The Narrative Curriculum
Part 2 of We Are All Storytellers
Most people learn the ins and outs of narrative roleplaying the way they increase their knowledge of literature, film, music, painting, or any other creative practice: through exposure to it, observation about what’s happening in this medium, reflection on what things mean, and active participation in the form. Story at the Table is another form of storytelling, another skill to be practiced. The goal is to develop your instincts and recognize the conflict within a story. You need to understand character, identify pressure, and see how stories move and change through play. That process likely began long before you sat down at a table to try your hand at narrative roleplaying.
Read Stories
Narrative roleplaying begins with narrative. Read. The best preparation is to read broadly: novels, short stories, plays, memoirs, history, and mythology. Read voraciously. Read the genres you love, and genres you normally avoid. Pay attention to what keeps you turning the pages. What creates tension? What makes a character memorable? Why do some scenes stay with you long after you've finished reading? You're building a mental library of narrative patterns, structures, themes, and possibilities. Every story becomes additional material to call upon at the table.
Watch Stories
Film and television provide a different perspective on narrative. Watch closely, and notice how scenes begin and end. Observe how information is revealed to the characters and the audience. Pay attention to the pacing, conflict, dialogue, and visual storytelling. Ask simple questions: What does each character want? What's standing in their way? What changes during the scene? These questions are as useful at the table as they are in a writer’s workshop.
Learn to Recognize Instability
Every story begins when something becomes unstable. Maybe a murder is discovered, or a formerly close family suddenly falls into conflict. Some dark secret comes to light. A stranger arrives. Without instability, there’s no story. As you read books and watch films, look for the moment where normal life can’t continue without some sort of change taking place, some action being taken. That moment is the true beginning of the narrative. Learning to recognize instability is one of the most valuable skills that a storyteller in any medium can develop.
Study Characters
Characters drive stories because they want things. Goals create action. And conflicting goals generate drama. When reading or watching a story, identify what each major character wants. Identify what's preventing them from getting it. Notice how characters change when placed under pressure, and what they reveal about themselves through their choices rather than speeches. Watch the actions that don’t match the words. These observations will become invaluable at the table.
Pay Attention to Relationships
Beginning storytellers tend to focus on plots. Experienced storytellers will focus on relationships; these create alliances, rivalries, friendships, romances, betrayals, obligations, loyalties, and conflicts. Relationships provide the context for nearly every decision that a character makes. A simple disagreement between friends can carry more dramatic weight than a battle between armies. The strongest stories are built on people, rather than events.
Learn History
History is one of the greatest sources of narrative ever created. Political struggles, religious conflicts, scientific discoveries, cultural movements, migrations, revolutions, and personal accounts all provide storytelling. It provides a plethora of examples of human beings confronting uncertainty, making choices, succeeding, failing, adapting, and enduring. Every historical period contains stories waiting to be explored, remixed, and revisited.
Study the Humanities
Literature, philosophy, religion, mythology, art, anthropology, and cultural history are all asking the same question as narrative roleplaying: What does it mean to be human? The humanities provide language, ideas, themes, and perspectives that will deepen your storytelling. They help to transform a scenario from a basic sequence of events into an exploration of character, higher meaning, and lived experience.
Participate
The only way to truly learn narrative roleplaying is to do it. Read the method, gather a few people, choose a scenario, and begin. The first session won't be perfect; neither will the second. That's fine and to be expected. Storytelling is a practice, not a destination. Every session should teach you something. Every story will reveal new possibilities. And every participant will bring a different perspective to the table. The goal is participation. Like any skill, efficacy comes later.
A Lifetime Practice
There’s no final exam for storytelling. At no point will you have read enough books, watched enough films, or accumulated enough knowledge to be finished. Story at the Table is part of a larger tradition of learning through stories and creating them with others. Read widely, watch closely, and above all, stay curious. Pay attention to people, then gather around a table and create your own stories together.
Story at the Table is free to download. Donations are appreciated, but never required.
