GMs who write your own campaigns - what inspires you?

>>55162576
Partly it's a means of creative expression. I like making them and I like seeing players get into something I've made myself, going to places I designed, interacting with NPCs I created, getting killed by security measures I put there, etc.

And partly it's because I don't like premade adventures. Even the better ones tend to be railroady and packed with cliche.

Usually there's a set theme or concept I find interesting, and from there I create a campaign that will best explore that theme through the narrative and encounters the players face. It can be as big as exploring Sins of The Father or the manipulation of good will, or as simple as a grindhouse adventure with lots of figthin'.

>>55162633
Sure, of course, but what inspires you, what gives you the ideas that you express creatively?

Simple stories.

>>55162675
RL, history, fictional works, random flashes of "what if this was like that instead?". Sometimes it might be a particular theme I want to use, though I always avoid anything stemming from IRL modern politics and religion.

>>55162576
Everything
Just, experience as much as possible and report back. Art. Music. Sex. Alcohol. Books. Good relationships. Bad theater. Awkward dating. Public masturbation. Everything.

I'm a derivative hack. Every time I consume any piece of media, the first thing I think of is "Well, I would have done it like this..."

Otherwise, I try to play to my strengths. I like writing mysteries and characters with ulterior motives, so I try to work those in to my games as much as I can. Even if what I'm writing about doesn't directly involve those things, I can still get useful insight or cool ideas by thinking about them in those terms.

>>55162576
Player input (both IC and OOC) and PC backstories. I try to start with the bare bones, and then let the story naturally flow around the players backstories and in-character motivations. I want the PC's to be the center of the campaign.

Usually hanging out in art threads. Theres those landscapes or character portraits that you see and it immediately triggers a cascade of ideas.

Probably reason why my setting is so kitchen sinkish to be honest.