Weekend Writer: April 2024 Prompts

Hey all, Sam here.

It’s the start of a new month, and that means it’s time for more Weekend Writer prompts! As I mentioned in a previous post, I am making some changes to how this blog series works, mostly because I was spending so much time prepping and writing these weekly posts and it left me so drained. I absolutely loved writing all the writing posts and doing the writing craft book deep dives, but I have to start thinking of my mental health and clearing the path for me to have more time to actually work on my creative writing.

So the first weekend of the month, I will have this prompt post up, and the final weekend of the month, I will share some of my writing: sometimes based on these prompts, sometimes based on whatever novel I’m writing, and sometimes both.

For the other weekends of the month, I will be talking about the writing craft, whether that is sharing writing craft books I’ve read and giving a general review for them, or having a writing related topic to discuss. I’m not strictly planning any of these other weekends. Some of them might even end up being extra prompt shares. So who knows what will happen…I’m just trying to figure out my new process and enjoy myself as I do it.

All right…I currently have six different creativity generator tools in my collection/arsenal. Some of them are technically aimed at TTRPGs, BUT I’ve found that for the most part they work for creative writing just fine as well, which is why I include them all. With each prompt, I take a photo of the prompt randomization (whether that is dice rolls, card draws, or whatever), type up the prompt below the photo, and then I include a paragraph where I give you information about the generator tool I used.

If you know of any other useful tools like these, please let me know. I’d love to keep expanding my collection. It’s cool to see what sorts of ideas can be generated when you use a randomization method for creation.

Story Engine Deck

Prompt: A Witch Wants to Hide an Obsession with a Haunted Portal But They Will Have to Abandon an Important Duty

This prompt comes from this storytelling deck from The Story Engine, which is a prompt and idea generating tool that I adore for both creative writing and for TTRPG plotting.

Tarot/Oracle Decks

Prompt: Communication, Preparation, Teamwork

Once again, I used my Urban Crow Oracle Deck by MJ Cullinane for this prompt. I really like using this oracle deck, because the card names are different from a tarot deck. I do have a few different tarot decks as well, and I might use those at some point for future draws, but for now I’m really enjoying my crow deck. What can I say? I just like crows.

Roll & Play

Prompt: Come and stay at The Saint and Sword. We have a well-kept appearance! Our prices are standard usually. Our bar is busy all the time. The barkeep is known to be a friendly formal elf. Stained-glass lanterns create a colorful, relaxed mood. Velvet soft furnishing on long benches add a chic appearance to this tavern. There are cushioned seats at the bar, from which the regulars converse with the bartenders every evening. (Of course you could also Have a Drink a The Wonky Hippogriff instead. I just liked the idea of The Saint and Sword better).

This month I decided to roll the dice on the Taverns and Inns pages in the Roll & Play book. You can use the many dice I rolled, or if you have your own dice, you can roll on the chart yourself. Or heck, if you want to then you can just choose whichever option sparks your interest. 

Basically, I am playing around with more worldbuilding and fleshing out towns and regions in my current WIP, so I figured I would continue that by giving myself (and all of you) some prompts to help with designing areas to write adventures in.

Sidequest Decks

Prompt 1: Seeds of Contempt – An evil druid threatens to destroy a village by replacing the forest the community has begun exploiting.

Prompt 2: The Defilement – Travelers have taken up residence in a sacred grove. They have slain one of its guardians; the other has been driven off. Whatever they are planning has to do with the eclipse predicted for tomorrow.

The Sidequest Decks from Inkwell Ideas are another wonderful accessory designed for TTRPGs, but can easily be used for writers as well. This time around I went back to the Wilderness & Frontier Fantasy deck, and again, I went with two options as prompt inspiration. You can use either option, and you can either use the basic concept at the top of the card, or you can use the various encounters at the bottom of the card to expand upon the adventure/story further.

The Oracle Story Generator

Prompt: A Mysterious Patron Needs to Surveil A Poisonous Swamp To Find a Missing Person But Time is Running Out.

Next, we have The Oracle Story Generator by Nord Games. I’ve enjoyed playing around with these cards the past couple months, and look forward to doing even more with them in future. With this prompt, you can make it even more specific by either rolling a four-sided die for each card, or by simply choosing which option you like best.

Deck of Worlds

Prompt: The Sundered Apothecary, home to a well of Nature Magic, lies in the Vale of Dreamers, shaped by the Fae and ruled by triumvirate. A strange enchantment seems to have fallen over the land.

A newer addition to the prompt generation is the Deck of Worlds by The Story Engine, and it works in a very similar way to the story deck, but it helps you think about and build either micro settings or small words or huge words with numerous countries throughout. It’s pretty cool.

Since I’m still new to using the Deck of Worlds for prompt generation I chose not to use the full deck. Instead I only used the Worlds of Sand & Story deserts expansion deck. These decks are designed so you can use an expansion deck alone or build it into the main Deck of Worlds. One upcoming month I will do a full setting instead of a micro setting, and give us a larger world that we can explore for a few months of writing.

The Oracle Character Generator

Prompt: Brewer. Tired. Working to leave a Legacy. Their flaw is they are nervous. And a Twist of Fate has left them a little unique (I personally like the one where they reach in their coin pouch and it either always has a coin or is always empty).

The newest addition to this is Nord Game’s The Oracle Character Generator, which finally arrived just before last month’s post, so it is making its Weekend Writer prompt debut here. They don’t have The Oracle Character Generator up on their page yet, but you can follow the link up in The Oracle Story Generator to find all of the cool TTRPG accessories that Nord Games and friends have created.

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All right. That is all from me for today. I honestly don’t know which of these prompts I’m picking for this month, but I guess we’ll find out when I share some writing at the end of the month. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.