Helpful books for DMs
Discover essential books for Dungeon Masters, from Machiavelli’s *The Prince* to Orson Scott Card’s *Characters & Viewpoint*. This curated list of helpful writing, fantasy, and storytelling guides will inspire richer worlds, deeper NPCs, and unforgettable campaigns.
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The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli
Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion. Today, this small sixteenth-century masterpiece has become essential reading for every student of government, and is the ultimate book on power politics.
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The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference
by Writers Digest
Do you know what a murder hole is? &break;Or why a chimera is three times worse than most monsters? &break;What would be better for storming castles, a trebuchet or a kopesh? &break;&break;To find the answers to these questions, you need this fascinating guide to transport yourself to fantasy's mysterious worlds. Featuring an introduction by mega-best-selling author Terry Brooks, the Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference reveals the facts behind the fantasy, giving you the details you need to make your fiction vibrant, captivating and original. &break;&break;From classic medieval witchcraft to ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, every chapter will spark your creativity. An invaluable resource, it will also help you fill your writing with inventive new ideas rooted in accurate descriptions of the world's most intriguing legends, folklore and mysticism. &break;&break;Take this guide, venture into the fantastic, and create magical realms alive with detail. Great stories await you!
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Fiction Writer's Workshop
by Josip Novakovich
Master the Elements of the Writing Workshop &break;&break;The great paradox of the writing life is that to be a good writer, you must be both interested in the world around you and comfortable working in solitude for hours on end. Fiction Writer's Workshop is designed to help you foster a strong sense of independence–of being and thinking on your own, of becoming self-evaluative without being self-critical–in order to accomplish what others seek in classroom groups. &break;&break;In this comprehensive guide, award-winning writer and teacher Josip Novakovich explores every aspect of the art of fiction and provides all the tools and techniques you'll need to develop day-to-day discipline as well as a personal writing style, such as: &break;&break; More than 100 writing exercises, including dozens that are new to this edition, that challenge you to experiment with diverse writing styles&break; Specific statements of purpose for each exercise, to help guide you and instruct you at every step of the creative process&break; Self-critique questions to help you assess your work and identify strengths and weaknesses before moving on to the next lesson&break; The full text of eight acclaimed short stories, with analysis and exercises, to provide models for your own writing and help reinforce the lessons you've learned &break;&break;The practical, insightful methods offered in this workshop will clarify your voice, broaden your perspective, and strengthen your fiction.
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Writing Fiction Step by Step
by Josip Novakovich
Writing Fiction Step by Step gives you more than 200 exercises that will sharpen your writing skills while helping you develop complete short stories, even novels. &break;&break;In this sequel to his very popular Fiction Writer's Workshop, Whiting Award-winning author Josip Novakovich shows you that writing fiction is about making connections–between character and plot, setting and conflict, memory and imagination. You'll make these connections by linking the exercises. A character invented in chapter two can appear in a scene outlined in chapter eight and can speak in a voice developed in chapter ten. &break;&break;Embark on a unique writing journey and learn step by step how to craft fiction that captivates readers.
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The Writer’s Digest Sourcebook for Building Believable Characters
by Marc McCutcheon
Six novelists reveal their approaches to characterization in this guide, which comes with a questionnaire to help writers probe their characters' backgrounds, beliefs, and desires and a "thesaurus" of physical and psychological traits to aid in character development.
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Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint
by Orson Scott Card
Vivid and memorable characters aren't born: they have to be made. &break;&break;This book is a set of tools: literary crowbars, chisels, mallets, pliers and tongs. Use them to pry, chip, yank and sift good characters out of the place where they live in your memory, your imagination and your soul. &break;&break;Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing and presenting characters, plus handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. With specific examples, he spells out your narrative options–the choices you'll make in creating fictional people so "real" that readers will feel they know them like members of their own families. &break;&break;You'll learn how to: &break; draw the characters from a variety of sources, including a story's basic idea, real life–even a character's social circumstances&break; make characters show who they are by the things they do and say, and by their individual "style"&break; develop characters readers will love–or love to hate&break; distinguish among major characters, minor characters and walk-ons, and develop each one appropriately&break; choose the most effective viewpoint to reveal the characters and move the storytelling&break; decide how deeply you should explore your characters' thoughts, emotions and attitudes
