Begin and end with the fiction

Remember: "the fiction" is the shared, imagined space that you and the players establish through conversation, and the various characters' actions and relative positions within that imaginary space.

When rules are invoked—when a player triggers a move or rolls damage or spends a resource or whatever—ground the rules in the fiction. If you can't picture what the character is actually doing or how they're doing it, then ask questions and clarify the fiction before going to the dice. After the dice are rolled, and the rules say what happens, describe what that looks like in the fiction (or ask the player to). Fiction, then rules, then back to fiction. Always.

Likewise, when you make a GM move, make a move that flows from the fiction as established. Don't say the name of the move keep that to yourself—but describe how it manifests in the fiction. Show, don't tell.

Beginning and ending with the fiction is a crucial part of portraying a rich and mysterious world. If you skimp on the fiction and just focus on the mechanics, you'll find that your world is bland, boring, and anemic.

Bad: "You attack the hagr? Cool, roll to Clash. A 10? Do you evade its attack or deal extra damage? Okay, roll your damage +1d6. 7 damage? It's still up and hits you back for 1d10+3 forceful, knocking you down. It's coming at you again, what do you do?"

Good: "You attack the hagr? Cool, what's that look like? Stabbing up into its gut? Yeah, sure, roll Clash. A 10? Do you evade its attack or deal extra damage? Okay, roll your damage +1d6. 7 damage? So like you said, you stab it in its gut and the hagr doubles over, howling in pain, but before you can get away it just uncoils and backhands you across the face. Take d10+3 damage as you go flying and land in a heap, head spinning. You hear it lumbering towards you, grunting in pain and anger. What do you do?"