We Totally Plotted an Epic Novel in 30 Minutes
Less Chores, More Explosions. I put The Writer's Campaign to the test.
The other day, I sat down for an interview with my friend, the fantastic author and dungeon buddy Cassie. The plan was to talk about my new how-to-write book, The Writer's Campaign.
But talking is boring. So, we did something better: we played.
I took Cassie through the first few chapters live, with dice and everything, to prove that outlining a novel doesn't have to feel like homework. It can feel like an adventure. We set out to create a story from scratch. The result was pure dystopian gold (or caps, if you’re studying for your Fallout exam).
You can watch the whole creative process right here:
The Hand We Were Dealt
To give you a taste of the magic (and the trauma her hero’s going to get), the dice gods decreed we would create:
The World: A post-apocalyptic landscape, centuries after the sun vanished, where civilisation huddles around artificial light sources. To top it off, the tone had to be action-packed and explosive. Fun for us, miserable for the characters. [15:04, 16:03, 16:51]
The Hero: A paranoid Professional who is the best at what they do. [21:08, 23:41] Their want? To solve a deep mystery. [22:23] Their need? To take responsibility for their own actions. [23:00]
The Backup & The Baddie: The hero gets an ally who is a Protector, hell-bent on keeping them alive... and they share a dark secret. [29:29, 30:11] The villain? A well-intentioned extremist who is trying to stop the hero's quest in order to protect them. [31:13, 31:48]
The sheer, delicious conflict writes itself. As Cassie put it, “This is really... juicy.” We went from a blank page to a story full of secrets, paranoia, and explosions in under 45 minutes.
Your Turn to Play
The system we used in the video is the core of The Writer's Campaign. It’s a gamified, RPG-inspired guide designed to get you from a spark of an idea to a fully-fledged plot, but like, fast. No Gantt charts, no lectures on the 3-act structure that make your eyes bleed.
Just you, some dice, and a clear path to finishing your damn book.
And because I have no idea if people will like this thing, I’m launching it at the ridiculously low price of 99 cents. It’s an absolute steal for a system that will turn your writing process into the most addictive game you’ve ever played.
Stop staring at the blank page. Pick up your dice, start your quest, and let's get some words written.
The adventure is ready. Are you?
Keep rolling,
R
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You're welcome. I'll give more feedback as I get more into it.
Sounds very interesting. I'll be sure to check it out.