Every Writer Should Be Playing Dungeons & Dragons
Tags: Dungeons And Dragons, Writers On Writing, Writing Tips, Roleplaying Game, Games

Every Writer Should Be Playing Dungeons & Dragons

You’ll never run out of inspiration again.

Photo by Muhammad Haikal Sjukri on Unsplash

Dungeons & Dragons is a popular tabletop role-playing game that has been around for literal decades. It is often referenced in media as a way to identify really nerdy characters, but now the interest in this game is climbing at an astronomical rate — so much so that a new Dungeons & Dragons movie has even been announced. Anyone who has played D&D will tell you that it has plenty to offer its players, but there is one group in particular that stands to gain from playing it: writers.

Role-Playing Makes Great Characters

As a writer, you are forever trying to understand the motivations of your characters. You want to know how they would react — and why they would react that way. Writers who understand their characters on a fundamental level create rich and engaging personalities that readers can feel. There are a lot of different ways to go about creating realistic characters, but Dungeons & Dragons can offer some unique insights because of the role-playing element.

One of the things that surprised me as a writer playing D&D is the ways that it makes me think through my character. When you sit down and walk into an encounter, the entire situation suddenly becomes very real. Writing a scene limits you to brainstorming the details that your character should be considering, but with D&D, it is a lot easier to think through what matters because it is a literal matter of life and death.

If you can imagine the pressure of walking your main character in a story into a situation where you might never be able to write about them again, you can see how important it is to consider every detail during gameplay. And you know what? That’s how every scene that you write should be written. It should be that real to you. That is the key to creating realistic scenes that grip your readers and refuse to let them go. High-stakes situations create great writing.

Fight Scenes Are Suddenly Very Realistic

You know when you read a fight scene that just doesn’t hit right? It’s all epic battle scenes and pageantry? Yeah, a D&D encounter will fix that. If you are the kind of writer who struggles to craft realistic battle scenes — presumably because you are not yourself frequently walking into battle on a regular basis— Dungeons & Dragons will help you to understand fight scenes in a pragmatic way. Most parties consist of different characters with different strengths — and this is a really good thing that will help you to grow as a writer.

When we write, we tend to focus on our main characters and forget the strengths that others can bring. When we overlook this in a scene, it automatically makes the fight less realistic. Our readers will wonder: well, why didn’t Character X just do this instead? It’s an easy mistake to make as a storyteller, but it can also leave people ranting about your cluelessness online. With D&D, you learn to think through what your fellow players can bring to a fight because it impacts all of you.

But, D&D doesn’t just add realism. It also makes it really easy to think more creatively and helps you to logically leverage strengths for some seriously cool outcomes. Players are consistently surprised during gameplay, which encourages everyone to enter a creative headspace and stay there. Spending more time practicing creativity helps you to be more creative in the long run.

You Lose Control

Writers are known to be a bit obsessed with control, and how could we not be? When you sit down to write a scene, you are the god of that world. Every single element of the world is under your control — and that can actually hold you back.

Dungeons & Dragons is a game that you play with other people — which means that other people get a say in your story. Yes, you can theoretically do anything, but you kind of can’t. Your actions influence other players. The even crazier part? You have to work around their actions. Sometimes that can be really helpful, but other times, not so much. It gives you a more honest view of a scene and the way that different elements can influence your character.

An unexpected bonus that comes with the loss of control is that it actually helps you to be more spontaneous. You are forced to adapt at every single turn, whether you are trying to redirect your attention to a new opponent or just trying to stop some guards from hauling off a member of your party because they said something dumb. Role-playing games keep you on your toes and that works wonders for your fluid intelligence, which is linked to creativity.

It’s Worked For Other Writers

There is no better case for writers to start playing Dungeons & Dragons than the fact that some of the best ones already are. R.A. Salvatore started writing D&D-influenced content back in 1988 — and he is still writing best-sellers to this day. Susan Dennard, a popular young-adult fiction writer and best-selling author, is notorious for promoting Dungeons & Dragons as a creative outlet. It brings storytelling to life and offers insights that most writers simply wouldn’t consider working out a scene at their desk. And hey it’s fun too, so go give it a try.