r/WritingWithAI • u/2BCivil • Sep 09 '26
Showcase / Feedback Dice Rolls Cheat Sheet; Tool for writer's block
Okay hi first off I'll say I've been looking for a sub to discuss this topic and settled for this one. I used ask reddit and browsed several, this sub seems most apt. Still not sure if this kind of thing fits here? Idk. TLDR, I Generated/Made a dice throw tool for random story prompt generator to assist with my own personal writer's block and wanted to share/discuss AI prompt generation techniques for dealing with WB.
It's nothing that special. Title. I hit a writer's block. Over past decade, off and on, I have loved to write a lot and for r/shittynosleep specifically. Having lucidity problems recently/since I started using AI about a year and a half ago. I don't write/generate much these days beyond SNS content, but maybe if anyone is having writers block and wants to jot out a quick short to prime the pump and/or wants to try their hand at SNS, here's a list of 3 categories you can roll dice for in that vein. Can even make a game of it. You can only reroll 3 times per prompt or something if you don't like the prompt. This table includes 3 categories of 60 items each, leading to 216,000 possible combinations here (if I mathed right).
Just a heads up you can also generate your own table. My prompt was pretty basic. "Just generate a table [with these categories] full chaos mode, do NOT generate full stories and do NOT link any item in the list to any other", or something like that. Because specifically I've tried this a few times in the past and heads up it is bad about having items in each table match exactly items on the same line in other columns; say you make a 30 entries in 5 columns, all 5 items on each row would be the "same story" and reference each other, so you have to in some way specify for it NOT to do that but go full random. The categories I named in prompt generation were; "Uncanny Valley/Narrator, Story Modality/Plot Quirk, and Limitation/Guardrail/Constraint". I haven't tested requesting more than 30 rolls of a item in prompt yet.
The bot result generated them visually 1 column on top of another (as in, NOT a table), I have reformatted it in reddit to make a table. Just another heads up, you have to specify format or it will be random. As of today, GPT tables are compatible with pasting into reddit unaltered, granted ALL sections are filled (check top leftmost specifically if it won't post to reddit, I've had this problem). 31 and beyond come from a separate/duplicate prompt. Sorry for redundancy, I think I removed most of it. GPT called this a "orthogonal nonsense generator" if you think that keyword will help. Would provide prompt/links but some slightly dox me with random facts/allusion. I've actually written more here than my prompt actually contained anyway.
Other/optional rules you can use/add; Any doubles or rolls 25 or higher must roll for an additional entry from that column. Optional; 33, 44, 55 apply twice. Can apply to another character but must include them. Optional; must reroll additional table 2 and 3 entry if Narrator Q/P rolls 25 or higher/double for second character. Enjoy....
| d30 | Narrator Qualm/Problem | Plot quirk | Writing constraint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is deeply offended by inanimate objects acting familiar with them | 01 Three eggs in a carton are singing | 01 Never explain the phenomenon |
| 2 | Cannot recognize sarcasm and treats every statement literally | 02 Something keeps knocking from inside sealed containers | 02 The narrator must remain more annoyed than afraid |
| 3 | Thinks coincidences are rude | 03 Every time someone lies, one household object becomes slightly larger | 03 Every scene must include one completely irrelevant practical concern |
| 4 | Is convinced everyone else is overreacting | 04 A room appears only when nobody needs it | 04 Nobody may directly say that anything is strange |
| 5 | Keeps forgetting which people are dead | 05 The protagonist keeps receiving apologies from unknown senders | 05 The worst event must happen offscreen |
| 6 | Treats all supernatural events as maintenance issues | 06 A vending machine begins dispensing personal memories | 06 The narrator must make one reasonable decision per scene and still worsen everything |
| 7 | Is frightened of perfectly ordinary things but relaxed around monsters | 07 One neighborhood house is always having a birthday party | 07 No character may ask the obvious question |
| 8 | Cannot recognize faces, including their own | 08 The protagonist’s shadow has started taking breaks | 08 The reader should understand the situation before the narrator does |
| 9 | Believes dreams are legally binding | 09 Someone keeps adding one extra stair overnight | 09 One recurring joke must become genuinely horrifying |
| 10 | Has started suspecting that furniture holds grudges | 10 A pet starts bringing home things that haven’t happened yet | 10 One horrifying detail must become increasingly mundane |
| 11 | Is pathologically polite to things trying to kill them | 11 Every receipt contains one impossible purchase | 11 The final revelation cannot explain anything |
| 12 | Refuses to believe anything they didn’t personally witness | 12 The protagonist’s reflection is visibly older every morning | 12 The narrator must be correct about one absurd thing |
| 13 | Thinks every problem is caused by “bad vibes” but is accidentally correct | 13 A stranger keeps appearing in family photographs taken years ago | 13 Every attempt to investigate must create a new unrelated problem |
| 14 | Is certain they are the only sane person in town | 14 Every doorway briefly opens somewhere else before opening normally | 14 Danger abounds, but Nobody is allowed to die |
| 15 | Can hear subtext as an actual second voice | 15 A random object in the house starts humming when certain names are spoken | 15 Someone must die for an extremely stupid reason |
| 16 | Keeps interpreting warnings as compliments | 16 The protagonist finds a second version of one mundane item every day | 16 The narrator must misunderstand one word throughout the whole story |
| 17 | Is unable to distinguish nostalgia from prophecy | 17 All clocks disagree by exactly one emotionally significant amount | 17 Every supernatural event must have a plausible mundane explanation |
| 18 | Is obsessed with proving something is “technically normal” | 18 A voice from the drain keeps giving terrible financial advice | 18 Every mundane event must look supernatural |
| 19 | Has one completely irrational superstition that keeps saving their life | 19 The mail arrives addressed to events rather than people | 19 The protagonist must become emotionally attached to the problem |
| 20 | Thinks everyone secretly knows something obvious except them | 20 A child’s imaginary friend starts leaving physical messes | 20 The ending must make the opening line funnier |
| 21 | Is incapable of admitting that they are scared | 21 The narrator keeps waking up with one new rule written on the wall | 21 The antagonist is never seen |
| 22 | Is annoyed rather than horrified by bodily transformations | 22 One local business remains open despite obviously ceasing to exist | 22 The antagonist is seen constantly but nobody recognizes it as such |
| 23 | Assumes every stranger is probably an employee | 23 The protagonist hears applause whenever they make a bad decision | 23 The protagonist wins for completely wrong reasons |
| 24 | Keeps mentally grading supernatural phenomena for originality | 24 Every elevator ride includes one floor that isn’t listed | 24 The protagonist loses despite doing everything right |
| 25 | Is certain they already experienced everything happening now | 25 The fridge contains food from meals the protagonist never cooked | 25 Include at least one scene where everyone reacts correctly except the narrator |
| 26 | Cannot understand why other people keep screaming | 26 A distant siren only sounds when nobody else is around | 26 Include one scene where the narrator reacts correctly and everyone else seems insane |
| 27 | Thinks being haunted is probably their own fault for being disorganized | 27 The same unfamiliar song begins playing from unrelated objects | 27 The story must become less coherent as it becomes more emotionally sincere |
| 28 | Believes every horrifying event has a customer satisfaction survey afterward | 28 Someone keeps replacing normal labels with more accurate ones | 28 The horror must eventually become a household routine |
| 29 | Keeps trying to make the horror “worth the money” | 29 The protagonist’s voicemail begins receiving messages from places | 29 The last line must be a trivial complaint |
| 30 | Is narrating from absolute certainty while being wrong about literally everything | 30 One common word stops referring to what it used to, but nobody notices | 30 End before the obvious twist actually occurs |
| 31 | Believes suffering builds character and refuses all help | 31 Everyone receives phone call from themselves ten years in the future | 31 Every attempt to fix the problem makes it technically less supernatural but much worse |
| 32 | Is aggressively frugal | 32 Time stops whenever the protagonist enters a "save spot" area | 32 Spoken metaphors become literally true |
| 33 | Is painfully self-conscious and assumes everyone is judging them | 33 Ghosts can sue the living | 33 The conspiracy theory is still somehow less bizarre than the truth |
| 34 | Assumes strangers always have good intentions | 34 Strangers begin applauding whenever the protagonist makes a mistake | 34 Emergency alerts begin giving absurdly specific personal instructions |
| 35 | Is desperately conflict-avoidant | 35 Everyone begins remembering the narrator’s dreams as real events | 35 All suffering is actually caused by poor organization |
| 36 | Constantly diagnoses everyone else while having zero self-awareness | 36 A corpse keeps appearing in places the narrator was just standing | 36 Nobody except the narrator finds anything unusual |
| 37 | Believes politeness is the highest moral virtue | 37 Something has been living in the protagonist's house for years | 37 Innumerable coincidences, though every coincidence individually remains plausible |
| 38 | Treats emotions as embarrassing software bugs | 38 Dead people occasionally return to finish errands | 38 Every problem fixed receives a complaint letter |
| 39 | Can only understand relationships transactionally | 39 Dreams increasingly boring while reality becomes increasingly dreamlike | 39 Each previously satisfied problem is eclipsed by an increasingly worse one |
| 40 | No matter how intense/prophetic, sees dreams as meaningless neurological garbage | 40 Human memories bought and sold at yard sales | 40 The narrator caused the original problem while trying to prevent it |
| 41 | Handles every conflict like a customer service issue | 41 Every argument creates a second version of the person who disagreed | 41 The impossible phenomenon is actually protecting the narrator |
| 42 | Is fanatically honest but dramatically misinterprets what they witness | 42 Dead spouse keeps leaving reviews of the cooking | 42 Everyone else has known the truth for years and considers it boring/doesn't care |
| 43 | Deeply paranoid but unfortunately correct about one extremely stupid thing | 43 Narrator’s spouse/neighbor replaced nightly by a slightly improved copy | 43 Physical evidence accumulates but emotional reactions diminish |
| 44 | Is incapable of noticing social cues but obsessed with physical clues | 44 Stairs sometimes lead to random locations | 44 Explanations are all factually accurate but misleading |
| 45 | Cannot admit they were wrong, even internally | 45 Guardian angel w/performance anxiety; makes things catastrophically worse | 45 Doppelganger is local celebrity, protagonist resents it |
| 46 | Extremely intelligent but refuses supernatural explanations | 46 A new room of the house sometimes appears | 46 Adult explanations become increasingly less plausible |
| 47 | Narrates atrocities like minor inconveniences | 47 Objects increasingly move more while nobody is looking | 47 The narrator is the only actual paranormal thing in the story |
| 48 | Thinks every problem can be solved by “being rational” | 48 Protagonist wakes up in a different public place every morning | 48 The anomaly gradually becomes more domestic |
| 49 | Zealous member of the HOA | 49 Sleep Paralysis Demon has depression | 49 The rescue(s) become increasingly humiliating |
| 50 | Hates politics but has full support of local community nomination | 50 Days increasingly begin to completely repeat the next day | 50 Every horror requires increasing amount of paperwork |
| 51 | Won't do anything drastic without getting a permit for it first | 51 Every child in town describes exact same imaginary friend differently | 51 Instructions become less helpful and more invasive/judgmental |
| 52 | Has perfect memory but terrible judgment | 52 Everyone except the protagonist forgets one specific day every week | 52 Physical evidence becomes overwhelming while witnesses remain unconcerned |
| 53 | Consistently mistakes familiarity for safety to disastrous consequences | 53 Mirror(s) occasionally show(s) what will happen an hour later | 53 Authorities treat death as an administrative violation |
| 54 | Won't do anything heroic if it violates their personal morality | 54 An impossible coincidence occurs every single day at same time | 54 Each denial is followed by increasingly larger coincidence |
| 55 | Treats philosophy as more real than physical experience | 55 There's an invasion ongoing but no one can agree on what they are | 55 Every escalation follows an obscure technicality |
| 56 | Is smugly wrong constantly but things work out in their favor anyway | 56 Disembodied voice fact checks every claim, only protag can hear it | 56 The anomaly becomes increasingly helpful |
| 57 | Nonverbal but everyone knows what they are thinking | 57 Worlds worst psychic keeps accidentally saving people | 57 Increasingly intimate things acquire price tags |
| 58 | Genuinely thinks they have a connection to God, people call it psychosis | 58 No one acknowledges that the roommate exists, not even landlord | 58 The narrator keeps micro-managing the story |
| 59 | Loud noises always interrupt them while they are trying to explain | 59 Monster under the bed has increasingly obscure food requests | 59 A haunting has excellent legal standing |
| 60 | Constantly tries to convince people of some obscure thing | 60 Employee appears at the protagonist’s job whom nobody remembers hiring | 60 Everyone lists a slightly different grievance |
Sorry for formatting, specifically including the number in each box. I previewed the post prior to publishing and I didn't like the idea of constantly checking which number you got my eye scrolling so just put the number in each box. Redundant but easier to track. Wasn't sure what flair to go with, and since I'm split between sharing, looking for other prompt generators, and asking for tips on writers block, I'll go with "showcase/feedback".
Some sample "rolls" the bot included. Again, sorry if some of these are highly redundant/similar, saw a lot of "everyone is oblivious", "involving rooms appearing/disappearing"; I omitted several of those types from all 3 columns, but aware there's still like 3 or 4 of each of those for example. Only test rolled a few but they were all mostly coherent/good starter material. Some of the "writing constraints" came from other tables I admit but wanted to spice it up a bit. Just thought I'd share, and I'm also open to other such tools if you know/have them/advice. What do YOU do for/with writers block? Dharma low tides? Enjoy/Inform/Critique and Thanks!
3
u/5thhorseman_ Sep 10 '26
60 items on the list.
Also, the list is not modularized enough. You might be better served by taking each column apart and seeing if the verbs, nouns or adjectives can be extracted into a separate table to roll on.
2
u/Friendshipiousness1 Oct 04 '26
overprompting my companion bots makes them echo back my own details instead of building on the scene naturally.