[theKernel]

I've been playing for a while now and I would like to play more often. The only way I can see doing this is learning how to GM.
Soooo how have all the GMs lurking about these parts learned to do the magic they do?
Also any advice for GMing is welcome

[Chaemera]

You can ignore much of my advice if you're looking at being a hacker-slasher GM. I'm a creative person who likes creative things. The only bits that really apply to hacker-slashers are the last three points.

1st. Broaden your knowledge base. Read fiction (of all genres) like mad, watch movies, watch TV. Read philosophy, read up on the sciences, read politics (especially for Shadowrun). I have everything from Nietzche to Stoker, Lao Tzu to Thomas Hobbes on the shelf above my Shadowrun books. There's also the Divine Comedy, the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe. I've studied biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. I've acted in plays and taken acting classes, studied art history and musical theory, played the oboe and marched with the sousaphone. I'm not trying to trumpet how awesome I am, I'm not really that interesting, I just study what I'm interested in. What I'm trying to say is, the more you broaden your knowledge base and expand your horizons, the more you bring to the table as a GM.

2nd. Get creative. Start writing, short stories, thought exercises, world-building, plot outlines for campaigns. Anything to get your mind more flexible and encourage on-the-fly solutions.

3rd. Learn to read people. If you can't tell when people understand you, when they're bored, when they're happy. What frustrates them, what motivates them, then you can't be their GM.

4th. Learn the rules. Read the books, cover to cover, get engaged in the rules discussions you see on this forum and others (dumpshock is a good one).

5th. Be confident in yourself. It sounds stupid, but if you aren't confident, then you will fold to any pressure offered, your villains will come off half-hearted and rules-lawyers will walk all over you.

6th. Try to find a simple, straight forward module, and run it. See what happens.

[theKernel]

Out of all those things, maybe I need to read a liiiittle bit more and learn the rules better but other then that I'm covered. Thank you:)

[FastJack]

I also recommend reading up on Alexandre Dumas (Count of Monte Cristo is an excellent treatise on revenge served cold and the Three Musketeers novels are great examples of an adventuring group that don't do what you expect), some Shakespeare (for human motivations) and grab story ideas from everywhere (TV shows like A-Team, Leverage and Burn Notice are great for adventure ideas). Take notes on everything. Sometimes you'll get inspired by the silliest things as you're walking through your day.

Remember, your players aren't going to sit there and ridicule you, so even if you don't feel comfortable at the beginning, keep at it. If they are having problems, they will let you know. If they call you on a rules judgement, tell them that you're going to rule this way for now and you can discuss it after the game or during a break to see if something was misunderstood. Also, you're not perfect, you'll make some mistakes, but as long as you're able to admit them and swallow your pride, you'll do fine in their eyes.

Final tip: Don't start off with a six-month mega-campaign. If possible, grab a published adventure off the racks and run through it with your friends in order to find your voice. After you start feeling comfortable, then start venturing into your own material. Not only will the published stuff help you find you speaking voice, it will also show you how to time the adventure and gives you an idea of how your group will go through it and how they operate.

[Fizzygoo]

Experience also helps. And there's only one way to get that. So even if a run doesn't work out well from a GMing/gaming/everyone-having-fun point of view (and that will happen), just note what did and didn't work and forge ahead.

When I start a new campaign, especially with new players, I follow an even more simplified version of Fastjack's 'final tip.' I just spend a game session attacking the players with street thugs, minor gangs, or something similar. It helps to give me an idea of how the players look at combat, what their characters can and can't do, etc. I think of it like the opening scene to most action movies where you get to see the badass protagonist in action in order to establish why he/she's a badass. Then after (and/or before, and/or during) the combat throw in some role-playing with the PCs' contacts which is where you can plant the seeds for the first official run.

And as far as big picture over the long term...yeah, what Chaemera said. But I'm long-winded so I'll expand upon his points...

"1st. Broaden your knowledge base." One of the best ways (as a GM for Shadowrun) to do this is to find as many old Shadowrun products as you can. The beauty of Shadowrun is that every book published (save maybe the older main/core books) is published "in character." So the info on Vegas out of the Native American Nations vol. I may be ~22 years outdated, but all of that can be used as background to fleshing out a run to the City of Sin. And the old Corporate Shadowfiles, well, lets just say I wish I had read that before I had taken HS Econ because my grade would have been better and I would have had more of a reason to pay attention.

"2nd. Get creative." Plot outlines are big for me as a GM. Nice little flow charts. In the center of a page I'll write in a box something like "PCs meet Mr. Johnson." Then below that another box "PCs do what Johnson wants." Then in each corner of the page I start a new box that has the names of the other parties interested in "what Johnson wants." And I'll start drawing new boxes and lines, adding complications, and other things. Even if you don't end up using that adventure, you've still got yourself a nice little story outline to be used later.

"3rd. Learn to read people." Yes...but reversely...develop your poker face. Do your best to not let the players be able to read you.

"4th. Learn the rules." Yeah.

"5th. Be confident in yourself." As a GM you're allowed to yell and what better way to yell than through the NPCs .

Well, I already covered #6 above kind of, so yeah, that's it. I'll stop rambling now

[Nomad Zophiel]

Find the most recent edition of the Stuffer Shack gunfight. Its a great introductory adventure and not too deep. It gives your players a chance to get used to what their characters can do and your chance to get a handle on how they play and find your voice.

[Kot]

Read the anniversary corebbok tips.
They pretty much cover the basics, and let you go from there.

[inca1980]

One also cannot stress enough the importance of a balanced breakfast!  OH...and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!!!

[CaptRory]

Never let the rules get in the way of having a good time. The rules are there to make sure things are fair. But the point of the game is to have fun. If one or more of the rules is getting in the way of that, change or discard it, although you should let the group know ahead of time or get a consensus at the table.

[Major Doom]

I've been playing for a while now and I would like to play more often. The only way I can see doing this is learning how to GM.
Soooo how have all the GMs lurking about these parts learned to do the magic they do?
Also any advice for GMing is welcome

I'm in the same boat as you.  Going to take a stab at GMing Shadowrun soon, since I also would like to play more often.  Anyway, I GMed before and it's a constant learning experience.  There's always something new to learn, new tricks to use, and new angles to view.  The following will be strictly general GM advice.  Majority of the advice you've heard so far is to read many novels in all types of genres, watch films, etc., are helpful, the main thing is keep it simple.  Get yourself a small notebook/notepad (or 3-ply toilet paper if you are eccentric enough) and whenever you walk around your metroplex (city/town/village/den), take in what you see and let some of the wonky stuff that occurs inspire you.  Yeah it sounds lame, but you'd be surprised how something small like an odd looking commuter can inspire major NPCs that have ulterior motives, such picking victims to stalk and sell bodyparts to local Tamanous.  I also suggest the use of a mind map tool (free ones like XMind or FreeMind) are great for developing ideas and linking them together to create an adventure.  Always do a little homework on the material you want to use, maybe something mathematical such as deciding the average distance of a city block in Seattle to aid players in gauging distance of their weapons, that way you will be prepared for small things that creep into a game.

Another thing to consider is "show, don't tell" your players the scene.  Instead of posting a "danger ahead" sign, describe the environment, conveying a certain mood and effect, such as "the cracked street, with garbage-strewn all over leads into a dark and eerily quiet alley, which emanates a hint of copper in the air".  Also use something similar to describing antagonistic NPCs, such as "a mean-spirited dwarf stares at you suspiciously, but you get the strange feeling he is appraising your gear wondering how much he can fence it for over your dead body."  Such methods are great compared to just saying "roll Initiative".  Of course use it sparingly, and when you want leave an impression.

Also to emphasize, know the rules too.  Go through some scenarios in your head, or jot it down, and try to predict what possible course of actions would be taken by your players, then look up the rules.  Any issues, ask on the message boards.  Basically don't stress yourself out, keep it light and simple, and once you got a handle on it, you can develop more detailed material as your game progresses.

[CaptRory]

Keep the game moving along. For me, as a rule of thumb, if I can't find the rule we're puzzled on in a minute, I make a ruling as to how its going to work for that session and make a point to look it up when we're done playing

Sitting around and waiting isn't fun for anyone and neither are arguments over rules. Flex your GMing muscles and end debates and keep the game moving along.

Oh, and most importantly, don't decide things for your players. Nothing ruins a game more than railroading. I've been on the receiving end a few times.

[Major Doom]

Also I forgot to add, aim to make your adventures modular and scalable.  This way you don't risk getting stressed when players take a different avenue than what you've planned.  You can drop random encounters and challenges, regardless what choice your group takes.  Yes this sounds like your are providing an illusion of an open-ended game world, but being a GM is tough as it is already, so little tricks such as these will make the your game world turn much more smoother.  Scalability allows you to run the game even if less members of the group show up.  Therefore create some generic NPCs before hand.  Throw in some random stats, don't get too detailed, equip them with something, and set them on loose against your group.  You can even include some reward, such as valuable items with the generic NPCs, which the PCs get to loot.  Note, not everything has to be monetary/gear.  The reward can be information to further develop your adventure.

[Crossbow]

The one piece of advice I would give to a GM is remember that you are not the adversary of your players, you are simply everthing else in the the universe that is not them.

[Mystic]

Find your style. I've worked with and played under all sorts of GMs. Some are rules experts who run a very structured game. Others are wild and crazy who think that like Speed limits, rules are just suggestions. All can be fun for different reasons. Find what style suits you. Do you want to be an uber expert who knows all the tricks, loopholes, what chart to use, what dice to roll, etc. Or do you care more about story over stats?

Me, for example, tend to fall in the middle. I usually know all the rules, but am far from a "rules lawyer" and will sometimes fudge or blur a rule if I feel it will save or better serve the overall situation. I also tend to ham things up. In the last SR3 campaign I ran, I would talk in odd voices and literally act out the NPCs. People still talk about Madame Zelda from the local magic shop.

But one more bit of advice. No matter what your style is, always be prepared. Have whatever materials, notes, outlines, etc ready to go before you start. Nothing stops a game cold or puts off players more in my opinion more than an unorganized GM. No one wants to play for someone who keeps having to go back and root through a book because they did not have the right chart handy or the right set of notes in front of them, or cant even heep his own story straight.

[Nomad Zophiel]

One bit of advice that's stuck with me since Everwyas, WOTC's first foray into RPG's:
In any situation, first ask what should happen. Gunfire in Bellvue? Someone's going to call Knight Errant. Sensible reactions from sensible people are often all you need to keep things interesting.

Second, ask what could happen. Got a big chase scene where its important that the NPC's get away? Check your Seattle maps and see whose gang territory you're running through. The gang attack could be random. One of the NPC's could have bribed a fixer to send them out. Look for what's unexpected but still in the realm of the credible. If you have the Dawn of Artifacts books you'll see how this is used to consistently limit Frosty and keep her from running over the game.