Writing Ideas

This article is to serve as a collection of writing challenge categories that I've completed or forgotten about over the years!

February 2023 Beastiary

1. Wings: Bird-of-Prey
2. Stripes: Striped Bandit
3. Horn: Devilbacks
4. Shell: Hullbreaker Crabs
5. Colorful: Chroma Toad
6. Nocturnal: Glowfruit
7. Mythical: Prophet Bird
8. Prey: Black Whales
9. Monstrous: Vespauri
10. Danger: Spored Boar
11. Purr: Strawback Otters
12. Roar:
13. Shriek [July 5, 2023]: Mimicry
14. Howl:
15. Tamed:
16. Pack [Aug 20, 2023]: Mel Domi
17. Burrow: Brightshell Snail
18. Bond [July 5, 2023]: Deno
19. Stinky:
20. Gentle:
21. Messenger:
22. Food:
23. Vicious:
24. Silent:
25. Parasite:
26. Predator:
27. Stalk:

Summer Camp 2023

1. A Powerful Organization in your World:
2. A Seat of Power (Of Any Kind): The Sedile
3. A Resource that provides fuel or power: Sparkpowder
4. An animal associated with, or symbolizing, power: Deno
5. A culture that has suffered under the rule of a stronger nation:
6. A conflict between two unequal powers in your world: The 2-Day War
7. The title and responsibilities of an important person in your world: Auctor
8. A destructive natural or supernatural event:
9. A species known for its mischievous personality: Mimicrow
10. A popular summer tradition that involves art and creativity:
11. An unclaimed, unregulated, or lawless region in your setting:
12. A settlement at the limits of the "known" or "civilized" world:
13. A job that takes its practitioners to remote or faraway places:
14. An animal found in a non-populated area:
15. A useful plant found in a wild area of your world: Late Bonnet
16. A material or natural resource that comes from a dangerous location:
17. A character driven by wanderlust or the desire to explore: Olvir the Unknown
18. A cuisine from a spares, barren, or remote region in your world: Cooking in the Barrens
19. An iconic building or landmark representing a location: Jagged Tooth
20. A letter sent in secret by a well-known person in your world: Evidence #763-AH-00523
21. A tradition or behaviour considered old fashioned:
22. An item of great cultural or religious signifiance to a people in your world:
23. An ancient city that is still inhabited today:
24. A historical figure still venerated today, and why: Carral Lottway
25. A profession that has been rendered obsolete:
26. A children's tale or song based on a real event:
27. A species now considered extinct:
28. A historical culture whose influence is still felt today:
29. A ceremony that represents a transition or transfer:
30. A rare natural phenomenon that most people look forward to:
31. A method used to carry goods over long distances: The Kingsroad
32. A system to send messages between distant places: The Aranea
33. A form of silent communication:
34. An organization for which recruiting or proselytizing is important:
35. A species with an unusual form of communication:
36. A character who excels in manipulating others: Sylro Eagerheel
37. An important public announcement that one person addressed to many:
38. A building or landmark used for, or associated with, communication: The Oris
39. A character who prefers to lurk in the shadows: Shawn Gregoir
40. A "negative" condition that has hidden advantages:
41. An organization dedicated to keeping a major secret from the public:
42. A myth or truth about the meaning of your universe:

Spooktober 2023

1. Crow:
2. Spectre:
3. Helpless:
4. Stalk:
5. Dry:
6. Dispair:
7. Incorporeal:
8. Thunder:
9. Sharp:
10. Claw:
11. Cryptic:
12. Harvest:
13. Summoning:
14. Apparition:
15. Eerie: Kanajack the Distant
16. Moon: The Wanderer
17. Void:
18. Fade:
19. Clock:
20. Pale:
21. Nausea:
22. Shiver:
23. Fate:
24. Slither:
25. Hopeless:
26. Epitaph: The Disorganized Wars Memorial
27. Drown:

Worldember 2023

1. Ethnicity: Warforged
2. Technology: Technocore
3. Spell:
4. Title:
5. Prose:
6. Profession:
7. Plot:
8. Natural Law:
9. Tradition:
10. Military Formation:
11. Material:
12. Condition:
13. Document: Law 232-A-1978
14. Military Conflict: The Complete Strike
15. Vehicle:
16. Settlement:
17. Item:
18. Character: Tornyss Halfshield and the Civil Rights Movement
19. Generic Article: Lycera Hopital and Reorganization
20. Organization:
21. Species: Spondilus
22. Geography: Kem'ware
23. Building:
24. Myth/Legend:
25. Language:

Cabinet of Curiosities 2024

1. Ancient:
2. Sentient:
3. Weak:
4. Chaos:
5. Art:
6. Sweet:
7. Pointy:
8. Keep:
9. Rest:
10. Language:
11. Memories:
12. Soft:
13. Time:
14. Light:
15. Sticky:
16. Luck:
17. Knowledge:
18. Proud:
19. Music:
20. Protect:
21. Swift:

Summer Camp 2024

1. A TUMULTUOUS REGION PRONE TO NATURAL DISASTERS: The Roil
2. AN ENVIRONMENTAL OR OTHER LARGE-SCALE NATURAL DISASTER: The Night of The Second Sun
3. A CHARACTER WHO GOES THROUGH A GREAT CHANGE OR METAMORPHOSIS:
4. A SICKNESS THAT CAUSED SOCIETAL UPHEAVAL: Bracialcitis
5. A DOCUMENT THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY:
6. A DISPLACED PEOPLE IN YOUR WORLD: Arrivals Quarter
7. A CONFLICT THAT INVOLVED A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT:
8. A VEHICLE THAT, WHEN INTRODUCED, CAUSED SOCIAL UPHEAVAL: Stoutheart Engines
9. A MYTH ABOUT FOOD:
10. A BUILDING ASSOCIATED WITH JOY AND FUN:
11. A SETTLEMENT CONSIDERED A REFUGE (Settlement): Outlook
12. A TECHNOLOGY USED FOR DEFENSE OR PROTECTION: Quickbow
13. A NATURALLY SHELTERED PLACE:
14. A BUILDING CONSIDERED A REFUGE AGAINST THE WORLD:
15. A UNIT DEDICATED TO GUARDING SOMEONE OR SOMETHING:
16. A PERSONAL ITEM THAT KEEPS YOU SAFE:
17. A TRADITION THAT GIVES COMFORT:
18. A SPECIES WITH PROTECTIVE ANATOMY:
19. A SUB-CULTURE CONSIDERED LARGER-THAN-LIFE BY SOME:
20. A CHARITY OR OTHER ORGANIZATION FOCUSED AROUND DOING GOOD:
21. A FACTION OF AN ORGANIZATION BUILT AROUND BELIEF:
22. A MYTH, URBAN LEGEND OR CONSPIRACY THEORY BELIEVED BY MANY TO BE TRUE:
23. AN EVIL SPIRIT OR DIVINE ANTAGONIST:
24. A DOCUMENT OF SPURIOUS OR CONTROVERSIAL ATTRIBUTION:
25. A RELIC OR SYMBOL OF BELIEF:
26. SLANG OR A LANGUAGE ASSOCIATED WITH A RELIGION OR BELIEF:
27. A LEADER OR HIGH-RANKING PERSON IN AN ORGANIZATION:
28. THE PRACTICES AND CEREMONIES OF WORSHIP:
29. A SETTLEMENT THAT'S KNOWN AS A PARTY TOWN OR PLEASURE CITY:
30. A HYBRID SPECIES INTENTIONALLY BRED:
31. A MYTH OR PROPHECY ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD:
32. A MATERIAL THAT IS RESISTANT TO DECAY:
33. A PROFESSION THAT IS CONSIDERED DIRTY:
34. AN ORGANIZATION FIGHTING CORRUPTION:
35. A TRADITION THAT REPRESENTS MORAL DECAY:
36. AN ANIMAL OR PLANT THAT FEEDS ON DECAY:
37. A DEGENERATIVE DISEASE:
38. A PIECE OF TECH THAT PREVENTS DECAY:
39. A STORYTELLER, AUTHOR OR BARD IN YOUR WORLD:
40. A GEOGRAPHICAL REGION THAT IS EXPANDING:
41. FOOD OFTEN EATEN BY TRAVELLERS:
42. A BUILDING THAT WAS MEANT TO BE TEMPORARY:

Institutions of Learning

Tell us about an educational organization in your world, and describe some of the characters you can find in it: Pen Arts Academy

Spooktober 2024

1. Breath: 
2. Depths: 
3. Lair: 
4. Teeth: 
5. Fur: 
6. Scales: 
7. Eye: 
8. Ancient: 
9. Horned: 
10. Mutated: 
11. Aberration: 
12. Tongue: 
13. Armored: 
14. Space: 
15. Predator: 
16. Deafening: 
17. Grotesque: 
18. Petrifying: 
19. Otherworldly: 
20. Winged: 
21. Drown: