I play table top RPGs ¹.  I know they’re just about one of the most painfully nerdy things someone can do but I don’t apologize for it, they’re a ridiculous amount of fun and almost always lead to deepening friendships around the table.  That said, this post will likely contain some terms you might not be familiar with.  Don’t worry, it won’t matter.

Years ago I played a game with some friends that was “Setting Neutral”², that means the game can be set at any time whether historical or sci-fi or any combination thereof.  Because of this, my gaming group had some difficulty deciding what setting to set our RPG in.  We eventually landed on a novel idea.  We each wrote down 6 setting concepts each on 3 different note cards.  Then we rolled 3 six-sided dice (3d6) and played the setting that came up.  We did this twice, the first time we ended up playing a game that was Post-apocalyptic, Super powered, zombie wasteland.  The second game we played was a wild west, noir, monster hunter game³.

I mention this not because I want to tell the world how nerdy I am⁴ but because I was recently talking with a longtime friend I met during this game.  We were reminiscing about this wacky game and it got me thinking…Why not Writing Prompts?

What follows is a method for coming up with your own writing prompts and having a little fun along the way.

First, you will need 3 6-sided dice (those are the ones that come in every game and are shaped like cubes).  Or one of the hundreds of dice rolling Apps for your mobile device.

Second, you will need something to write on.  I, obviously, recommend you use your Notebook.

Next, you roll those 3 dice and match up their result to the corresponding charts to see what your writing prompt/storytelling prompt will be.

Style of writing

1. True story
2. Fictitious account
3. Hyperbolic ranting/raving
4. Humorously understated
5. Gleefully detailed
6. Blurring the lines between wit and snark

Superlative

1. Best
2. Worst
3. Weirdest
4. Most comforting
5. Most boring
6. Craziest or Most exciting

What to discuss

1. Meal or Meal time or Social meeting
2. Travel or Means of travel
3. Day
4. Dreaded event
5. Anticipated event
6. Conversation

Let’s give it a try.  I’ll roll 3d6⁵.  (6-5-5)  The writing prompt for that would be, “Blurring the lines between wit and snark, write about the most boring anticipated event.”  This immediately makes me think of the time I attended a “tree trimming” party where, due to hilarious incompetence, there was no tree but lot’s of waiting for a tree.  Which never came.  I could write about that night for days!

That was fun!  Let’s do another:  I’ll roll again (4-2-1).  “Write a humorously understated account about the worst meal or meal time or social meeting.”  This sounds fun but it could easily turn into whining.  In an effort to avoid whining I would write about the first time I tried authentic Indian food.  At the time, I couldn’t handle anything spicy but, of course,  I tried to play it cool because I was with a girl I had a crush on.  That was also the night I learned that capsaicin⁶ sticks to fingers even after washing.  I learned this by taking out my contact lenses at night and found out, in a very visceral way, why they use the stuff in self defense spray!  Turns out water doesn’t help much.  Writing about that night could be VERY fun.

Feel free to copy this into your Notebook to use or you could come up with your own.  If you’re a true gamer you probably have other dice and could come up with more prompts.  Using 3 6-sided dice you get a little over 200 combinations.  Using 3 20- sided dice you can get 8000 different combinations!  Each one a writing prompt and each one has the potential to be a great Notebooking entry!

So, do yourself a favor.  Next time you sit down to write and nothing is flowing and your Content List feels stale, look at these lists.  You don’t even have to roll any dice if you don’t want to (although you should because rolling dice is fun!).  You could just pick some that feel right.  Or you could pick some that feel downright weird.  Doesn’t matter.  Whatever you pick, once you put them together, they are bound to bring up a thought or experience you can write about.

Enjoy!

1. Role-playing games e.g. Dungeons and Dragons.
2. Fate Core, if you were wondering.
3. It was AWESOME!
4. Although, I am VERY nerdy and, again, make no apologies for it.
5. That’s gamer-speak for three six-sided dice, which are the standard cube shaped dice.
6. That’s the stuff that makes spicy food spicy.