Improving Your Storytelling – Open a book

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to start sharing my thoughts on the topic of improving your storytelling as a role-playing GM and the first item I want to share is you need to open a book.

Now before you go running off, I mean a reading book, not your gaming rulebooks, not the latest issue of your favorite gaming magazine or even the cheat book (you know you have them) for the latest game you’re playing on the console.

Most likely you’ve read Tolkien, probably Jordan (at least a few of the books) and maybe even Eddings, but when was the last time you cracked a fiction book? Or tried a new author? I was given one of the books in the Coldfire Triology by C. S. Friedman a few years back, an author I hadn’t read, and enjoyed it enough to buy the other two books in the series. Other series I’ve enjoyed (and I’ll admit to dating myself here) and continue to go back to are the Riftwar Saga books and the follow-ons by Raymond Feist and if you’d like something more modern with an occult slant the Adept series by Katherine Kurtz. I could go on for a while as I have a large reading library.

Why do I like these books? In each the author builds not only characters you can associate with but also settings (the backdrop) which are detailed enough so you can picture them. Both are key ingredients to becoming a better storyteller yourself.

My recommendation? Grab a reading book and spend at least 15 minutes a day reading it. While you’re enjoying the book be sure to take note of what you like about certain characters, the setting, the descriptions used and of course, items that you can pull and use in your own gaming – modified of course.

I’d would really like to know what you are reading – take a moment and post what the book is and what you like about it.