Resources for Writers #6
A frequent blog where I share ideas and resources for fiction writers of all genres. Each issue is imagined independently and is intended to invoke inspiration.
Hello Readers,
This is coming out a bit late today, but it’s here, and in case you didn’t notice, I dropped ‘fiction’ from the title. I did this, as I’m now including image writing prompts and AI images that are free for you to use in your blogs, newsletters, and stories.
Also, at the time that I wrote this, one of our most beloved rescued piggies passed away. Miss Piggy Patches was one of our first rescues, and she was such a loveable piggie. Having said that, I apologize if this one seems uninspired.
Anyscratch, on to the good stuff!
Items
Despacer — The technological version of a bag of holding. It could be a backpack, a fanny pack, or even as small as a wristwatch. This object is able to put inanimate objects into a stasis to allow it to push the atoms closer together, removing some of the space that comprises 99% of things. It also must have some kind of anti-gravitic technology to reduce the mass of the objects. With teleportation technology, it could do any size of object, but you could opt to have a limitation of size and/or quantity.
Plasma Cooker — An uninspired name for a survival object. This lightweight, 8" diameter by 1/2" thick, metallic disc has folding legs that allow it to stand about one foot off of the ground and three settings: warm, cook, and heat. The highest setting, heat, is meant for keeping people warm and gets a bit hotter than your average campfire.
Goper Beans — Football-sized beans that taste bland and weird like lima beans, but contain enough nutrition of which to survive, specifically proteins and fats. They are definitely an acquired taste, and must be soaked for at least a few hours prior to cooking. One bean is enough for an entire day when rationing. Most carry them in a jar full of brine to improve their taste. There is a cost to the encumbrance, but they are more nutritious than jerky or GORP.
Spells
Freeze-dry — A simple spell, or maybe a character-created combination of spells, that allows the caster to freeze-dry foods for long term storage. I would probably put this in the Universal school of spells, otherwise, Transmutation would work as well. I would put it low to mid tier.
Enlarge/Shrink — Not a new spell, I know. But, what I do know is that, to shrink things, requires a lot more than enlarging. If you want to have a realistic magic system, but these spells are reversible or at the same level, there is a problem for those that know that, just because you shrink something, it does not change its mass, not to mention the catastrophic effect of forcing atoms to be that close together. I would suggest making Shrink a combination of spells, or at least a higher level spell.
Image Writing Prompts
What if art feels emotions too?
I don’t think this one needs a written prompt.
What if emotional burdens cause even greater physical consequences?
If you're not into the whole commitment thing, please consider buying me a coffee. Most of the proceeds goes to our rescued piggies....[[|:-)
Free-To-Use Images
Actually, all of the images I put in posts are free for you to use. No credit required, and if you’d like a larger size, I can upscale them up to 8000 pixels squared.
Also, I make most of my images with Dall-E 3 on NightCafe Creator. If you consider joining NC, please use my referral link.
Names
First Names
Brenthar
th’Lagus
Aurymyr
Kan’Tella
Gwyndeera
Last Names
Orramakkus
Garonshea
Mittlebottom
Fireham (a shortened version of firehammer.)
Bedgewick
Place Names
Inthruss
The Shyran Gorge
Haligopolis
The Silent Sea (a sea often riddled with doldrums.)
Freyendor
Clan/Group Names
The Clouded Veil
Anvilbreak
The Golden Thrush (a thrush is a type of bird)
The Skulled Fist (a clan of orcs that wear thick skulls on their fists as weapons.)
The Iterati (a charitable group of people that travel the lands to teach others to speak the Common language for those that wish to learn it, and like the freemasons, have a free pass to cross borders how they like.)
Thank you so much for reading. Please consider recommending my substack. I hope you imagine having a wonderful day....[[|:-)
In regards to that last prompt (man on fire), there's a Russian story from the early 20th century where the main character grows up wanting wishes to come true. He scientifically creates a whistling lobster (which would be equivalent to flying pigs in the English "pigs might fly"). Unfortunately, when the lobster whistles, people start having all these unpleasant things happening to them - it turns out human wishes are only powerful enough when thinking things like "I hope you die, you bastard!"
Eventually the inventor gets greedy and starts trying to force the lobster into more and more whistling. The lobster dies and is buried with an epitaph "Here lies a lobster which could make the wishes of humankind come true...DO NOT WAKE UP, PLEASE!"
:P