Writing Prompts A Day

I post writing prompts I generate using the Story Engine Prompt Cards. I wanted to share a wonderful resource I've been using to re-cultivate my love for writing. So, last year, I bought Story Engine's All-Trilogy Bundle. Please check out their website and look into it! I've used it for some of my short stories and even for creating dynamic DnD bosses.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

A Quiet Rest

✦✦✦

The cards have been quiet for a little while.

Not because the ideas disappeared, but because the mind shaping them became clouded by the weight of life beyond this space.

✦✦✦

I’ve always wanted the prompts shared here to feel intentional.

Not rushed. Not hollow. Not created simply for the sake of filling silence.

And recently, I haven’t been in the right state of mind to offer the kind of prompts this space deserves.

✦✦✦

Stories require clarity. Worlds require focus. Lore requires thought.

And sometimes, the person behind the cards must step away long enough to find those things again.

✦✦✦

This pause was never an ending.

Only a moment to breathe.

✦✦✦

The cards will be drawn again soon.

And when they are, they will be drawn with the care and intention they deserve.

Cardwright will return this Monday, picking up exactly where we left off—with A Soul Divided.

✦✦✦

Thank you for your patience.

Until then, may your stories continue to grow.

✦✦✦

— Cardwright

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/19/2026: A Soul Divided

*How this works: The character must choose one path or the other.

A fairy-touched salvager wants to steal from a true-hearted sanctuary, but it will mean taking on a debt they cannot pay. They also want to break a pact involving a bloodied throne, but they will have to keep a promise they have been avoiding.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

60 Prompts Later: Building a World of Cards

✦✦✦

Sixty prompts later, as promised—here’s my process for worldbuilding.

✦✦✦

When I first created this blog, I focused on stories—small pieces of something larger.

But over time, I started asking different questions:

Where can this story take place?  

What kind of world allows this moment to happen?  

What place exists where this prompt can occur?

✦✦✦

Saturdays became my space for that.

A space to build—not just stories, but the foundations beneath them.

✦✦✦

My world-building process still begins the same way:

With a card.

Using the Deck of Worlds, I start with fragments—locations, cultures, environments, and ideas.

But just like with my story prompts, the cards are only the beginning.

✦✦✦

1. Fate controls my draws.  

Each card builds on the last, forming what the creators call a micro-setting:

• Region Card — the underlying environment  

• Landmark Card — expands the area and provides a point of interest  

• Namesake Card(s) — gives names to the region, landmark, or both  

• Origin Card — provides a lore-based backstory  

• Attribute Card — defines a present-day detail about the area or its people  

• Advent Card — introduces an event that could shape the future or serve as a story hook  

✦✦✦

2. Tucking and rotating.  

Just like with the The Story Engine Deck, each card has multiple possibilities.  

It’s up to me to rotate and tuck cards together to shape the direction of the setting.

✦✦✦

3. Interpretation.  

This is the longest—and hardest—step.  

I take the completed spread and interpret it into something cohesive.  

If I think too long, I overcomplicate it—so I trust my first instinct and record it in my prompt book.

✦✦✦

World-building, to me, is about creating a place that feels like it exists—even when no one is looking at it.

A place where stories don’t just happen,  

but belong.

✦✦✦

A video of this process will be released —so you can see how these worlds come together in real time.

✦✦✦

But for now—

the worlds are starting to take shape.

✦✦✦

~ Cardwright

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/18/2026: A Soul Divided

*How this works: The character must choose one path or the other.

An honest criminal wants to upstage a rival with a passionate letter, but they will lose their life's work. They also want to find a way back to their twin, but it will cost them the world they know.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/17/2026: Expand this Lore

The Rod of Returns had space-distorting properties and was commissioned by a vanguard. It was lost in a national scandal but was recently discovered next to a magnifying glass that knows, whispers, or feeds on secrets.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/16/2026: Create a World

The Fields of Crystals was once an ancient sea. Within the fields is a monastary, dubbed as "The House where Nothing Grows." It is known for its elaborate ettiquette system, and now an important guardian's (a warrior, construct, or demigod) powers are failing.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/15/2025: A Clash of Wills

A hopeful clone wants to understand their terrible visions of a prismatic socialite, but it will mean giving up the chance of fixing their biggest regret. An unsuspecting streamer swore they would never become a socialite, but they will be hurt in ways no one can see.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/14/2026: A Clash of Wills

A disgraced colonist wants to create a message-bearing painting, but it will be the only thing they are remembered for. An off-the-grid chrononaut wants to trigger a memory involving the painting, but they will never be able to travel off-world again.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/13/2026: A Clash of Wills

A dreary bartender wants to pull of a heist of a masterwork shield, but the memory of what they did will haunt them forever. A petty sellsword wants the rare material they can get only from the shield, and now they learn it is with someone else.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

50-ish Prompts Later... and It All Starts with a Card

✦✦✦

I've now created over 50 prompts, I’ve realized something:

I don’t just find prompts.

I build them.

✦✦✦

Every idea you’ve seen here didn’t start as a fully-formed concept. It all starts from a card.

If you haven’t noticed, weekdays are story prompts. Saturdays are for my world builders, and Sundays are for those who want to expand or flesh out lore.

✦✦✦

Here’s what my process usually looks like for story prompts:

1. I determine where I am in my prompt-making cycle.

I cycle between the different prompts laid out by the creators of The Story Engine Deck:

Simple Prompts (Story Seed, Character Concept, Item-Driven Prompt, or Setting-Driven Prompt)

and

Complex Prompts (Circle of Fate, A Clash of Wills, or A Soul Divided).

Once I’ve determined the type of prompt I’m creating, I follow its structure as a guide.

✦✦✦

2. I let fate guide my hands.

This is the easiest step—and where the cards come into play.

I draw the cards needed for the prompt, following the guide.

✦✦✦

3. Then, I take it from here.

This is where I truly create the prompt—and, to me, the hardest step.

The cards give me the pieces, but it’s up to me to connect them into something meaningful.

Each card has multiple options, and I’ll rotate cards or tuck them beneath others to shape the direction of the prompt.

I take those seemingly random elements and turn them into something intentional—something unique and compelling.

Every prompt is drawn from my own aesthetics and creative instincts.

✦✦✦

4. I refine the wording.

I keep prompts clear, but open enough for interpretation—

not too long, not too specific.

Just enough to guide, but not control.

My goal is always the same: to build something that feels like it needs to be written.

✦✦✦

If you’d like to see this process in action, I’ll be sharing a video in the future—so stay tuned.

I’ll also be revealing my process for World Creation after the 60th prompt, and Lore Creation after the 70th.

✦✦✦

What I love most about using these cards is watching something simple transform into something that demands to be written.

If you’ve used any of these prompts, I’d genuinely love to see what you’ve created. Every story that comes from them will be completely different—and that’s what makes this so exciting.

✦✦✦

This blog started as a way to share ideas with writers and artists.

I hope to grow it into something more.

Not just prompts—

but possibilities.

✦✦✦

Here’s to the next 50.

✦✦✦

- Cardwright

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/12/2026: A Clash of Wills

A posessed innocent wants to defeat an unforgiving wand, and will find out it was based on a lie. A paranoid was cursed by the wand, and someone is trying to erase all traces of it.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/11/2025: A Clash of Wills

A fickle guardian wants to change the future of a fearless con artist, but they must reconcile with an old enemy. A ruthless crime boss wants to restore the lost memory of the con artist, but it will mean joining the enemy.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/10/2026: Expand this Lore

A cliff or cliffs, once known for its glamoured appearance, is now permanently flooded as a curse from The Architect, who was wounded by a mortal. In the cliff(s), is the home of a library of wagers.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/09/2026: Create a World

There is said to be an oasis in unmapped barrens that was created as a magical trap. This oasis, known as "The Last Thaw" is known for its healing properties. Lately, strange faults are opening in the barrens: caused by geological activity, human activity, or colossal creatures.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/08/2026: Circle of Fate

An indestructible, tracked cultist wants to topple a government with a demon, but it will cost them their soul. The unassuming and defiant demon wants to ruin the reputation of the cultist, but it will draw the attention of the government.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/07/2026: Circle of Fate

A temperamental, but honest artist, wants a rare material they can only get from an expert, but their sanctum will be destroyed. The brilliant and cheeky expert, wants to perform an assassination with the artist, but they must leave the familiar behind and face the unknown.

[write-a-prompt-a-day]

05/06/2026: Circle of Fate

A crooked, anomalous politician wants to learn how the world ended and the only lead is a junkie, but they will be unable to return to normal life. The estranged and innocuous junkie was found on the doorstep of the politician, and now it has made them a target.