Fiction Writing: Playing Games

Before writing became my career, I wrote creatively for pleasure on role-playing game (RPG) forum boards. I’d spend hours gaming, writing out scenes and character reactions. From 2001 to late 2006, I wrote every day – not one day passed without a post.

I wrote enough material for a novel, even enough for several novels.

My roommate often asked why I wrote so much. I wasn’t making money from it and I was investing a great deal of time. I’d turn the question back on him and ask why he played Call of Duty for hours on end.

When I began writing professionally, I saw the benefits of gaming. My writing was very good. Not perfect, as I had a few bad habits from creative writing to break for professional writing, but definitely above average.

Constant practice from gaming had developed my writing skills – and I hadn’t even realized it. I also never thought about the opportunities gaming opened until I began this series of posts on fiction writing.

Actively gaming on a good RPG forum stretches your creative legs and teaches you how to reach an audience more effectively. You’ll get the opportunity to work your mental muscles and experience what you wouldn’t normally have a chance to do through traditional writing.

Think Fast!

Role playing games are similar to improvisational exercises in theatre. You have a scene, your character and other characters around you. Everyone involved is making up the story as they go along, reacting off what someone else does or says.

You have to think fast. You can’t let an idea linger for days while you make up your mind on what you want to do. It’s your turn to act, and people are waiting – you’re holding up the game.

You learn how to think quickly, to improvise and let the reactions happen rather than planning them.

Give Something to Work With

Enriching the story for both reader and characters involved is key to a creative writing forum. The scenes have to be entertaining to read at all times. They have to provide other players with content to think on and have their characters react on.

At all times, characters can only react on what they see and hear. With no movement or dialogue, no one can react and the story doesn’t advance. A flat description usually resulted in flat, boring scenes that would wind up quickly and seem useless. They didn’t enrich the story or captivate players.

But when a writer gave another something to work with…the whole scene bloomed and became highly entertaining for all.

Take these two examples and think over which you like best. Which scene would you be able to enter easily and become part of?

He was annoyed with Sunny. He got on the plane, and Cass took his seat without a word. Sunny would have to make it up to him.

…or…

Would they have food on the plane? Steak. Hm. Yes. Steak would be nice. Now, though, Cass was more annoyed than hungry. And he knew what Sunny would do. Sunny would over-compensate to make up for being such an arse earlier.

If Cass had a mind to, he could milk it for a lot more than just a nice dinner – and he did.

On the flight, Cass only needed to give Sunny a look for his friend to surrender his treasured window seat. Pillows, blankets and magazines were offered and politely declined.

Cass waited until Sunny had put the carry-on and the laptop in the overhead compartment before he said, “You know, I think I’d like to do some reading…”

Magically (the magic words involving some muttered French curses that made the flight attendant look twice at Sunny), Cass’s book appeared. He graciously accepted it, settling back into his seat while Sunny grumped and fidgeted in his.

Cass shut the shade on the window before glancing at Sunny quite innocently. “Did you want to look outside? The light’s far too bright.” Cass tapped a finger to his temple. “Bad headache, you know.”

Dipping into his book, Cass could see Sunny well enough from the corner of his eye to catch look on Sunny’s face that read, You are such a liar.

He bit his lower lip to hide a smirk. Sunny could squirm. After the stunt he’d pulled in the terminal, the guy deserved it.

The second example is much more engaging and rich. It gives Sunny’s player more thoughts to work with and Sunny’s character more small actions and dialogue to be able to react.

Painting a Picture with Words

In our video-driven society, description is becoming a lost art. Knowing how to set up a scene with just the right mood and tone provides readers with what they need to delve into the story they’re reading.

The same applies to your novel. There are no images or pictures. You have to paint that picture in your reader’s mind with words alone. Your job is to make sure that anyone glancing at the paragraph or page can instantly see the setting, scene or character description in his or her mind’s eye.

When you are writing for one reader alone, this may not matter much. When you’re writing for a group, you must convey mental imagery properly. Perception is subjective and each person will read something slightly different from the next.

Leave the details that are important to individual subjective perception and the group becomes confused.

Was the doorway here or there? Was the character rough or elegant in appearance? Do all players notice the same shape of faint mark on the wall? Your job is to create a picture in each person’s mind – and make sure they all see the same image.

Conveying Emotion

Penning emotion into words is difficult, too. When we talk to people personally, we know their emotional state by looking at their face, hearing inflection in their voice or reading their body language.

In a novel, you have to get these elements across in text alone.

In gaming, other character’s reactions depend on your words. If you convey little emotion, other players have nothing to work with. Think about it. Would you rather talk to an animated and witty person or the person standing in the corner with a blank look on his face?

If you can’t enhance the story by conveying emotion, your moments to shine come off as boring or apathetic. No one wants to pay attention to your characters. In fact, you may find that your character is standing alone more often than not.

So if you’re a blog writer, a businessperson, an entrepreneur, a web content writer, a novelist… you may want to do a little gaming. Get some practice. Improve your writing.

Who knows what opportunities you might discover just from a little fun?

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