“Writing
is truly a creative art – putting word to a blank piece of paper
and ending up with a full-fledged story rife with character and
plot.”
– William
Shatner
Wandering around bookstores one often
comes upon a rack of notebooks labeled “Writing Prompts” and
other such inspirational titles (usually near the blank notebook
section). Occasionally I pick one up, check out the exercises, and
imagine how something like that might apply to inspiring roleplaying
game writing and design. I think these exercises can prove useful
both to newcomers seeking to explore their writing potential as well
as experienced authors continuously honing their craft (although they
rarely have time to indulge in such frivolous
experimentation...though goodness knows I should find the time). In
ambling around the vast cacophony of ideas and opinions inundating
the interwebzes I stumbled upon two resources that provide
inspiration for game-writing prompts...or more precisely prompts for
creating source material for fantasy roleplaying games. Unlike the
“writing prompts” notebooks I’ve seen, these offer visual
inspiration specifically attuned to roleplaying gamers.
