creativeprompts

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A duo! From both the Story Engine deck and the Deck of Worlds, we have an item and its location.

Prompt text: A mind-altering ancient key will trigger a memory of a radical recording in an unsuspecting teacher. This memory will cause the teacher to betray their family. The key is located on the River of Thunder, a site of an auditory phenomenon, in a mansion that is under siege by a foreign power.

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This is from Story Engine's Deck of Worlds Adventure expansion pack. You choose the adventure card and then go to the Story Engine deck and fill in with the recommended card types.

Image text: A high-profile prisoner (a hidden royal) needs to be escorted to a new facility (a booby-trapped mine). There has been a tip-off that someone (a tactician who wants to find a cult) plans to abduct them en route.

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Prompt: There is a metropolis known colloquially as the city where no rain falls due to its towering skyscrapers and protective field that protects the city from the acid rain. In this metropolis, there is a tree, the last remnant of a sacred druidic site. This site, the last remaining pure link to the before times, is now the hiding place of a piece of tech that could end the world. Due to a data leak, it's only a matter of time before this tech is found.

This is an example of a simple microsetting from the Deck of Worlds deck from Story Engine. You pull 1 each of a Region (main terrain type), Landmark (geographical sites and points of interest), Namesake (what people call this place other than its true name or what its true name means), Origin (significant events in the areas past), Attribute (highlights present-day features of the area and its people), and Advent (introduce events that may change the area's future).

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Prompt text: A government-backed mobster wants to implicate a rival using a drop of blood, but something they love will go up in flames.

I just got my Story Engine and Deck of World prompt decks to help me feel more inspired and wanted to share them!

You create a prompt by pulling 1 card each of an Agent (character), Engine (character motivations), Anchor (objects, locations, or important events), Conflict, and Aspect (adjectives). I did get it to help spark creativity, but it's just fun to keep pulling cards and seeing what comes up!

The company has a Backerkit campaign right now for a lore deck to expand your worlds:

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It's so important for writers to read as much as they can in their genre. Through reading, you begin to understand what the expectations are of the community you hope to be a part of. You begin to develop a certain language and shared knowledge with people who have immersed themselves in the genre. And when you pitch agents and editors, you are able to reference other works and explain what about your work stands out and where it follows conventions or familiar tropes.

Reiko Davis, DeFiore and Co.

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As you comb through your manuscript, every time you think 'I'm not sure that works', you'll be tempted  to second guess yourself and think 'oh, it's fine'. Think again. It's not fine. Fix it - or lose it.

Paula, Munier, Writing with Quiet Hands

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What the average reader doesn't understand is the sweat, blood, and tears that go into writing novels.

Stephen Coonts, Writer’s Digest October 1990

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[For aspiring writers,] I'd pass  along what I learned from Harry Crews, who was my creative writing teacher at the University of Florida. He said if you want to be a writer, you have to write every day, even if it's only for 15 minutes. It was the '15 minutes' that hit home. You have to keep the story fresh in your mind; you can't let it slip away.

Michael Connelly, Writer’s Digest October 2017

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Prompt Tuesdaay

Write a story about a character who finds out that they are dying and has been knocking things off their bucket list and has finally reached the last item.

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Figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.

Barbara Kingsolver, Writer’s Digest August 1994

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Let your voice shine  through in the query.

Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency

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...I am not telling you to stop pantsing your way through a manuscript. I am telling you that at some point you have to face structure because if you don't, you're going to end up with a novel that doesn't sell, except by accident.

James Scott Bell, Just Write

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Unlike moviemaking, dancing, classical music, painting - anything at all - writing requires a minimum of equipment yet allows for a maximum of expression of passion and creativity.

Anne Rice, Writer’s Digest November 1988

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With fiction, I get to make everything up. You can certainly make mistakes, but in fiction, you're dealing with truths. In nonfiction, you're dealing with The Truth. And truth matters, especially in this day and age.

Roxane Gay, Writer’s Digest September 2017

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Prompt Tuesday

You’ve been going to the same bar every night for the past five years. In fact, you’re such a regular, the other patrons yell your name and the bartender already has your drink waiting for you. But then, one Friday, you arrive and no one seems to recognize you, not even the bartender. What’s going on?

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A Lot of what this business is about is faith and confidence. It's just that simple.

Stephen King, Writer’s Digest march 1992