12 Days of Prompt Tools for Fiction Writers
Day 7: Dungeons & Dragons books
When you become as obsessed with writing prompts as I am, you start to see them everywhere. So, while pretty much all of the resources shared thus far were created with fiction writers as their target audience, there are times I stray from those areas when it comes to my writing prompt tools. Today’s writing prompt tools fits into that category.
*Many links in this series will be affiliate links (any that direct you to bookshop.org), so if you use these links to make a purchase, please know that the shop itself will pay me a commission as a result of your purchase.
Day 7: Dungeons & Dragons books
For anyone who has actually played D&D, there is no secret that this game and fiction writing are very closely related. The gameplay takes the term “imaginative play to whole new depths, players are encouraged to create characters, build their stories and their histories, and use these creations to manuver in any number of conflict situations (sound familiar?). The dungeon masters, the players who create the worlds and conflicts these characters must traverse, are tasked with in depth world building, including setting, plots, conflicts and creative interpretations of what it actually means when a player roles a certain number in a certain situation all based on what they know about the character, team, and their world. In other words, playing D&D is very much like fiction writing in real time and, as a result, the books created for the players of this game tend to sound and look a lot like writing prompt books and can be increidbly useful if you like to write fantasy. The first book I have found to fit this bill perfectly is Dungeons & Dragons The Worldbuilder’s Journal of Legendary Adventures.
Purchase at Bookshop.org
The Worldbuilder’s Journal makes it to my list of favorite writing prompt tools because there’s enough in here to keep you writing all year long. There are 365 prompts intended help you, as the subtitle of the book says, “create mythical characters, storied worlds, and unique campaigns,” and, in my vernacular, “campaigns” is just another type of storytelling, so I read this as an opportunity to create unique stories.
How It Works
The Worldbuilder’s Journal has 365 detailed prompts (one per page), encouraging the reader to creae a scene, or a conflict, or even on character on the page below. Oftentimes there are names of mythical places and creatures from the Dungeons & Dragons lore that, as fiction writers, I do not feel compelled to hold true to all of the time, but, at other times, have had no problem doing a quick Google search to wrap my head around, no matter how obscure. Other times more generalized terms like “describe the black market in one of the cities you encounter,’ leave the door wide open to take the prompts far outside the world of D&D and directly into whatever you imagine.
How I Use It
I have used this book in a number of Writing Prompt Parties within the Stop Writing Alone community. Each time I randomly opened the book, read the prompt at the top of the page and then asked the group of they wanted me to read the facing page in order to have options. Mostly the request has been “Yes!” but mostly so people could just hear another prompt because the first was so intriguing. While the prompts sometimes just ask for a description of a place, within the writing prompt parties, our goal is to always try to write the first draft of a story, so the reading of two prompts can sometimes help with that as well. Writers have used these prompts to apply to the characters and worlds in their current WIPs as well as writing something original based on the prompts. I do not recall anyone taking the prompt and bringing it back into D&D, and I don’t recall any writers having any issues with a lack of previous D&D experience.
Here’s a look at the first two facing pages:
Prompt 1 reads: Describe the black market in one of the cities you encounter. Start by writing down the names, appearances, and personalities of three vendors. What are some unique, unusual, or magical wares they sell? Or what valuable information do they have?
Prompt 2 reads: Whenever you and your company hit a new town or city, you’re sure to be tavern-bound eventually. Write a list of at least five tavern names, their themes, their proprietors, and their personalities. What characters or unique brews might you encounter at each establishment?
What I’ve Written With It
I was shocked to find none of my Create A Story stories made it to my Story Hoarder Substack page (my home for my fiction). This book has been brought to quite a number of Writing Prompt Parties, so I know I have loads of drafts thanks to these prompts, but perhaps it is exactly because this book pushes me outside of my comfort zone, that I have lacked the confidence to post the stories without urther work. I am going to have to change that!
Why I Love It
I love any tool that drags me (sometimes kicking and screaming) into a place I don’t normally write. While I am a huge fan of fantasy as a consumer, it is not a genre I stumble into when sitting down to write. Books like this demand I do so, and the types of specific questions each prompt page offer drag my imagination into a place that leads to awesome personal writer workouts.
As a writing group leader I love this book because it offers prompts for my fantasy writers within in their genre without them having to always try to jame my square prompt pegs into the writing realm they wish to explore. I appreciate any tools that help any writer to feel seen in their genre of choice!
Where To Buy It
This is another book that you can find at Bookshop.org. As I have mentioned in previous posts, making a purchase through bookshop.org is both convenient as well as supportive of an independent bookseller close to your home. Bookshop.org orders are filled by an independent bookseller near you. In addition, I am an affiliate for bookshop.org, so if you use one of the links in this post to make your purchase, I will receive a small commission, paid by bookshop.org as a “thank you!” for sending your business their way.
The List
Just in case you do not have the time or patience to wait out all 12 days to see the tools I will be sharing this season, here’s a bit of a master list. You can come back when it suits you to check out the reasons I love these tools and how I use them. As the posts go up, I will update this list with the links to those posts.
Games that are great prompt tools (You’ll have to check the post out for these links!)
Now Write! Books
Stop Writing Alone Paid Subscription (you really can’t blame me for this! With this option, you have access to all of these AND MORE all the time!)
I never would have expected to use D&D books!