46: What Dungeons & Dragons Can Teach You About the Art of Storytelling

Today I’m talking once again to Chris Fox. Chris was on episode 42 of this podcast when we talked about his new book which he had just published, “Write to Market“. He also discussed his 21-day writing challenge in which he wrote and published “Destroyer“, his first science fiction title, which has gone on to become a bestseller on Amazon. This time, we spoke about a fun topic: Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D as it’s known to those who play it. Created by Gary Gygax in the 1970s, Dungeons & Dragons rapidly became massively popular. The game triggered several copycats and inspired the explosion in role-playing video games that continues to this day. I haven’t played D&D since I was a young teen — that was a long time ago. But in the past couple of years, I’ve noticed a revival of interest in the game. There have also been several articles in mainstream publications, and blog posts that have discussed the influence of the game on the writing careers of many well-regarded authors. It’s a connection I had never made before, to be honest — playing D&D and the art of storytelling — and when I read these pieces they triggered a sense of nostalgia for the days I played the game, and also piqued my curiosity about the linkage between the game and the art of storytelling. In our conversation, Chris explains the impact playing D&D has had on his career as a novelist. He talks about the three types of Dungeons & Dragonsplayers, and how playing the game — which requires players to develop characters and create stories on the fly — can help writers become better storytellers. Don’t worry! While we do geek out a bit on D&D, you don’t have to be a player of the game to follow our conversation. Click here for the show notes to this episode and sign-up for my newsletter and get the latest podcast episodes and blog posts.