Inspiration Cards for Writing and Roleplaying

First published 8/23/2001; last edited 10/11/2006

I found a product recently that included 50 cards for writers, each of which suggested a new way to work on your writing (the idea is that when you're feeling stuck or want some guidance, you shuffle the deck, pick out a card, and do what it says). When I bought the product, I'd originally thought that the phrases on the cards were meant to provide inspiration regarding the content and form of your writing, not the methods you use to write. Although the product turned out to be useful, I was still disappointed that it wasn't what I'd thought it was, and 50 cards didn't seem like much to work with. So I decided to construct my own deck.

Note: the original product is Naomi Epel's Observation Deck (read my review). If you're looking for something to help you with how you go about writing, it's a fun start. Its only flaws are some fairly silly font weirdness on the 50 cards, and again, the lack of cards meant to inspire content as opposed to method. Another great set of cards that might work better would be Once Upon a Time, the Storytelling Card Game.

Ways to Use this Tool

Below you'll find a list of phrases meant to inspire your writing work; copy each onto a 3x5 inch index card (or something similar; the important thing is that each card be the same size as all of the others for shuffling purposes. The advantage of index cards is that you can buy them at any local store that carries office supplies). If you're feeling a little stuck in some way, or in need of some random inspiration, pull out one or more cards and see if they suggest anything to you. Some are simply random phrases. Others are images. Still others are specific suggestions for ways to tweak your writing. If any strike you as particularly silly or non-useful (or in other ways annoying), just leave them out of your deck.

At first I recommend that you just draw a single card when you're in need of inspiration. Try to make some use of it even if there isn't an immediately obvious application. You don't need to work the phrase or image into your writing literally or directly; get metaphorical. Or simply use the process of free association to allow your imagination to run away with you.

If you really can't get anything useful out of a card, then do one of two things. Either put it away and draw a different one, or add a second (or even third) card to the one you drew and try to use them together. One useful way to find interesting plots is to combine unusual and seemingly unrelated plot elements; you might pull several cards and see how you can combine them.

Ways to Improve on this Tool

You might put each major category of card onto a different color of index card. That way if you specifically want an image to work from, you can find one. If you want a technique, you can easily pick one out. If you just want something totally random, you can still shuffle all of the cards together. You might also find it faster to print this page, cut out each phrase, and tape them to the index cards rather than writing each phrase out (at least for the short phrases).

Remember that the greatest thing about doing this yourself with index cards is that you can add cards of your own at any time.* So if you have ideas of your own, then use them! If you want to make sure that you don't over-use images or ideas, then remove cards as you use them.

If you have a favorite song, paste one line (or one verse) each on a set of index cards. If there are photos that inspire you, photocopy them and tape them to the cards. Cut out newspaper & magazine headlines and tape them onto cards. Copy interesting quotes and slogans onto your index cards. If there are aspects or techniques of writing that you have trouble remembering, then write them up on the cards ("remember to use all five senses in descriptions" or "show don't tell"). Use these cards in any way that will inspire you!

Note that these cards are aimed primarily at writers of fiction and similar material. Other writers can get some use out of them, however. Just leave out any cards that don't match up well with the sort of writing you do, and replace them with ones that do.

Since I believe that decks like this are of very limited value unless they're fairly large, you will find at least thirty cards in each major category (the sub-categories are provided only to make the lists a bit shorter and easier to read).

*One Important Warning!

If you copy phrases & lyrics from books, songs, movies and magazine articles, put them in quotes and write the name of the book, album, or whatever you took them from on the same card! You think you'll remember, but eventually you'll forget that you copied them word-for-word. While it's perfectly acceptable to use such phrases and paragraphs as inspiration, you don't want to end up just using them, writing them up (or some version of them) as though they were your own. That's plagiarism.

So be sure that you can't mistake something that you've copied for something that's your own work. Use quotation marks and remember to note your sources.

Category 1: Images

These images are meant to inspire you through the process of free association. You can use them literally or metaphorically, or you might use them as a jumping-off point to find some other useful direction for your work.

Outdoors

People, Creatures & Animals

Items

Category 2: Phrases

Use these phrases much like the images. Use them wholesale. Use them metaphorically. Free-associate off of them to find something totally different.

Conversation

Paperwork-Related Phrases

Category 3: Concepts

Here are some random situational concepts that you might apply to whatever scene, story, plot, etc. you're working on right now.

Position & Movement

Secrets

Category 4: Techniques

Comments in italics after the suggestions give further suggestions for how to apply the suggestions. Only copy these further comments onto your index cards if you think it might be useful for you. Keep in mind that these are intended as techniques for finding inspiration, not as "instructions" for how to work on your project. Try a technique and see if it gives you new ideas, rather than trying it and then force-fitting the results into your actual piece of writing.

Details

Location & Setting

Plot & Structure

Characters

Note that when I use the words "hero" and "villain" in here, I'm not trying to say that you need a black-and-white hero and villain in your story; it's just a shorthand. Everything is a matter of degrees.

Roleplaying Game (RPG)-Specific Cards

These cards are provided for people who are writing their own roleplaying material.

Note that many writers' exercises could be adapted for inspiration card material. You might want to check out our writers' exercise blog for more ideas.