Ever experienced being the game master of a tabletop roleplaying game? If not, maybe you’ve been a player, or at least watched, or at very least let’s get to the important bit:

If you want to tell a story your way, go write a novel, ‘cuz TTRPG ain’t the place to try that. Unbound by narrative conventions, invisible walls, or sometimes even the merest inklings of common sense, players are (in)famously capable of screwing up your best laid plans. Try to railroad them and you’ll just end up with a Sherman’s necktie.

Now me, I always would advise aspiring GMs to stay flexible with their communal storytelling, but also I liked to think I could get very, very sneaky about getting a game back on track. The players, after all, don’t know where All This(tm) is going, and so it’s just a matter of arranging things so that they’ll feel great about taking the path less traveled, but eventually said path is just going to happen to loop back into the main line, and if you’re really good about it they’ll think it was all their idea.

I suppose I bring this up because even if you’re the sole author of a story, there are many paths from A to B and it can be beneficial to acknowledge that. Shit happens. First draft don’t make no gawl-dang sense. Should you keep trying to hammer the proverbial peg through the hole it doesn’t fit, or take a little detour? You’re still gonna get where you need to go and you might even be in a lot better shape when you do.

So, you know, don’t be afraid to get lost sometimes. All roads lead to Rome. Might as well take the fun ones.