It's enough to make me cynical

I was on a reading binge, and finished five books in the last week or so. Of these four were fiction. For any interested those four are: Origin, Breach, Beneath the Dark Ice, and Defiance. All were bad. I would have bet money that they weren't good upfront, but was hoping to steal an idea or two for gaming. In the end, I had almost nothing except for one concept from Defiance. I've lost a few hours from my life that I won't get back. Sigh.

To be honest, the Potboiler has been with us forever. But things seem a bit worse now. Self-Publishing has come to normal fiction as much as RPGs, and you can get stuff on the Kindle that no publisher would touch. I've now learned to watch out for these, although to be honest they aren't that much worse than the published stuff. But they are worse.

Here's my hints to any writers out there. It applies to GM's too as they are often in the same business. Making something rather common interesting to those reading or playing in it.

1. Interesting characters that hook the reader, that are believable, and that we can root for are key to anything. They can make the most redundant and unimpressive plots sparkle. Their absence will sink anything no matter how creative or otherwise well done.
2. Have those characters actually matter to the outcome unless your work is the darkest of horror. And really, this days the darkest of horror is so freakin' common that it should be avoided as the pointless exercise it is.

In one way, GMs should have a much easier time than writers. The players should take care of most of the first requirement although it helps to have a good NPC here and there. And really the second point is up to the players as well.

However the very control given to players is why GMs can run into trouble. Because they have to allow the players to achieve both items. Note- allow and is not the same as give. That balance is the most difficult thing in gaming. Here's hoping you find it.