I love this site and really appreciate the depth of thought you put into the articles here and how you approach difficult topics. I was hoping for a little help with introducing a physical description of a character.
I am aware of the clichés and the problems with them – staring at oneself in a mirror, looking at photos, just randomly reeling off a list of attributes, but can’t come up with a better way of doing it. My character is black, and it is very important to me that whilst it is not a defining characteristic, her culture, family and heritage make her who she is (as is the same for all of us), and I don’t want it to be glossed over.
We storytellers like to play games, and so it naturally follows that the characters in our plots would like to play games too. But what happens when the game becomes the plot? Is a great time had by all, or is everyone’s good day canceled … read more »
Roleplaying mechanics can be difficult to balance, and magic can be difficult to balance, so it’s no surprise that when you combine the two, you get serious fireworks. I’m talking about powers and abilities that aren’t just overpowered; they can bring entire games to a … read more »
Last time, I described why it’s important to have diverse characters that represent people with marginalized traits. However, many storytellers not only add characters to represent marginalized groups but also choose to make their stories about marginalized experiences. Read more »
My main issue lies in alternate terms for “humanity” and “mankind” when humans don’t exist. my world is an Earth replacement in an alternate universe. I’ve taken time meticulously worldbuilding, even outside what I’d ever need for my story, just for my own enjoyment. … read more »
Whoops, the world ended while we weren’t looking. Guess that means it’s time to don leather and recycled sports equipment, then cruise the sands looking for easy targets to raid. But is that really how it would go down? Join us for a discussion of … read more »
You might have heard there are no shortcuts to fixing a flawed story, that the only solution is to roll up your sleeves and make the hard revisions. You may even have been told that hiring a content editor is a good way to deal … read more »
Simple counting is all it takes to realize our stories feature some groups of people way more often than others. This inequality must change, but the process of correcting this imbalance can be confusing and intimidating. While it will take more than one article to … read more »
Hi, I love this blog and the podcast and have really appreciated how much information you present on the craft of writing and also how it has helped me make sure that my writing isn’t unintentionally offensive or not inclusive. My question is actually about … read more »
Plenty of RPGs have unbalanced rules or abilities, and sometimes those broken powers get so out of control that they bring the entire game to a screeching halt. This episode we’ll tell our own stories of RPG destruction. We’ll talk about magic systems that go … read more »
