Dragon Writing Prompts

There are several fun random writing generators at Feath’s Bookcase. First words, Fantasy generator, Genreless generator, Quick Draw Tarot, Random Quote Generator, Character.

This is from the Character and Plot tarot layout.

There is no interpretation of the cards and only the Major Arcana cards are used, so use your own interpretation. You can be literal or let the words inspire you. There’s no wrong way to do it and the point is to jog some inspiration.

Character’s personality: The World
Character’s strength: The Magician
Character’s weakness: The Star
Character’s goal: Temperance
Character’s obstacle: Justice
Character’s hidden past: Death
Character’s next move: The Emperor
Character’s sidekick/minion: The Hanged Man
Character’s environment: The Hierophant (”An interpreter of sacred mysteries or arcane knowledge.”)
Plot conflict: The lovers
Plot theme: Strength
Plot genre: Wheel of Fortune

(The order of the cards at the website is odd so I rearranged them in a more sensible order.)

Another inspired by the New York Times: “At the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise, Sarah remembers, she wept after visiting the closet-size room where van Gogh spent his final 70 days. ‘I realized that for him being an artist wasn’t a choice. And just as much as I would have been unhappy being an artist, he would have been unhappy not being one.’”

Stories are about driven people. Sometimes it’s a drive they’re born with, like van Gogh. Sometimes it’s a drive inspired by the loss of something they care about.

Write about someone who is driven to be what they are, someone who would even suffer hardships to do what they’re driven to do. You could have them reflect back on some event in their life that captures their passion.

If you need some seeds to get the ideas flowing you can try one of the following. Feel free to change, mix and match or come up with your own:

• An android with a passion to create life-like dolls.
• One born into an ancient wizarding family with the inborn skills to be a great wizard but with a passion for restoring antique automobiles.
• A mouse, who has suffered many losses, who must be a slayer of cats.
• A cat who must serve and protect the tribe Wise One who is quite scatterbrained.
• One born in and raised in space, who is the heir to the captaincy of the family space transport line, with a passion for land based architecture. (Building towers that reach to the stars?)
• A vampire with a passion for fashion design.
• A troll driven to be a chef.

Wandering about Amazon I ended up reading an excerpt from Nikki Sixx’s (of Mötley Crüe) biography and came across the description “Suzie Homemaker from Hell” :-)

Take it from there. Play around with perspective and see how it affects how she comes out. You can write it from the point of view of someone observing her. (Omniscient (God’s eye view), Dad’s new girlfriend from the point of view of the ex-wife or (teenage) son or daughter, the next door neighbor of the new couple who just moved in, Suzie’s mom. ) Or first person, from Suzie’s point of view.

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Use the following homophones in sentences that have a science fiction theme.

praying/preying
rapped/rapt/wrapped
bite/byte
hole/whole
raise/raze
ceded/seeded
foul/fowl
might/mite
hair/hare
rack/wrack

“In the common words we use every day, souls of past races, the thoughts and feelings of individual men stand around us, not dead, but frozen into their attitudes like the couriers in the garden of the Sleeping Beauty.” — Owen Barfield, author (1898-1997)

Every word has its beginning, a first time it was uttered, either as a new idea or as a replacement for an older word. Every word has important moments in its “career”, moments when its presence in a speech or writing changed the course of events for good or bad.

Tell its story from the point of view of the word. You can use a real word and even be inspired by its real origin. Or make up a word and its story.

If you want to use a real origin, most dictionaries have word origins, as does Wiktionary, but here are a few sites with brief stories about words:

• Word Origins — The Big List
• Etymologically Speaking
• World Wide Words — Weird words

“Alexander Hamilton ran up those very treads!” said Steve Laise standing in the foyer of Hamilton’s home. “It just puts you in such close proximity with the past. For those of us who really wish we were living back then anyway, it’s probably more of a stimulus to our imagination than we really ought to have.”

That was said in the New York Times. Steve has found his element as chief of cultural resources for the National Park Service.

Write about a character who feels he’s in the wrong time or place or universe. (He doesn’t need to be in contemporary times of course! Doesn’t even need to be in or of our world.)

Has he found a way to fit in? Or appear to fit in? Does he spend all his time working on ways to escape? Does he escape?

Petal Pushers, a clever name for a new flower shop. Or is it merely clever? The shop has become very popular very quickly and the other flower shop owners in town are curious about their competitors’ success. Is it the prices? The flowers? The customer service? The owners? Or is there something else that’s drawing in the customers?

Write from the point of view of a customer, competitor, owner, investigator. Whatever inspires you :-)

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You’ve won a week’s vacation at an old resort that’s been resurrected and refurbished. When you arrive you’re greeted by your hosts (pictured). Several other people have also won the vacation. You don’t know any of them but one person does look vaguely familiar.

Each of the other guests (as few or as many as you want) is associated with one or more of the following words. (You don’t need to use them all.)

falling star
zany
black velvet
winter solstice
formerly
serene
ruthless
mythological
vanquish
underworld
remorseful
smoky
inspire
whrling
sea of nectar
lotus blossom
sparrow
radical
winter grass
drum
flamingo

Though the Weekly World News is no more, here’s the headlines from the archives of City Newstand in Chicago, for writing prompts or just for fun :-)

Top 10 Tabloid Headlines from JUNE 1998

1. MONA LISA WAS A HOOKER! — WWN
2. Shakespeare had the world’s worst B.O., says historian — WWN
3. DISEASE MAKES WOMAN’S OWN HAND BEAT HER SENSELESS — WWN
4. STUPID DOG EATS 8 WRISTWATCHES! — WWN
5. Smart dog saves stupid cats from spinning clothes dryer! — WWN
6. DA VINCI’S ROBOT COMES TO LIFE — AFTER 500 YEARS — SUN
7. HOW TO CREMATE PETS — IN YOUR OWN HOME! — WWN
8. Terrified villagers flee bizarre Devil Chicken! — WWN
9. ANIMAL-RIGHTS NUTS CALL FOR BAN ON WEREWOLF HUNTING! — WWN
10. Scandal over She-Pope rocks the Vatican — SUN

As you recall, it was a time of great famine in the time of Hansel and Gretel and the step mother persuaded the father to abandon the children in the woods so the wife and husband wouldn’t starve.

So, the kids get lured in by the witch and eventually kill her. Then what? What do the kids do? Do they return home where the step mother is still living? Do they get Dad out from her influence? Do they move on? Do they open a witch extermination service? Do they get arrested for murder?

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Two months ago, the bakery hired a very cute cake master who is definitely not from around here. He or she crafts incredible cakes. Your character has finally worked up the nerve to ask him or her out. But the cake master has disappeared. The bakers are worried. They’ve known your character since she or he was a child and let her or him into the cake master’s room above the bakery.

Take it from there.

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A recent discussion on another list was about the “i before e except after c” rule and the words that break it. There are a whole series of “cien” words that break that rule. The challenge today is to use as many as you can in a writing piece. Feel free to use other forms.

conscience
conscientious
ancient
deficient
(in)efficient
(in)sufficient
maleficient, maleficience — doing evil, harm or mischief
prescient; prescience - foresight
proficient
omniscient, omniscience — all knowing
pseudoscience
unscientific

and as an extra bonus:

tumefacient - producing a swelling, like a tumefacient insect bite.

(BTW, there are plenty more. If you go to OneLook dictionary which allows wildcard searches and type in *cien* you can see loads more.)

Who has more products imprinted with their image: Kiss or Hello Kitty?

I don’t think there’s a Hello Kitty coffin but there is a Hello Kitty wedding dress. And your character has found it and it’s perfect! Write about her. Who is she? Is she seriously in love with all things Hello Kitty or is it for kicks? What’s her groom like? Does he think it’s just as wonderful? What will the bridesmaids wear? Are they as enthusiastic?

Colombo Yogurt (owned by General Mills but I’m guessing the brand is local to New England) is running a contest to rename their flavors to reflect their New England heritage. Each state (Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York) will get their own flavor names.

The prize is a New England getaway to Cape Cod for two.

All the particulars are at the website.

Here’s the flavors to rename. For some reason not blueberry. Maybe they’re keeping that one for themselves!

Cherry
Peach
Raspberry
Strawberry
Vanilla
Boston Cream Pie
Cherry Vanilla
Creamy Vanilla
Juicy Peach
Key Lime Pie
Lemon Meringue
Mixed Berry (raspberries, blueberries and strawberries I believe)
Orange Creme
Red Raspberry
Strawberry Banana
Lowfat Plain
Nonfat Plain
Lowfat French
Nonfat Vanilla
Lowfat Strawberry

(Though there are thousands of writing contests out there, I don’t post about them much since it’s just too hard to make sure they’re legit. Company contests are at least pretty safe!)

Here’s the set up:

Two Chinese lovers are traveling to Europe
in a damp meadow.
The smell of saffron fills the air;
someone with horns approaches

Take it from there.

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The idea was generated by “Writer’s Idea Bank“, which is a widget for a Google Homepage. I don’t see anything at the website that allows you to generate more. You just need to install the widget on a Google homepage and refresh.

One of the following was overheard at a coffee shop. Use it to inspire the real story behind the statement or what the effect was on the one who overheard.

“I was raised by two lesbians in drag.”
“Come on, come on, listen to the mommy dogs.”
“Silence like a casserole.”
“I was Barney Rubble.”
“I will be your creature feature, anything you have in mind.”

From “He’s Got the Whole World in his Pants and More Misheard Lyrics” by Gavin Edwards. Click on the comments for the actual lyrics.

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Though you can see it from everywhere in the city, people won’t speak of it and it’s airbrushed from official photos. Set a story there.

(When you’re done, if you want to see the tale of the real building, click the picture.)

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Two childhood best friends: KaiKai is outgoing, Eilian reserved. They decide to form a group and bring in two others to round out their talents: Gan and Rio. (It can be any group you want: fighters for hire, monster slayers, fortune tellers, musicians, dancers, samurai, exterminators, party hosts …) KaiKai and Eilian have eyes for talent and the two new members’ talents overshadow the two founding members’.

Gan and KaiKai discover their talents mesh exceptionally well and form a tight partnership when they work together. Eilian prefers to hang back and work in the background, but is there jealousy rumbling beneath? After the group has been together for a while, it gets out that the other new member, Rio, is of a reviled faction (religion, race, planet, philosophy, culture, heritage …) but he or she has such charisma those who hire them don’t mind. (But will it last?)

They haven’t had a job for a bit and are getting hungry for work (and for a substantial meal.) Tempers are short.

Write from the point of view of one of the members. Or from each in turn.

Though the Weekly World News is no more, here’s the headlines from the archives of City Newstand in Chicago, for writing prompts or just for fun :-)

Top 10 Tabloid Headlines from MAY 1998

1. DOG SWALLOWS SHEEP — SUN
2. Porcupine falls head over heels in love — with a broom! — WWN
3. One-armed man fights off monkey with fake limb! — WWN
4. WERERABBITS ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN WEREWOLVES! — WWN
5. IRAQI TEENS GETTING HIGH ON ANTHRAX GERMS! — WWN
6. Elvis fan has the King’s JOCK STRAP! — WWN
7. Used-car salesman is buried in fireproof suit — so he won’t burn in HELL! — WWN
8. Police find dead woman in giant ball of string! — WWN
9. BIZARRE DISEASE TURNS PEOPLE INTO HUMAN SNAKES! — WWN
10. Wonder drug makes people bulletproof! — WWN

Probably not the quote he wanted remembered for, but it has obviously been speaking to people for over a millennium and a half. ;-)

Use the quote as the first line, last line, somewhere in the middle or just for inspiration. (Did I cover all the possibilities? ;-)

O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet.
– Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)

Cut up the following words, mix them up and choose 8 randomly. Play around with combinations. Pick a few more until you find something you like.

The write free verse (no need to rhyme or stick to a particular length of line) using your words somewhere in the poem. (Feel free to change tenses and so forth.)

PEOPLE
actor
alchemist
alien
android
angel
apprentice
artist
avatar
baby
Barbie
beggar
bounty hunter
boy
bride (of)
cat
demigod
demon
demon slayer
dragon
embezzler
enchantress
father (of)
fiend
ghost
ghoul
girl
goth
groom (of)
lady
lord
mouse
ogre
orphan
outcast
Ozzie
pig
poet
psychic
pyromaniac
rat
slave
soul
specimen
spirit
thief
troll
vampire
weasel
witch
writer

VERBS
assassinate
assault
bite
blast
bless
capture
celebrate
challenge
charm
corrupt
curse
disappear
discover
doom
dump
eat
exorcise
explode
expose
fall for
flee
hit
imprison
kill
knot
lose
murder
plot to kill
quest for
rebel against
resurrect
reveal
rip off
sacrifice
seize
shoot
silence
slay
smack
smash
stab
surrender
terminate
torment
torture
transform (into)
trick
vanquish
wed
weep

PLACES AND THINGS
bakery
bazaar
bed
bones
castle
chamber
clock
computer
diary
drum
dungeon
empire
fire
flute
forest
garden
goblet
grave
heaven
hell
island
jewel
key
knife
labyrinth
lightening
monastery
palace
paradise
parchment
phone
plastic
quill
quilt
ring
runes
sanctuary
sarcophagus
space colony
star ship
strands
sword
tavern
temple
thunder
tomb
tower
underworld
volcano
well

ADJECTIVES
340 pound
abandoned
accused
amnesiac
angry
annoying
blind
brilliant
crazy
crimson
crumbling
delirious
devoted
doomed
dying
emerald
enchanted
escaped
exiled
faded
feline
first
glowing
haunted
hollow
icy
impenetrable
indecipherable
infested
inhuman
lavender
lost
magic
monster
naked
noble
oozing
phobic
pink
primitive
resurrected
sacred
sapphire
shattered
singing
stinky
tattooed
teen
telepathic
wicked

For today’s poetry prompt imagine you’re a creature or thing. What’s it like to be a television or your cat or a cloud or a record album or a fish in a tank …

The children took the idea in many different directions: interviews, imagining what the answers would be, taking on the persona and revealing the answers … Don’t limit yourself to what you think the approach “must” be :-)

Examples:

I would like to be a pen because every day I would dance and whenever I’m out of ink they would put me away until I got ink. And I would go any place people go.

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Questions to Ask Snow Person

Do you like to be what you are?
Do you like when people step on you and make snow balls with you?
Do you like your color white?
Do you like to be mixed with now?
Do you like to stand all day out in the snow with nothing to do?
Do you like when people fall on you?
Snow
The answer is
NO!!!

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How does it feel to be a blackboard?
I think it would feel funny,
Always being written on.
Always having examples erased off.
What do you see?
You see many many kids.

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From Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching children to write poetry by Kenneth Koch.

Write a series of eight-word lines. Each line will contain one of each part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, interjections and conjunctions.) How many lines you write is up to your muse or your 15 minutes timer :-)

(Not sure why he — and lots of other grammar lists — leave out articles (a, an, the).)

Here’s a quick stab at it:

And, well, slowly his hungry Borslang chewed through
But, oh, inside her dark Gorvopl patiently waited
And, alas, enormous hunger unexpectedly slaked within her.

Okay, the conjunctions are tricky when you can only have one noun or verb per line!

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And if you’re a bit rusty on your grammar:

Noun: person, place or thing. Can be general (the president, the city) or specific (David Palmer, Mos Eisley).

Verb: action word.

Adjective: describes a noun. (Red, hot, blushing …) (Hmm, could also have a poem made up of entirely one part of speech.)

Adverb: describes a verb. (Slowly, haltingly, boorishly …)

Pronoun: a word that takes the place of a noun (he, she, it, they, we, his, her, their, our, its … Actually there are way more than I thought since I usually just think of personal pronouns. There’s a list of Pronouns and a thorough list of personal pronouns at Wikipedia that include nonstandards like “youse guys” ;-)

Preposition: identifies the position of something (before, inside, under …) (A very thorough list of prepositions at Wikipedia)

Interjections: Words that can be followed by an exclamation point. (Uh-oh, yippee, shoo, jeez, ouch, wow, …)
Long interjection list at Wikipedia and a list of interjections by language, for no other reason than just because I stumbled across it and it’s cool! :-)

Conjunctions: Joining words (and, or, but, nor)

From: Charles Bernstein.

To warm up your poetry muscles today, have fun with false comparisons.

Use the form

As ____ as a ____.

and make comparisons that aren’t true.

As always, you can use that format for every line. You can use it at the beginning and then explore the comparison in subsequent lines. Or make a few of the same comparisons and move onto others.

For some reason, it’s a lot more fun and freeing than trying to come up with comparisons that are true. Maybe it ties into the psychology of wanting to do whatever we’re told not to do ;-)

Here’s some examples off the top of my head since this didn’t come from Koch’s book:

As quiet as a wolf in a hen house.
As quiet as a broken muffler.

As alone as Santa at Christmas.
As alone as a Brittany Spears.

As busy as a beach in winter.
As busy as a full bellied kitten.

Ew, sounds self reflective. And I promised, no self-reflection! ;-)

Still, I promise! You’re going to create a “found poem”. It’s a poem assembled from prose found in various contexts: newspapers, advertisements, books, labels, signs … For this poem, type your name into Google, and scavenge what turns up for lines to use in your poem. Rearrange phrases, words and sentences into some pleasing form.

Okay, I only promise if your name isn’t unique. :-) Mine is so all the pages are about me. So use someone else’s name: your best friend from childhood, college roommate, first crush, random lawyer from the phone book, Harry Potter …

(From Poetry Prompt from Google Tidbits)

For this warm up, in each line write an fanciful combination. Keep going for 10-15 minutes.

The following examples were all done by children who didn’t feel constrained only to combinations that make sense. :-)

swan of bees
sailboat of water
pajamas of oranges
book of stripes
kiss of babies
skeleton of discovery
blackboard of moons
swimming pool of doorknobs
hat of laughs

If you want, you can use templates like:

“I once saw …”

or

“I wish I had …”

From Wishes, Lies, and Dreams: Teaching children to write poetry by Kenneth Koch.