Dragon Writing sticks
Here’s the list of words that I used for the writing prompt — though more of a game really! — in the Dragon Writing fun shop at the Live and Learn Conference. (Click on Comments at the bottom of the post for a list of the words.)
For those who weren’t there, I had a whole bunch (maybe 300) colored popsicle sticks with words written on both sides. We drew a bunch of sticks and tried to come up with fantasy tabloid headlines.
The only instruction I gave was to choose 2 sticks of each color. That just gives you a good mixture of word types to start working with. You don’t need to use them all. You don’t need to use each color. You can throw back and redraw any that aren’t working and draw whatever color. Whatever helps!
I used two packs of colored popsicle sticks and put words on each side. I can’t remember how many were in each pack. (150 maybe?)
Plain - Conjunctions and Prepositions. These are the only ones that have 4 to a stick. Katelyn came up with this idea in the headlines she sent to the list and it seemed to make them more interesting. I went through the newspaper and kept track of the prepositions that were most common. There are multiple copies of each set. Katelyn needed an "on" a couple of times so I made one but it’s all by its lonesome at the moment. There’s a list of prepositions at Test Magic. Way more than the newspaper headlines ever use! ;-)
Green - Places and Objects. Probably the least useful category but interesting to have.
Red - Verbs. There are more words than I had sticks for so I colored some plain sticks with a red marker.
Blue and Purple - People and Creatures. Probably the most useful category since the nouns can often do double duty as adjectives: vampire astrologist for instance.
Yellow and Orange - Adjectives. If I were doing it again, I would change what adjectives I could to nouns, like "baby" for instance. (Especially since I had extra blue and purple and ran short of yellow and orange so had to make some.)
Using colored sticks isn’t important. It’s just less annoying. My daughter and I have another set of just plain sticks with random words on it originally intended to generate manga-ish story ideas. They’ve expanded beyond that (a recent one had something to do with a local radio personality and sparkly pants ;-) But since they’re all the same color, it’s annoyingly easy to pull out a whole series of nouns as you search for a verb.
I don’t know if it makes a difference but, as I was writing them, I had the words printed in two columns (4 columns for the adjectives) and chose the word for one side of a stick from column A and the other side of the stick from column B so all the "a"s, for instance, weren’t clustered onto the same sticks. As I said I’m not sure if it makes a difference but it seemed to make sense at the time!
|
Yellow &
|
Blue &
|
Red
|
Green
|
Plain
|
|
Orange
|
Purple
|
|||
|
Adjectives
|
People & Creatures
|
Verbs
|
Places & Things
|
Conjunctions & Prepositions
|
| (world’s) best | actor | accuses | abyss | of — 7 sets of each |
| (world’s) biggest | adversary | assassinates | altar | for |
| (world’s) oldest | alchemist | assaults | armor | outside |
| (world’s) smallest | alien | attacks | bakery | before |
| (world’s) worst | android | avenges | bazaar | |
| (world’s) youngest | angel | banishes | bones | after — 5 sets of each |
| 340 pound | apprentice | betrays | camera | inside |
| abandoned | artist | bewitches | castle | outside |
| acclaimed | assassin | bites | cavern | before |
| accused | astrologist | blames | chamber | |
| alienated | avatar | blasts | computer | over — 5 sets of each |
| ambitious | Barbie | blesses | crypt | but |
| amnesiac | beggar | bribes | diary | with |
| ancient | bounty hunter | builds | dungeon | and |
| angry | boy | burns | empire | |
| annoying | bride (of) | captures | fire | on — 1 |
| arrogant | brother (of) | celebrates | forest | |
| baby | bunny | challenges | garden | |
| balding | cat | charms | goblet | |
| barbarian | creature | cheats | grave | |
| beautiful | crime boss | chills | heaven | |
| bitter | cult hero | chokes | hell | |
| bizarre | cult member | claims | holy book | |
| blasphemous | cyborg | completes | island | |
| blind | death | conquers | jewel | |
| brawny | death god | convicts | key | |
| brilliant | demigod | cooks | kingdom | |
| broken | demon | corrupts | labyrinth | |
| brutal | demon hunter | curses | monastery | |
| bubbly | demon slayer | dares | palace | |
| charismatic | dog | deceives | paradise | |
| chocolate | dragon | defeats | ring | |
| compulsive | dragon hunter | defends | runes | |
| corrupt | dragon slayer | deposes | sanctuary | |
| crazy | dwarf | destroys | sarcophagus | |
| creepy | elf | devastates | scroll | |
| crimson | Elvis | disappears | space colony | |
| crooked | embezzler | discovers | star ship | |
| crumbling | emperor | disguises | sword | |
| cultured | enchantress | dooms | tavern | |
| cursed | evil overlord | dumps | temple | |
| cyber | executioner | eats | tomb | |
| dancing | exorcist | eliminates | tower | |
| dark | fairy | escapes (from) | underworld | |
| dastardly | father (of) | exiles | volcano | |
| dead | fiend | exorcises | well | |
| delirious | fortuneteller | explodes | ||
| delusional | ghost | exposes | ||
| desecrated | ghoul | falls for | ||
| deserted | girl | fears | ||
| devoted | goblin | fights | ||
| diseased | Godzilla | frees | ||
| disguised | goth | gives birth to | ||
| dishonest | groom (of) | hatches | ||
| disturbed | harpy | hits | ||
| divine | heir | imprisons | ||
| doomed | hellion | invades | ||
| dreamy | horse | is | ||
| dusty | husband (of) | jealous of | ||
| dying | investigator | kidnaps | ||
| eerie | king | kills | ||
| embarrassed | lady | liberates | ||
| emerald | lizard | locates | ||
| enchanted | lord | loses | ||
| enigmatic | mage | mourns | ||
| escaped | mecha | murders | ||
| exiled | mermaid | plots to kill | ||
| extinct | monk | poisons | ||
| faded | mother (of) | proves | ||
| failed | mouse | quests for | ||
| fake | murderer | rebels against | ||
| famous | musician | recovers | ||
| fanatic | mystic | rejects | ||
| feline | ninja | reproduces | ||
| first | ogre | resists | ||
| fluffy | orphan | resurrects | ||
| forbidden | outcast | reveals | ||
| forgotten | Ozzie | ridicules | ||
| foul | pickpocket | rips off | ||
| fractured | pig | rules | ||
| frozen | pirate | runs off with | ||
| ghastly | poet | sacrifices | ||
| giant | priestess | saves | ||
| glowing | prisoner | seeks | ||
| gold | psychic | seizes | ||
| golden | pyromaniac | separates | ||
| greedy | queen | shames | ||
| grotesque | rat | shoots | ||
| hairy | runaway | silences | ||
| half | side kick | slays | ||
| haunted | sister (of) | smacks | ||
| heavenly | slave | smashes | ||
| hellish | soul | stabs | ||
| hidden | soul stealer | strikes | ||
| hollow | specimen | stuns | ||
| horrific | spider | substitutes (for) | ||
| hot | spirit | sues | ||
| hungry | spy | summons | ||
| hysterical | tabloid reporter | suppresses | ||
| icy | terror | surrenders | ||
| idiotic | thief | terminates | ||
| illegal | troll | terrorizes | ||
| imaginary | undead | threatens | ||
| immortal | vampire | torments | ||
| impenetrable | vampire slayer | tortures | ||
| indecipherable | villain | transforms (into) | ||
| infamous | warlord | traps | ||
| infested | warrior | tricks | ||
| ingenious | weasel | uncovers | ||
| inhuman | werewolf | vanquishes | ||
| insane | wife (of) | was | ||
| insectoid | witch | weds | ||
| interstellar | wizard | weeps for | ||
| invisible | wolf | yields | ||
| isolated | worm | |||
| killer | writer | |||
| last | youth | |||
| lavender | zombie | |||
| loathsome | ||||
| long buried | ||||
| lost | ||||
| lucky | ||||
| mad | ||||
| magic | ||||
| malevolent | ||||
| masked | ||||
| massive | ||||
| mechanical | ||||
| miniaturized | ||||
| missing | ||||
| mist enshrouded | ||||
| mistaken | ||||
| moldering | ||||
| monster | ||||
| morbid | ||||
| mortal | ||||
| murdered | ||||
| mutant | ||||
| mysterious | ||||
| mystery | ||||
| mystical | ||||
| mythic | ||||
| naked | ||||
| noble | ||||
| notorious | ||||
| obsessed | ||||
| oozing | ||||
| otherworldly | ||||
| outcast | ||||
| paranoid | ||||
| paranormal | ||||
| paroled | ||||
| passionate | ||||
| peculiar | ||||
| perverse | ||||
| phobic | ||||
| pink | ||||
| poetic | ||||
| poisoned | ||||
| primitive | ||||
| primordial | ||||
| puzzling | ||||
| quirky | ||||
| radical | ||||
| random | ||||
| rare | ||||
| reincarnated | ||||
| renowned | ||||
| repulsive | ||||
| resurrected | ||||
| revolting | ||||
| rotting | ||||
| royal | ||||
| ruined | ||||
| sacred | ||||
| sapphire | ||||
| secret | ||||
| secretive | ||||
| shadow | ||||
| shattered | ||||
| silver | ||||
| singing | ||||
| sinister | ||||
| smelly | ||||
| sparkly | ||||
| stinky | ||||
| strange | ||||
| stupid | ||||
| supernatural | ||||
| suspected | ||||
| tattooed | ||||
| teen | ||||
| telepathic | ||||
| time traveling | ||||
| toothless | ||||
| twisted | ||||
| tyrannical | ||||
| ugly | ||||
| unearthly | ||||
| unholy | ||||
| unlucky | ||||
| vain | ||||
| vanished | ||||
| victorious | ||||
| violent | ||||
| virtuous | ||||
| wacky | ||||
| weird | ||||
| wicked | ||||
| zany |
Plain - Conjunctions and Prepositions - 4 per stick
(7 sets of each)
of
for
to
in
(5 sets of each)
after
inside
outside
before
(5 sets of each)
over
but
with
and
(1)
on
Green - Places and Objects - 2 per stick
abyss
altar
armor
bakery
bazaar
bones
camera
castle
cavern
chamber
computer
crypt
diary
dungeon
empire
fire
forest
garden
goblet
grave
heaven
hell
holy book
island
jewel
key
kingdom
labrynth
monastery
palace
paradise
ring
runes
sanctuary
sarcophogus
scroll
space colony
star ship
sword
tavern
temple
tomb
tower
underworld
volcano
well
Red - Verbs - 2 per stick
accuses
assassinates
assaults
attacks
avenges
banishes
betrays
bewitches
bites
blames
blasts
blesses
bribes
builds
burns
captures
celebrates
challenges
charms
cheats
chills
chokes
claims
completes
conquers
convicts
cooks
corrupts
curses
dares
deceives
defeats
defends
deposes
destroys
devastes
disappears
discovers
disguises
dooms
dumps
eats
eliminates
escapes (from)
exiles
exorcises
explodes
exposes
falls for
fears
fights
frees
gives birth to
hatches
hits
imprisons
invades
is
jealous of
kidnaps
kills
liberates
locates
loses
mourns
murders
plots to kill
poisons
proves
quests for
rebels against
recovers
rejects
reproduces
resists
resurrects
reveals
ridicules
rips off
rules
runs off with
sacrifices
saves
seeks
seizes
separates
shames
shoots
silences
slays
smacks
smashes
stabs
strikes
stuns
substitutes (for)
sues
summons
suppresses
surrenders
terminates
terrorizes
threatens
torments
tortures
transforms (into)
traps
tricks
uncovers
vanquishes
was
weds
weeps for
yields
Blue and Purple - People and Creatures - 2 per stick
actor
adversary
alchemist
alien
android
angel
apprentice
artist
assassin
astrologist
avatar
Barbie
beggar
bounty hunter
boy
bride (of)
brother (of)
bunny
cat
creature
crime boss
cult hero
cult member
cyborg
death
death god
demigod
demon
demon hunter
demon slayer
dog
dragon
dragon hunter
dragon slayer
dwarf
elf
Elvis
embezzler
emperor
enchantress
evil overlord
executioner
exorcist
fairy
father (of)
fiend
fortuneteller
ghost
ghoul
girl
goblin
Godzilla
goth
groom (of)
harpy
heir
hellion
horse
husband (of)
investigator
king
lady
lizard
lord
mage
mecha
mermaid
monk
mother (of)
mouse
murderer
musician
mystic
ninja
ogre
orphan
outcast
Ozzie
pickpocket
pig
pirate
poet
priestess
prisoner
psychic
pyromaniac
queen
rat
runaway
side kick
sister (of)
slave
soul
soul stealer
specimen
spider
spirit
spy
tabloid reporter
terror
thief
troll
undead
vampire
vampire slayer
villain
warlord
warrior
weasel
werewolf
wife (of)
witch
wizard
wolf
worm
writer
youth
zombie
Yellow and Orange - Adjectives - 2 per stick
(world’s) best
(world’s) biggest
(world’s) oldest
(world’s) smallest
(world’s) worst
(world’s) youngest
340 pound
abandoned
acclaimed
accused
alienated
ambitious
amnesiac
ancient
angry
annoying
arrogant
baby
balding
barbarian
beautiful
bitter
bizarre
blasphemous
blind
brawny
brilliant
broken
brutal
bubbly
charismatic
chocolate
compulsive
corrupt
crazy
creepy
crimson
crooked
crumbling
cultured
cursed
cyber
dancing
dark
dastardly
dead
delirious
delusional
desecrated
deserted
devoted
diseased
disguised
dishonest
disturbed
divine
doomed
dreamy
dusty
dying
eerie
embarrassed
emerald
enchanted
enigmatic
escaped
exiled
extinct
faded
failed
fake
famous
fanatic
feline
first
fluffy
forbidden
forgotten
foul
fractured
frozen
ghastly
giant
glowing
gold
golden
greedy
grotesque
hairy
half
haunted
heavenly
hellish
hidden
hollow
horrific
hot
hungry
hysterical
icy
idiotic
illegal
imaginary
immortal
impenetrable
indecipherable
infamous
infested
ingenious
inhuman
insane
insectoid
interstellar
invisible
isolated
killer
last
lavender
loathsome
long buried
lost
lucky
mad
magic
malevolent
masked
massive
mechanical
miniaturized
missing
mist enshrouded
mistaken
moldering
monster
morbid
mortal
murdered
mutant
mysterious
mystery
mystical
mythic
naked
noble
notorious
obsessed
oozing
otherworldly
outcast
paranoid
paranormal
paroled
passionate
peculiar
perverse
phobic
pink
poetic
poisoned
primitive
primordial
puzzling
quirky
radical
random
rare
reincarnated
renowned
repulsive
resurrected
revolting
rotting
royal
ruined
sacred
sapphire
secret
secretive
shadow
shattered
silver
singing
sinister
smelly
sparkly
stinky
strange
stupid
supernatural
suspected
tattooed
teen
telepathic
time travelling
toothless
twisted
tyrannical
ugly
unearthly
unholy
unlucky
vain
vanished
victorious
violent
virtuous
wacky
weird
wicked
zany
Comment by Dragon Writer — September 25, 2006 @ 5:12 am