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RE: Michael's RPG Shelf: Tips For New and Novice Roleplaying Gamers, Part One - The Rules
Yes! I think a lot of people are intimidated by the size of the books. I think the best thing for a newbie (in addition to the articles you're going to write) is to have another player along who can show you the ropes.
I'm hoping I've got a game starting soon that will include a first time DM (but experienced player), me as a player (I've played on and off for 25 years), and 4 new players. Hopefully we can keep it together. 😊
D&D is absolutely best learned in a group setting, with experienced players helping the novices to understand the ins and outs of things!
You should consider some kind of a campaign journal kept here on Steemit. Not only can it make you a bit of crypto, but it provides a nice, central repository you can link your players to that is essentially a permanent record of your exploits! DMs sometimes offer little bonuses to players who keep the notes of what happened in each session...and if they don't, you could always suggest such a thing. ;)
In my last campaign, I kept a journal and it really was useful for keeping track of events. And maybe people would be interested in reading it too.
I love it when players keep campaign notes. In fact, Matthew Coville in his "Running the Game" YouTube series from a couple of years ago suggests that instead of the DM recapping events from the previous session for the players, have one or more of the players recap events from the previous session for the DM...and if the players get something wrong, the DM should resist the urge to correct them at all costs.
This is phenomenal, because it lets the DM learn how he or she is doing with the campaign, whether the players are picking up on the important information, and even how they perceived the events. You as the DM might think you ran them really hard last time, but if your players think otherwise, you now know you can adjust difficulty up or down and they'll never know.
I usually offer a bonus incentive for whoever serves as record keeper for the session if I'm the DM. In previous editions, this normally amounted to a small XP award, or a circumstance bonus on the first saving throw or attack roll of the session. In 5E, I think I'd give a point of Inspiration, thus letting the player decide when and how to spend that bonus. The idea of someone averting death by trap, or landing a critical hit to a tough enemy because they were keeping good records feels nice to me. :)
Also, I'd say campaign journals/memories are great fodder for Steemit. We need to boost the power of the #gaming tag on here...it's been flagging with the drop in STEEM prices. :)