These come from the Take a Prompt, Leave a Prompt folder at the forums. (Probably now buried in the archives at the NaNo site.)
Cut them up and put them in a bowl to draw out a random idea when you get stuck. If you're not doing NaNoWriMo, pull out an idea as a prompt and start writing. When you get stuck, pull out another.
- start your writing with a description of wet feet
- Dreams
- crumpled clothing
- a llama
- pink post-it notes
- three uneaten oranges..
- overhearing a conversation of a tourist and a local
- a pet curled up in a chair
- tumbleweed
- some moldy cheese
- a disgruntled landlord
- an antique quilt
- a picture of a gorgeous man
- an unusual locket
- an unusually detailed, oft-repeated doodle
- a Rubik's cube
- Your MC gets a headache
- frosted strawberry pop tarts
- old ugly wallpaper on a grandparent's bedroom wall
- a Halloween bucket full of candy wrappers, with one piece of candy still left at the bottom
- A water proof safe, Full of water, left in the middle of the desert
- a pair of gangly teenagers with braces, making out
- a mannequin
- a battered dart board
- a homemade birdhouse hanging from a street sign
- a one-eyed chicken
- a slimy slug trail
- Finding a stranger in your bathtub
- Getting caught in the rain
- A child with a pink ice cream
- The couple in the apartment next to you having an argument about a mysterious person called 'Phil'
- the sound of a prom dress being thrown away
- A notorious thief finds a baby in a boat on the Thames
- An unopened love letter from twenty years ago
- A broken doll
- A handful of sugared violets
- An angel on a park bench
- And a duke box
- a soggy cardboard box that has sat out in the rain all night
- a perfectly round rock with an X drawn across it in crayon
- Three people from the same office thrown together under canvas for one night. It's raining. There's no booze. There's only two sleeping bags
- one woman who sits next to you on the bus with her ipod turned so loud you can hear Christmas Carols, and it's still November
- A motorcyclist zooming by, wearing a helmet cam and a microphone
- two people walking down the street wearing a horse costume
- a piece of broken, dusty yellow-orange glass
- a camera with everything intact except the film, which is melted
- a row of empty seats with one in the middle occupied. Then another person comes along and takes a seat right next to that person, instead of an empty one further down
- a book in a foreign language with the covers ripped off, found in a public place
- a necklace with the cord snapped, beads bouncing every which way on a tile floor
- A lone operator working by herself all night in a deserted building
- A homemade lasagna falling as the cook is knocked over by a large Rhodesian Ridgeback (breed of dog)
- One very expensive hairless cat (cannot remember the breed) being held for ransom
- 2 people dressed up for Halloween -- one as Santa Claus, the other as the Easter Bunny
- A pet dog with a phobia of anything smaller than him!
- a chewed up pen in the parking lot (you decide whether it still works or not)
- a book in a foreign language with the covers ripped off, found in a public place
- a cell phone that fell into a toilet
- weapons, elements of battle
- The sound of sobbing coming from the attic
- someone finding out there is no water coming out of the tap on a given day (while they wanted to take a shower, for example)
- Several strands of hair stuck together with sticky tape
- Highlighters that have run out, but smell nice
- A cracked, glass statue
- a candy bar wrapper
- a broken timepiece
- a teddy bear with (detachable) bunny ears
- a puddle of water on the floor
- a penguin where it doesn't belong (say, in a house)
- A painting of a snowboarder, with a dinosaur hidden within the background
- a goldfish swimming in the toilet
- A palm tree oasis in the middle of the desert
- an old Underwood typewriter with the ribbon stuck somewhere between black and red
- a three legged cat, (you decide how he lost his leg, or if we even know)
- a bloody razor blade found in a public restroom
- A smell which reminds your MC of their mother's home cooking
- A dusty trilby lying abandoned on the pavement, and no one else around
- A frog that squeezes under a gap in the door when it's raining
- A wallet filled with money in an empty car park
- a purse - shaped necklace that can open and close
- a lighted train rushing by at twilight
- a pizza delivery guy delivering a pre-paid pizza to the wrong address
- a pair of mismatched flip flops
- a set of four spoons, all bent out of shape
- a maroon moose that sings Christmas carols. (can be a stuffed moose, if you like)
- the landscape of Cocoa Puffs...go nuts
- the moon as a consolation prize
- a broken doll
- Mindscape
- A doll missing one of its limbs
- The dog barks at midnight
- A shoe impression was left in the tomato
- A platinum ring found in the bottom of a bargain bin in a music store
- three rusty lug-nuts
- an old gas lamppost
- a throbbing headache
- a thrift store shopping spree
- a dollar bill with writing on it
- pumpkin pie
- An ornate clock on a wall
- the futility of sweeping potato chips off the side of a mountain
- A paperclip lost in the septic tank
- a half-finished crossword left on the train, that must be returned
- a cold, clear mountain stream
- a Chinese pagoda
- a shovel stuck into a mound of dirt
- a mislabeled lollipop--it's a flavor you don't like or weren't expecting
- a plastic green dinosaur whose head is a staple remover
- A pangolin
- A moderately rainy day
- A flamethrower
- Miniature Robots
- three old batteries and a change purse
- an unexpected strip of duct tape
- a strangely addictive song
- a purple permanent marker
- a barrel of monkeys
- a field full of talking flowers
- Three glow-in-the-dark Troll dolls
- Whenever I think of Paris, I think of..
- Fur-dyed poodles! (either pink or blue or green... I'll leave that up to you)
- a forgotten sock
- watching TV from a safe position behind the sofa
- a Mysterious Stranger (abbreviated sometimes to AMS)
- a strange cloud formation
- the sound of a baby crying, or laughing
- a facial expression completely at odds with what a character is saying
- an extreme temperature change, you decide how or why
- a dead body, killed with that shovel (the traveling shovel of death)
- a case of identify theft
- the feeling you get when you are in the house on your own, and you could almost swear that there is someone behind you, and it gives you a weird burst of speed, and you run into the next room, slamming the door
1,000 baby turtles gone missing
- An egg that cracks open and nothing is inside
- A horse named Albert with OCD
- A girl named Doug
- A one hundred on a test that you paid the teacher to get
- The smell of the keyboard
- Ten chickens that have no idea that they are chickens
- ginger beer
- a fight/action scene at a zoo
- the last leaf on a tree
- Dwarf tossing
- a rescued turtle
- a British phone booth found anywhere except the UK
- three gold star stickers
- a mallard duck
- A cape
- a pitcher of eggnog
- a pair of mismatched curtains
- an experience that fills the MC with both joy and fear
- a dozen cigarette ends floating in a wine glass
- a man wearing fingerless gloves
- a dead shark
- a house with peppermint-themed interior decor
- a villain who loves pie
- a broken computer on a doorstep
- a trophy tarnished with age
- a ceiling full of mold
- a cry for forgiveness
- twenty ancient unopened jars of apricot jam
- a blue stuffed elephant named Trunky
- your MC suddenly finds him/herself in possession of a prized racehorse
- A very wet dog on the couch
- A cozy fire on the hearth
- a Dixieland jazz band
- A funeral where everybody's laughing and cheering about how the deceased will not be missed
- A black kitten named Matt
- a broken wine glass
- a repair bill
- a half empty Coca-Cola
- an old grandfather clock set to the wrong time
- the making of a salad
- a very old bloodhound
- hot peppermint tea with little mini biscotti from a boxful bought at Shoprite
- two blue ballet shoes and a claddagh ring (which have a relation to one another, a tied significance)
- a pair of fairy wings
- a stove timer that always adds five minutes onto the time inputted
- an unjust accusation
- the scent of freshly baked bread
- the taste of a lie
- a red haired girl with one blue and one green eye
- an ingrown toenail
- squirrels in the attic
- A flower pot getting thrown off a roof
- a dog kennel that washes up on shore
- a TV show involving robots
- a river without any fish
- a baby with colic
- the number 7
- a roaring fire
- a burning bush
- a dead rose in a vase
- a frozen pond with the ice broken in the center
- An impromptu dancing lesson
- A parakeet that can only say, "Schpedoinkle!"
- A single glove found lying on the sidewalk
- A car catching on fire
- a white tank top
- ceramic dwarves
- blue highlighted hair
- a nightgown in a washing machine
- a cat sitting on feet
- the ending of a video game
- multi-hue eyed girl!
- an illicit affair
- A horse named Albert
- A purple spotted toad
- A grandmother who thinks that she is a fish
- needing badly to go to the bathroom in the middle of a meeting
- a plastic carnation painted green with nail polish
- A red wedding dress
- Afternoon nap when it's raining outside
- A purse filled with brown leaves
- Tangles headphone cables
- The salt cap falling off while salting a dish, and all the salt falling in
- A train ride
- Getting pizza for the mixed herb packets
- Playing cards all night
- another character's perspective
- voices in the attic
- "I can't sit still."
- an over-enthusiastic nude photographer
- a pair of papier mâché clawed hands
- a midnight snowfall
- a selection of brightly coloured boxes in an empty room/house
- a light-up, plug-in, green gnome
- a well-preserved dinosaur skeleton
- a missing iguana
- gypsy dancing bears
- your character's reaction to running over something on the road
- someone wearing mismatched socks
- a niggling memory that you can ALMOST remember, but not quite
- "Of course I'm fine. I'm more than fine. Who wouldn't be with someone like you landing on me??"
- a messed up judicial system causing an arrest and detainment in jail
- fine, realistic costume jewelry
- a rickety, creaking white gate that gives someone away
- a spy who catches a bad cold at just the wrong time
- A hair ribbon flying with the wind
- a nearly-empty jar of peanut butter
- No two snowflakes are alike
- the lifetime of a $5 bill
- A toad under a rock
- a fake potted plant
- a vast array of staples
- an umbrella left in the park on a sunny day
- a strange light in the sky
- a sudden burst of laughter
- a knife with a dull, nicked blade
- Mug shot, toe tag and broken bridge
- blowing up an air mattress with a hair dryer
- a car stuck in mud
- A cat lying in the sunlight
- Odd eyes
- An unpainted dollhouse
- The last book in a series
- A dusty globe of Saturn
- The sound of thinking
- a consistent beeping noise
- a nightmare about a horse
- an earthquake
- celebration of a feast
- performing a ritual
- MC must taste chocolate, cacao, or similar substance
- a music box that won't open
- glass figurines
- a plastic lizard
- purple nail polish
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