It’s really a book about fictional creative story writing, but isn’t that what a GM does when they build a world or plan a session? I just had to share this as a highly recommended resource for ICRPG or any other role-playing GMs. If you haven’t already checked out this book…you need to! The fantastic art alone, which visually feeds you most of the books core ideas and inspiration, is worth the price.
An excerpt from Chapter 1: Imaginative Play:
One night at dinner, a girl announces to her father and mother that a group of bears has moved in next door. In one scenario, the father says (and I paraphrase), “Bears? Don’t be ridiculous,” and tells his daughter to be more serious. In the other scenario, the father says, “Bears, huh? How many bears? Do you know their names? Do they have any hobbies? What do they wear?” And his daughter, with delight, tells him. Encouragement of the concept that bears have moved in next door highlights the role of creative play in fostering and strengthening the imagination-- and thus practice of storytelling. …I feel bad for the daughter whose father can’t see that she’s making an effort to talk to him, to build something together.
Chapter 4: Narrative Design - “build the story’s structure”
Chapter 5: Characterization - Jeffery Ford says “I don’t convey things through the characters, they convey things through me.”
Chapter 6: Worldbuilding - the title alone is common even to a beginning GM! “A world can be as small as a storage closet and as large as an entire universe”