Creativity
...is hard.
It's wonderful when it happens, but it's hard to summon.
The more stuff is in the back of your head, the easier it is to riff on a few things at once and sound original...
- One big influence on the way I think of Puzzlebox and creativity in general was my teacher, "Mrs. A." She taught my class the basic rules of brainstorming, which go something like this:
- 1) Ideas come much more easily in a group! Don't worry yourself just because you can't think of something creative to do with your character before you come on. A friendly, non-judgmental crowd can act like a mental randomizer. You'll be exposed to ideas that simply weren't there in your own head, and any one of them might be what you need to cure your creative block.
- 2) There's a time and place to be critical. Usually, that's after the creative act is over, so you don't knock somebody out of an inspired mindset.
- 3) If you disagree with somebody's idea, add to it whenever possible. You might be able to supplement a mediocre idea until it becomes a great one. Don't just shoot an idea down because it has flaws. There's really no such thing as a wholly "bad" idea -- even the most impractical or unaesthetic idea could inspire a good discussion of why it didn't work.
- 4) Shyness is not acceptable! Make sure everyone feels free to participate. It's better to have too many ideas than too few.
- 5) Worry about "how" and "why" later. (This is an especially good idea on Puzzlebox, where the premises of history and physical law are very flexible. If something sounds good and catches people's fancy for a while, that's good enough. If it becomes a plot point, it's usually very easy to rationalize how it works after the fact.)
- 6) Push the boundaries. Don't be afraid to do something completely off-the-wall, and don't be too harsh on somebody for trying and failing. Puzzlebox is a fairly safe place to play with some of the fundamental principles of online roleplaying -- perception, textuality, identity, continuity, dimensionality. There doesn't necessarily have to be a purpose or Heavy Goal behind it. We believe very strongly in the power of play for its own sake.
- 7) Sometimes setting limits beforehand can actually lead to more ideas, not fewer. Try it yourself and see which comes to mind faster: a list of five random words, or a list of five random colors? If you agree beforehand to start with a single theme or premise -- and recognize that limit as just a tool, not a sacred law, and know when to ignore it -- you might find the ideas take shape a lot easier.
- I think of Puzzlebox as a brainstorming laboratory as much as I think of it as a game. -- OR
- 7a) Use the True Retcon
- I'm heartened when I hear about great success stories like Connie Willis. She wrote her first book while she was married, was taking care of kids, and being a housewife. She wrote the book whenever she could, using whatever scraps of free time she had. Such as while waiting in line at the supermarket. Also, something that I've learned from Natalie Goldberg is to just write. I pick something and without thinking about it write continuously, not worry about spelling or punctuation or meaning, letting it flow until I think I'm done. Only then do I edit --Zoe
First, release strands of words that make no sense. Second, do what humans do by applying meaning to the meaningless. Get in touch with your inner random number generator! --Sandstorrm