Category: Storytelling

Storytelling

How to Overcome Writer’s Block

Thread of Souls

Writer’s block. We’ve all been there. Staring at a screen, your cursor flashing on and off, and not knowing what to write next. Perhaps you know what to say, but not how to say it. Perhaps you’re stuck on a scene transition, or a bit of dialogue, or simply don’t know where to take the plot next. This blog entry is for you!

I am a big outliner when it comes to writing books. I need to know from start to finish where I am going. Even then, I still get writer’s block. Sitting at the desk across from me, I see my husband staring blankly at the screen. He has it, too. So what do we do when we are stuck in our writing? I want to share the top three strategies that have always worked for me! I hope some work for you, as well.

Walk Around

My #1 go-to strategy is to walk around. I especially like fidgeting as I pace. It could be bouncing a ball, or turning over a stuffed animal in my hands. Going outside is fine if you’d like, but I prefer just to pace my house. Sometimes I talk things over with my husband or out loud to myself, but most often I just think about what I’m writing.

I try not to think about the writer’s block. Instead, I visualize the story as if it was a movie, and let my imagination just drive it. Eventually, a solution will present itself just through letting my mind and feet wander.

Listen to Music

Whether it’s lyrical or instrumental, music always helps. I can’t listen to lyrical songs while I write, I find that too distracting. Having some instrumental music going keeps my pace while writing. If I find myself particularly stuck, I may stop, lie on the couch, and listen to some songs. Again, I try not to find a “solution”. I just let my mind wander and see where it goes.

Take a Break

This is really the best thing you can do for yourself during writer’s block. Just take a break. Get your eyes away from the screen and let your tension relax. Coming back to your writing with a fresh mind is very helpful.

I read this tip online once and I really liked it, so now I impart it to you. When you stop writing, try to end with an unfinished sentence. For example:

He went-

She frowned and said –

They left the house and –

When you come back to write, re-read the last page or so leading up to that unfinished sentence. Most of the time, when you get to it, you will simply be able to start typing and carry on with the story!

We hope you enjoyed this entry for storytelling tips! If you have any other strategies you use to defeat writer’s block, share them below!

Storytelling

How to Write Wizards

Thread of Souls

Creating new characters is a puzzling yet exciting challenge. What do they look like? How do they present themselves? What do they carry with them? You may have a rough outline of them but need to give them something that makes them stand out. Welcome to our How to Write character features. Each one is designed to guide you on how to create and write characters for your story.

Thinking of characters as classes from a tabletop roleplaying game makes the process much more simple. Our fantasy series Thread of Souls is full of examples of this as each main character you meet is based on a class in such a game. Today’s How to Write focuses on wizards!

Fantasy has seen many great wizards in its timeline. Gandalf, Yennefer, Harry Potter, the list continues. But not one of those characters is similar to the other. The one thing they do have in common is they are able to cast spells.

So, what makes a wizard? How do you effectively write a wizard in a book series? We want to share the top three methods we use to create great relatable wizard characters in your story so you can add them into stories of your own!

Choose their Speciality

When creating a wizard in a tabletop roleplaying game, you get to choose the specific magic you specialize in. It’s a bit like choosing a major in college or a professional trade such as blacksmithing. No two professionals in their field are the same, so neither are wizards.

Take Thread of Souls for example. Gnome wizard Tymus specializes in Distortis magic, the study of illusion. He relies on misdirection and summoned images and sounds to overcome challenges. Whereas human wizard Vera uses Aegitis, protective magic, to safeguard allies and places.

Having a wizard do all sorts of magic can be difficult to follow. Stick to having your wizard characters focus on one specialty and your readers won’t get lost in what it is they are good at. If they need to use another sort of magic such as fire when they normally use ice, have them use a wand or magical item that uses the power instead.

Choose their Personal Effects

We tend to recognize characters by their attire, personality, or items. Gandalf is typically seen with a pointy hat and walking staff. So, giving your wizard character a particular article of clothing or item is a great way to have them stand out.

Tymus wears mismatched clothes of vibrant colors that show off his character. While Vera dresses in fine robes of pink, blue, and purple, carries a staff, and wears an oversized pair of glasses. One is more wild and chaotic, while the other is more refined and dignified.

Likewise, give a villain wizard character darker clothing and crude, yet refined-looking weapons or magic. Their staff may be ancient and withered with spikes at the top.

Tie their Personality to their Specialty

Along with their personal effects, give them a unique personality. Wizards are generally intelligent, as casting magic is all about mental fortitude. Yet, intelligence isn’t being the smartest person in the room. It’s the ability to gain and use knowledge. Therefore, you could have a bumbling wizard character who is rather skilled in their specialty.

Tymus is constantly moving and talking. It’s part of his ADHD. It makes him seem all over the place and unfocused when in actuality he focuses deeply on one aspect at a time. He’s always focusing his attention on his magic. How it can be used to distract or help bring joy to others. His clothing is also tied to his choice of magic and personality. He also has bright pink hair and a matching mustache. Both can be distracting but also cause others to smile as they are fun and outgoing like him.

While Vera is seen as the polar opposite of Tymus. She’s reserved and thoughtful, always taking her time to ponder a thought and say the right words. As the Magister of Aegitis, she is as unmoving as a wall of stone and holds true to the rigid ways of the Citadel.

Keep in mind your villain wizards too. Their magic is a distorted version of what they chose as their specialty. Mental magic could cause blood to drip from their and their enemy’s nose. While fire takes on a more sinister nature. Instead of a simple blast of flames, it appears as a snake striking its opponent.

We hope this helps you create more rounded wizard characters in your stories. Wizards are a thrilling addition to any fantasy tale and each one is different and fun to create.

Professor Moriarty is a great choice for a wizard character. He is cunning, vile, cruel, and highly intelligent.

Gandalf has his trusty walking stick. Yennefer is incredibly sarcastic yet stern, smart, and one of the most powerful wizards of her time.

https://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality

Storytelling

How to Write Dialogue

Thread of Souls

Hello to all you writers or curious readers out there! Let’s talk dialogue. You can have beautiful descriptions in your stories, you can have intense fight scenes, but if you don’t have good dialogue, the heart and soul of your characters vanish.

I have been writing my entire life, and before becoming a published author my first exposure to having my work reviewed by others was writing fanfics. (I encourage all new and seasoned writers to take a shot at fanfics, they are great learning experiences!) As I put out more and more stories, I found I was getting the same comments.

“You write dialogue so well.” “You really capture the character voices.” “I can tell the difference between who is talking in your dialogue and it’s great.”

I realized then how important dialogue was to bring heart to the story, and that readers really pick up on good quality dialogue. From my years of award-winning writing that followed, I have compiled a list that I hope helps others that are struggling, or that just want to learn more!

Top Dialogue-Writing Skills

Don’t Overuse “Said”

I’ve mentioned before on this website how much I dislike “said” and only use it when absolutely necessary. Using alternative words will not only help your dialogue feel fresh and dynamic, but also help to convey emotions. Here’s some examples.

Don’t: “I hate you,” he said.

Do: “I hate you,” he snapped.

Don’t: “I can handle this,” she said.

Do: “I can handle this,” she asserted.

Choosing the right word helps to convey tone. You can refer to this list that we compiled for use! For a quick reference, here are some good ideas: growled, proclaimed, commanded, grumbled, countered, commented, explained, sighed, muttered, reprimanded, stated, admitted, pleaded, sputtered, divulged, concluded, begged, yelped, recalled, scoffed, teased, whimpered, responded, questioned.

Varying the Structure of Your Dialogue

What I mean by this, is that the “said” part of the dialogue shouldn’t always appear in the same place. Put it before, after, or even in the middle of the quotes to ensure things feel fresh and not repetitive. Here are some examples from Path of the Spiders:

“I’ve seen many things,” Xidime answered.

“I need to think,” Artemis sighed. “Let’s get out of here before we’re caught.”

Unolé gasped. “There’s a skeleton inside!”

Use Action to Bring More Life to Dialogue

When you use action alongside dialogue, it helps to carry the scene forward. Of course, this can be overused. You don’t want to interrupt the flow of dialogue by having too many action descriptions. But also under-using it makes dialogue feel too transactional. We want to keep readers invested in the scene and keep the plot moving forward. Here are more examples of individual lines from Path of the Spiders that have action with them.

Taliesin held his hands up before him. “Let’s see what he has to tell us.” Magic trailed after his fingers and his spider medallion leaked shadow. The snarling sounds of Chasmic rolled off his tongue. “Bol saath dzmare.”

Artemis returned her gaze to Lysander. “Yes, I will help.”

“I don’t think they are coming back,” Ruuda’s voice broke through his mess of thoughts as she walked up, wiping her blades clean of blood. “Those things were terrible. What did you say they were again?”

Understand How Your Character Sounds

We’ll do a whole other entry on “character voice” another time, but for now keep in mind that characters have a unique way of talking. That doesn’t mean you should force characters to speak unnaturally just for the sake of differentiating them. People often sound similar in real life, after all. But keep some things in mind when writing that character’s speech.

  • Do they use “big” words, or small words? (“This is a pretty place” vs “This is a magnificent location”)
  • Do they use conjunctions a lot, or do they not? (“I can’t do that” vs “I cannot do that”)
  • Do they often speak their mind, or are they private?
  • Are they emotional or stoic?
  • Do they speak a lot or a little?
  • Do they use profanity?
  • Do they have any patterns of speech unique to them? (For example, Wash often uses “How’s about” in conversation.

This is more of a personal preference, but I’ve found trying to write accents more distracting than immersive. When I read a character that says “Ye gunna do wut?” rather than “You’re gonna do what?” I find I’m spending more time dissecting their speech rather than getting into the story.

Hope this has been helpful in your journey of writing! We love to know what projects you’re working on, so feel free to share below! Thanks for reading!

Storytelling

Character Prompt – Rune Layout

Thread of Souls

Creating a character is a difficult process. No matter if it’s for a book, ttrpg, video game, or LARP. You have to think about their past, present, and future and their goals, ambitions, and overall attitude. Developing a character is a fun and engaging process that requires a bit of brainstorming and critical thinking. We’ve talked about using prompts to create a story with tarot cards in a previous post. This time, we’re using runes to build a character by using the Runic V layout.

The Runic V Layout

  1. What influenced your character in the past?
    • The top left rune is Dagaz. It represents day, awakening, and new hope. The rune symbolizes discovering new insights, something unknown, or a fresh idea.
  2. What is influencing your character in the present?
    • The next rune, Kenaz, is associated with knowledge and the quest for truth. It is represented by learning one’s true and full potential.
  3. What is a future goal for your character?
    • Raidho represents the character’s personal journey. It symbolizes growth and movement towards control and rationality. The character may wish to learn who they are and who they want to become.
  4. How to achieve that goal?
    • Pertho symbolizes something hidden and is often represented by good omens, unexpected surprises, and forces of change. This could be a mysterious or dangerous challenge your character does not wish to take part in but must overcome in order to grow.
  5. What is your character’s attitude?
    • Jera is assocaited with patience, seasons, and waiting. To reach your goal will require time and understanding and you may not be ready to accept that. You’re character may be quick to take action or take their time.
  6. What problem stands in their way?
    • Mannaz is represented by humankind and humanity. Other associations include reflection, planning, analysis, and self potential. The struggle coud be caused by another person or even within yourself. The actions of another or your own could prevent you from reaching your goal.
  7. How to overcome the problem?
    • Algiz is represented by spirit guides, protection, divinity, and a teacher. It symbolizes going beyond yourself to connect with something spiritual or finding your higher self.

Storytelling

National Reading Month – Our Favorite Books

Thread of Souls

May is National Get Caught Reading Month! As writers, we love to read although we aren’t able to as often as we’d like (does anyone?). To celebrate, we are listing some of our favorite books that have stuck with us!

The Bartimaeus Sequence by Jonathan Stroud

This is the only series that Talia has read more than once from cover to cover. She first discovered them while working as a library aide in high school. They’ve stuck with her after that, and she got Dorian to be a fan of them, as well! The witty characters, fully realized world, and fun adventures with heart and soul makes them a top read!

The Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale

Talia found these books during her early adolescent years when only the first couple of a nine-book series were out. She followed them throughout the years, feeling almost as if she grew up with Bobby Pendragon. The main character’s humor makes him easily likeable, and the grand adventures across diverse worlds keep each book feeling fresh and fun.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit has always been Dorian’s favorite book. He has owned multiple copies of it over the years with a variety of beautiful covers. We were both definitely excited to watch The Hobbit trilogy, as well! It’s a classic, fun, and timeless adventure story.

Heir Apparent & The Book of Mordred by Vivian Vande Velde

Heir Apparent was recommended to Talia by a teacher in sixth grade. She fell in love with Velde’s books after that, and The Book of Mordred was another top favorite. The style of writing is engaging and fun, and the characters are easily memorable. For fans of medieval-era stories, these are great reads!

The Magician’s Nephew by C.S Lewis

This is another book that has stuck around with Dorian since childhood. One of the things he connected to was the use of music in the book, as he later grew up to learn to play many instruments! This is the first in the Chronicles of Narnia series, which are charming children’s fantasy books.

Tell us about your favorite books!

Storytelling

Slay a Dragon Day on World Book Day

Thread of Souls

Today we are celebrating two events at once. April 23 is both Slay a Dragon Day and World Book Day. Two things that are rather dear to our hearts for several reasons. As fantasy authors, we grew up with stories where heroes battled dragons. Many of which were actual dragons but slaying a dragon can also be a metaphor.

One of our favorite quotes is by fellow fantasy author, Neil Gaiman.

“Fairy tales are more than true: Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

Slay a Dragon Day came about from a story where Saint Theodore Tiron slew a dragon. Legend has it Theodore came across a village where a dragon demanded sacrifice and treasure. After the village gave up its livestock and wealth, they turned to human sacrifice. When Saint Theodore witnessed this, he took a stand and tamed and killed the dragon. Thus the town was saved.

Digging deeper into this story, we learn it dates as far back as the mid-9th Century. Art at the Yılanlı Kilise shows three saints, Theodore, George, and Demetrius battling two snakes with separate heads.

The story represents the battle between good and evil and is a story as old as time really. Slay a Dragon Day is about overcoming challenges in your life. No matter how big or small.

Although, if you’re into slaying dragons and even befriending them or love books, our epic fantasy book series Thread of Souls is for you.

Storytelling

How to Overcome Distractions While Creating

Thread of Souls

It can be difficult for creators to overcome distractions when they sit down (or stand up) to work on a project. Between the tasks of the day, outside noises, interruptions, and our own self-doubts, it can definitely come in the way of producing a product you are proud of! Whether you are a writer, an artist, a TTRPG player, a photographer, or any other passionate creator, we compiled a list of four top tips to help you out! These are items we have found indispensable when we sit down to create Thread of Souls content.

Play Music (Without Lyrics)

A great way to overcome distractions is to play music. But not just any music. Ensure there are no lyrics within the piece, and ensure it is a type of music you enjoy. Unfamiliar with the world of instrumentals? Spotify has a lot of great lo-fi playlists these days to work to. You can also explore soundtracks from your favorite movies or video games.

Keeping a pleasant background noise can give you energy and increase your focus. We’ve also found we get conditioned to entering the “work mindset” when we have our established instrumental playlist going. It makes us more productive and less distraction-prone.

Get in a Comfortable Area

This goes beyond just a comfortable chair, although that is very important. If you sit a lot while creating, it is worth it to invest in a gamer-type of chair to support you. You should have a dedicated creating space that is free from other distractions and always has what you need on-hand. A good desk, an organizer for items, a great lighting source, and quick-reference items all make your space more productive.

We have two gamer-style desks and chairs facing one another (for easy collaboration). We have a lamp and quick reference items on a side table. Between our two desks is a holder for pens, pencils, USB’s, and lip balm. We are also surrounded by depictions of Thread of Souls, keeping us inspired! We are also not far from our healthy snack bowl, ensuring we don’t get sidetracked if we get up to eat.

Complete Any Pressing Tasks Beforehand

One super easy way to overcome distractions is to remove those distractions beforehand. We’re talking about the “putting-off-that-call-laundry-pile-don’t-want-to-do-that” type of tasks. If those are turning in the back of your mind, it will just be a problem and make it harder to create your best work. By getting pressing tasks done upfront, you can free up your mental space and ease the tension.

Have an End-Goal in Mind

Something that has been tremendously helpful for us is to sit down with a goal. Whether that is a daily goal or a weekly goal, having something short-term to work towards is a good motivator. It also helps keep you on track, and can push you forward if you are struggling with your creation. This is flexible for whatever works for you. Maybe you want to complete one chapter a week, or your goal is to write 500 words a day. Maybe you want to do one step of your art each day so by the end of the week you have a full piece. Or if you are world-building, maybe you want to outline one bit of the fictional society a day. It also makes you feel great when you are able to check items off your to-do list for your creations!

Hope these are helpful! Remember that anytime you create something, that is beautiful in and of itself and should be celebrated. By using strategies to stay focused, you can accomplish more of what you want to create.

Storytelling

Story Prompt – Tarot Card Spread

Thread of Souls

Coming up with a new story idea always presents a challenge. Whether it is for a book, fanfiction, TTRPG game, or creative video, it often involves some brainstorming for an effective story. We always enjoy seeing fun story prompts online, so we want to bring some of that to you! Using our personal tarot set based off Thread of Souls characters, we used a spread meant for storytelling prompts. Here is the spread below and what each represents. Have fun with it!

The Tarot Spread

  1. What is the central theme of this story?
    • Our top left position is the Humble One. This card is represented by Hwalla, who lives a simple farming life. He is soft-spoken, kind, and puts his children above everything else. This card symbolizes simplicity and focusing on the small things in life.
  2. Who is this story about?
    • The bottom left is the Shadow. The Shadow is represented by Neir Shadowsnare. He is a Gloom Stalker of great skill, and has strict morals to always do the right thing. This card symbolizes quiet action, unseen foes, patience, and anonymity.
  3. What is the obstacle the protagonist must overcome?
    • The top middle is the Barbarian. This card is represented by Sen, a good-nature pirate captain that is always down for a brawl. Despite his large size, Sen has a fear of magic. This card symbolizes strength, recklessness, letting go, and trying to hide inner vulnerability with boastfulness.
  4. How do they overcome this obstacle?
    • The bottom middle is the Criminal. This card is represented by Elisi, also known as the Grandmother and leader of the Shadow Guild. She is feared by even members of her own Guild and uses this to instill loyalty. This card symbolizes breaking the rules, not caring what others think of you, cheating, and moral lines.
  5. How does this change them or their world?
    • The top right card is the Dragon. This card is represented by Draxis, a gold dragon often disguised as a Human. He lives an easy and carefree life, but must keep himself secret. This card symbolizes inner power, epic journeys, and great challenges.
  6. What is the story’s ending?
    • The bottom right card is the Illusionist. This card is represented by Tymus, who is a Gnome Wizard trained at the Citadel. He has a sunny personality and takes his work very seriously. This card symbolizes illusions, analysis, not taking things at face value, and trusting your inner gut.
books
Storytelling

Easy How-To Guide for Outlining a Book

Thread of Souls

Our guide for outlining a book is perfect for all those current or aspiring writers out there! We’ve been writing for decades, from four indie publications, short stories for a popular online game, and award-winning fanfictions. Knowing where you are going from the start helps craft a beautiful story. There are some writers that prefer to “wing it” in their first draft and rely heavily on multiple rounds of re-writing and revisions to pull the story together. That is perfectly fine! But if you are like us and prefer a strong first draft based around a comprehensive outline, then this one is for you!

Brainstorming

We’ve talked about brainstorming and getting ideas in older posts, so we are not going to rehash that here. We recommend drawing inspiration from music, games, books, nature, art, etc to generate multiple pages of ideas before whittling it down to the skeleton of a story. Then, you are ready for the outline!

Create Your “Acts”

So, you’ve got a loose series of notes and ideas for your book. How do you go about outlining a book from these? The first step is to organize your ideas into “acts”. We personally prefer the three-act structure, but others may prefer more complex structures. We like to have a beginning section to get the ball rolling, a middle section with rising drama and intense moments, and then a final act that is very emotionally-driven and large-scale. We also like to end each act on a “cliffhanger” or an emotional climax. When going through your notes, divide them into three parts (or more if you prefer) to set up your act structure. At this point, only focus on your major “scenes” such as characters leaving home, fights, deaths, developing romance, or entering new locations.

Character Arcs & Plot Points

At the start of each of these acts, write down some notes on what characters arcs you would like to be present. For example, does a character start out greedy in act one, having things taken from them in act two leading to self-reflection, and then in act three change their ways and behave honestly? It doesn’t matter if your outline doesn’t fully support it at this point, just write down how this arc is divided across the acts.

Do the same thing with your major plot points. The point of this while outlining a book is to ensure your plot is complete and makes sense. Let’s have an example from Phantom Five. In act one, we establish not all is as it seems in Brother Zok’s town. In act two, we have him discover treachery and set out into an unknown land to set it right. In act three, we follow him attempting to return home through challenges which change him into a stronger, more world-wise person.

Refine Your Scenes

Now you have your act structure and character and plot arcs written down. Go over these arcs and add in minor scenes into your outline to ensure these arcs are achieved. You can also take away scenes that you feel compromise these arcs. This might include something simple like “character has a conversation with her mentor on why she used to steal, but her life is changed now”, or “characters stop at a tavern and overhear conversation about the enemy army”.

Chapters & POV’s

What helps us the most when outlining a book is dividing it into chapters. That gives us clear breaking points for the story, shows us the pacing, and helps identify where scenes are needed, or not needed. Take the outline and break it down by chapters in a way that feels right to you. Some writers like short chapters, some like long. Ours tend to be an average of 4K words, but that depends on the content of the chapter and where a chapter “break” feels natural. Ending chapters on cliffhangers, emotional moments, or transition scenes works well.

If you are varying point-of-views like we do in Thread of Souls, then you’ll also want to choose a POV for each chapter. This may involve moving some scenes around to make sense based on whose POV is most impactful.

Read Over & Finalize

Now it is time to read over the outline of your book from start to finish! Here you are looking for good pacing, clear arcs, strong characters, and a solid plot. Make sure you have plenty of high points, as well as some “quiet scenes” to balance them out. If you are writing part of series, it also is good to keep in mind how this book works in the grand scheme of the series plot.

Make adjustments as needed until you are satisfied with how your book is at this stage of the process.

Enjoy the Writing Journey!

The most important thing is to enjoy this journey as a writer! When outlining a book, you give yourself a solid base from which to start. But that doesn’t mean you won’t change and revise plenty until your book is in its final form. Enjoy the process of telling a story, and tell it from the heart!

Storytelling, TTRPGs

How to Turn a Tabletop Roleplaying Campaign into a Book

Thread of Souls

Ever since we started playing our ttrpg campaign in 2015, we felt it could be so much more. We knew it would make an amazing fantasy novel. We always have an incredible amount of fun around the table and it’s been exciting to transpose our sessions to a book format. We wanted to share our process for doing so and how you can do so yourself. There’s a lot more to it than copying and pasting what happened word for word in game.

A lot can happen in a tabletop campaign and it can be a lot to keep track of when it’s time to translate it to a book. We’ve come up with a few tips we use when writing Thread of Souls. It helps us streamline the process and make everything more detailed, efficient, and easier to comprehend for the reader.

1. Don’t worry about side quests

Side quests or quests that don’t focus on the main story should be left out of the book. They may be great for a ttrpg session but can take up space and time when copied to the book.

They may help fill out the world and its lore, introduce the characters to NPCs, and reward them with fun new gear, but they slow down the overall pace. There are two ways we suggest inserting a side quest if you absolutely must. The first is to introduce a new main character. Say, for instance, a new player joined the game. The party may need to break away from the main plot for a brief moment to find this person, but to make it more interesting, you should always find a way to loop their story with the main narrative.

The second way to include side quests is if they are linked to the main narrative. As long as the reader learns — either through the quest or later on — it is connected to the main narrative, it can be included.

2. Keep combat short and quick

Ah, combat. What takes several hours at the table is only a few minutes in terms of game time. Typically, one round of combat for everyone involved is just a few seconds. While it can be engaging at the table, long-winded fight scenes can drag on and on and can become rather dull, especially in a book.

Fights are fast. The more time that passes, the more exhausted the characters will get. So while your fights can be hours long around the table, they should be short in the book.

Here’s an excerpt from book one of Thread of Souls, Phantom Five. Taliesin and Ruuda are fighting undead in an abandoned necromancer’s lair.

Taliesin rolled onto his back as the creatures swarmed him. The cave lit with silvery light as
magic burst forth from his hands, incinerating the undead it touched. But they kept coming and coming, a wave of bones and screams. He shouted in pain as blows rained down on him and sharp fingers tore at his skin and clothes, scraping across scale armor.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your fights to around two to three pages long.

3. Add more in-depth descriptions.

Sometimes all it takes to describe a location in a ttrpg game is short sentences to get your players caught up. But in a book, you need to add more sensory information to really bring the reader into the scene. By focusing on the five senses, you’ll be able to paint a better picture. Take for instance Thread of Souls. Ruuda and Taliesin are investigating necromantic magic coming from a hole in the ground.

He climbed down, vanishing from sight. She hesitated before following, using the roots and
rocks to support her weight. A strong smell of mud and earth hit her, and it almost reminded her of the Deep Hollows. It was still too fresh of a scent, though. The darkness was a welcome relief to her eyes as she found herself in an open cavern nearly thirty feet in length. Taliesin stood in the center of it, surveying a floor that was covered in bones.

At the table, the scene was described as Taliesin could feel an odd magical sensation coming from near a boulder. As both characters walk around it they saw a hole in the ground. They could just make out the rocky ground, spiking out in various directions. The players can fill in the rest as they see fit in their imagination and describe what they want to do. But the reader needs a bit more information.

4. Focus on the characters

The story should be driven by the characters. As readers, we connect with people. By knowing how certain characters think, move, and act, we can get a much better understanding of them. At the table, you may know what your character looks like and thinks in their head but the audience won’t, not unless you describe it to them. Readers should get more insight into the characters they are following. Hearing their inner dialogue will help better connect them.

This also comes into play with minor characters the party may meet in the game. Unless they are important to the plot, unnecessary characters should probably be removed from the book. Phil the bartender doesn’t really need to come up multiple times in the pages of your book. You can always add them into a compendium later on.

5. Focus on storytelling

When we say focus on storytelling, we mean to stick with the main plot and the elements that drive the narrative. If you deviate from the overall arc you’ll pull readers away. They need to be invested in the story and its characters.

Thread of Souls, we follow several characters as they investigate mysterious happenings with planer travel and missing spiders. If we were to suddenly shift the focus to political intrigue and assassinations of rulers, it wouldn’t really match the theme we’ve built and would end up being confusing.

Also, don’t take up a lot of time by having characters go on side missions or shop. If it doesn’t have anything to do with the plot, it should be altered or left out of the book. If you absolutely love a character or NPC in the game and want them in the book, give them a good reason to interact with the characters.

Once you get a rough idea down, you can really start to write. To learn more about turning your tabletop game into a book series, we’ve put together a video of our writing and editing process.

Let us know your thoughts and if you’ve ever wanted to write your own fantasy book?