GM Advice: Make it Happen-go where Your Inspiration leads You

 Another short post, but in tune with me trying to get back into the habit of writing frequently!

I've griped on and off about inspirational issues I have been facing lately. As I have mulled over the issue, I have gradually managed to narrow down some of where the problem lies. One key item, I realized, is that I haven't really been following my muse in the manner that comports to my "true self." This might sound a bit weird, but for me D&D is only partially a hobby for gaming, a big chunk of it really ties in closely to the very heart of the creative process, and that creative process likes to move, like a cyclical event, through specific creative phases. It goes something like this, I have deduced over the years:

1. Craft a grand campaign in the most venerable fictional realms I have created (Keepers of Lingusia and Realms of Chirak);

2. Do this until I need a break (go play Traveller or Call of Cthulhu or what-not);

3. Eventually, reach a point where I am hitting a creative rut in fantasy; I can discern this point in the process when I start devising alternate fantasy worlds to explore, or I feel like I'm hitting the same creative ruts in existing worlds, or I feel like I'm experiencing some sort of generalized burnout.

4. The burnout cycles through until I suddenly realize the problem is that I moved too far away from the fun stuff....and the fun stuff (being my original worlds) suddenly beckon my return. The wealth of ideas return, and I move back to #1 above. 

There are things which can derail this process and I have to work on better strategies for how to avoid that from happening. Lack of player engagement is a huge issue; if players just don't seem interested in what I am doing it can be difficult for me to feel motivated. I think sometimes the way RPGs are played these days can lead to that sense of disengagement, especially for players who are used to "on rails" approaches to gaming where they (unconsciously or consciously) are conditioned to expect the GM to handhold them, lead them along, as opposed to them actively seeking out the action and plot, making their own stories. 

I can tell when this happens because I start over-plotting, in anticipation of the players' level of inaction. The best solution to this is to cut it out, and find a quick way to untether the plot thread from the decision making process....offer direction, but let them make the decisions as to where they want to go, what they want to do. This can be hard for some GMs to do, but it works exceedingly well for me in my classic campaigns because I have so much content eternally prepared, and so much that I can further exploit. I desperately want and need the players to make these decisions, which are unexpected, to challenge me, as GM. That makes it fun for me. All I need to do is....figure out what combination of scenario setup in turn engages the players into taking control of their own destinies.