This article is special to me because it comes from our newest blogger the TeenageDM. A 13 year old woman. Enjoy!!!
--djkester

Know your players

One of the essentials to being a good DM rests on the relationship between the DM and his/her players. For instance if you are starting with a brand new group of players, it is important to learn how they wish the game to be played. If the players want the amount of role-play to be kept at a minimum then the DM must change his/her style to accommodate the player's wishes. I learned this tip before I started DMing by watching other DMs. They would ask the players questions about how they wanted the story to be played out. Such as: How difficult should the encounters be? And, How much role-playing should we do?

Recognize rude behavior and attention seekers

Another of these essentials is that a DM must be able to recognize when a player is acting rudely either to them or to the other players. Recognizing when this is happening and putting a stop to it can make the gaming session a better experience for everyone. Occasionally there are players that are attention seekers, this term is used to describe people that want the story to be about them, and no one else. This behavior excludes the other players from the experience, and dampers on the level of entertainment that people get from playing. This sort of attitude can have a different effect on different people; some players will not notice that one of their own is an attention seeker, some will shy away and refrain from saying anything, whilst others will speak outright to the person who is attention seeking. If you notice your players shying away, then it is your job as the DM to bring them back. Ask them questions, have the NPCs interact with their characters. If you can tell that the attention seeker is quickly becoming an issue then you should speak to them directly. My advice, just from knowing how people react, would be to not to yell, become angry, or to simply blurt out that they are being attention seekers. Be gentle.

Find a good flow

There are many possible situations were one or two players want the story to have a different flow than the rest of the players. And sometimes you have to decide to go one way or the other. If this occurs then there are a number of different things that can happen. One being that the player acts very negatively about the whole thing and can have a very upset attitude and not participate fully. Another thing is that they try to amend the story to were they feel it should be amended. They can do this by asking unnecessary questions and prolonging the role-playing portion, or by rushing that portion along. One thing that I have learned to do is to avoid this situation altogether. You can do this by finding a medium, something that both parties are open to.

No winners, only death

Occasionally there are players who want to win the game, of course there are no winners and losers, there is only death and those able to escape it. These sort of players often are upset when they discover that there are no winners. If they discover it at all. Some will remain under the belief that there are winners and losers. Sometimes these players will point out the flaws that were in one person’s strategy, and the fact that another player fell unconscious. These sort of players often have a negative effect on the people around them. And I have found that the only really bad way to handle that situation is handling it with anger.

Mistakes are OK

As for the ever-shrinking fear of making a mistake when you are DMing, I’ve found most players to be rather forgiving and helpful. In my experience, they are more apt to help you understand the rules than they are to get upset and throw a fit about it. However, if they do get upset and throw a fit about it then rest assured that it is of no fault of your own and they are just expressing their personal distress from whatever happened to them earlier that same day.

Find your style

One of the problems that we constantly faced with is how to start our stories. Should the characters know each other? Should they not? Should one hire the other? Or do they have a common employer? These are questions of style, so do not be afraid to dink around with different ways to start. There is no wrong way. Besides, your players are there to play not to criticize your DMingstyle. If you are having trouble starting then you should ask your players, most likely they’ll have a preference. And if they think you to be a newb-sauce for it, then that’s okay. I have found that having the characters already know each is faster to get the game started, but in choosing this style you create the need for character introductions.

Engage your players

Another problem that can occur is that one or more of your players is or becomes disengaged in the story. If this happens it is up you, the faithful DM to resolve it. You must find a way to bring them back to the story. Perhaps, they are disengaged because they feel left out of the story telling. Remind them that the story has two major contributors, they are the DM and the players. Or perhaps their mind is on other things, remind them to stay focused. Another thing, is just avoid distractions altogether. Have allotted break times, for food and such, but make sure that they are ready to come back to the game, and don’t let them drag the break on for to long.