in a process at work, automating them in some instances or solving the question permanently in others. Another example is the tabs my browser opens in the morning: one tab for email, another for my calendar, a third for my queue of tickets, and a fourth for my personal production board. All these simple time savers and brain helpers allow me to think and do others, more interesting things at the end of the day. Importantly, they let help me ponder & create.That's advice chunk number one: iterate on constant tasks that require thought until they no longer require thought. This immediately saves your brain some power and allows you to use it for your virtuoso sessions later in the day.
The next chunk is plainly in the header of this section: simply think about your game. There are surprisingly plenty of times to do this in normal life. Here is a concise list for both you and me.
- Next time you grab your phone to scroll social media, think about your next session. What's something unexpected you could drop into it?
- As you're driving somewhere solo, expand on a player character's narrative. Is it being addressed? Have you highlighted it recently? What's special about them?
- On your next run or walk, turn down the music or podcast and create the next major conflict for your campaign or adventure. Which characters might be connected to it already? Who or what will be the big bad evil thing? Where will it take the group? How can you foreshadow it?
Cheers!
