Post 108: Story Cubes: Rolls 3 & 4

So, just a refresher as to what this series is all about: I have a small bag of dice (9 dice total) that all have random pictures on each side. I am going to roll them twice and try to come up with a story synopsis that encompasses, most if not all of them. 

I have already rolled it twice in a previous post, so this will be rolls 3 and 4. 

Here we go:

Roll 3:

A key, a cane, a fish, a moon, a sleeping face, a lock, a smiling face, a tree, and a turtle. 

The combination of the turtle and fish could be interpreted as an underwater setting. The moon and sleeping face combined with the turtle and fish make me think of a girl who when she goes to sleep dreams of being underwater. Or, perhaps, is enchanted so that at night she changes into a mermaid, or into a human from a mermaid. The lock and key with the smiling face can be combined together to show that she is on a quest, she finishes the quest and gets a happy ending. The tree, which looks similar to a Christmas tree, could reflect the time of year as December. The cane could be an older relative, perhaps a grandparent, that advises her.

If we put that all together:

Human by day and mermaid by night, Asherah is different from the rest of her family. She dreams of a world where creatures of the land and sea live in harmony. After sneaking out on land one day, she meets her grandmother who made her home in a grotto. Her grandmother tells her that she decided to stay on land after falling in love with a land walker. She explains to Asherah that she had a child with the human, and that is why Asherah is unique. Asherah makes it her mission to find her grandfather and, hopefully, find out how the dispute between the two sides began. 

Roll 4:

A scale, a castle, a sheep, a wand, a shooting star, masks of Thalia and Melpomene (comedy and tragedy), an apple, an arrow, and an evil shadow. 

The castle and wand can be put together as the setting as a medieval time where magic exists. The sheep could be taken as the main character being Shepard. The arrow and apple could represent an archery contest. The shooting star could be a wish. The scales of good and evil mixed with the evil shadow behind a person could be an internal struggle inside the main character between good and evil. The masks could indicate the genre as Drama.

If we put that all together:

Dyson, a Shepard, who dreams of a better life spends his nights watching his family's flock and wishing on stars. One day, after hearing about an archery contest taking place at the palace, he wishes for better archery skills to win. The wish comes true and the prize is the Princess's hand in marriage. Shortly after the wedding, the king passes away and the kingdom shifts under Dyson's control. As he discovers how much power he has, it starts to go to his head. Will Dyson lose himself to the temptation of power? What will happen to the kingdom  under his control?

Post 94: Story Cubes: Rolls 1 & 2

'Rory's Story Cubes: let your imagination roll wild!'

So, today for my blog I am going to show off a product I bought for those times when I run into a wall made up of writers'-blocks.  What it is, is a bag. A bag filled with 9 dice, with random illustrations on each side. I am going to roll them once or twice and try to come up with a story synopsis that encompasses, most if not all of them. 

Here we go:

Roll 1:

A dragon, a key, a moon, a scale, a castle, a smiling face, a key hole, a light bulb, and a hand.

The easiest way to do this will be to pair them up and make them connect to each other. 

The dragon and castle can be tied together to make fantasy story. The key and the keyhole can be put together as a quest, maybe the main character has inherited a key and must find what it goes to. The smiling face and light bulb can be put together with the scales as a way of symbolizing a bigger picture: a battle between good and evil that ends with the a brilliant idea that leads to good winning. The moon and hand could be put together as a way of having a supernatural, "creature of the night" kind of being that lends the main character a helping hand. 

If we put that all together:

Mathia was a country girl and an orphan. Her father was a knight, killed by a dragon when she was young, leaving her nothing but an obscure map and a key. Fifteen years later a knight who fought by her father's side shows up to pull her from her safe life in the country and back to the castle to help prevent an overthrow of the King. Along the way she learns about the creatures in the woods, the struggles of the people, and she begins to question whether the overthrow isn't in the best interest of the people. 

Roll 2:

An eye, arrows pointing in all directions, a cane, a dialogue bubble, a die, a magic wand, a plane, an L in a box, and a question mark. 

Starting the way we did before, by breaking it into pairs (and a trio):

The question mark, eye and arrows can be put together as a mystery that requires the main character to search in different places to find the answer. The cane and magic wand can be put together to make the main character or the antagonist a magician or other type of performer. The dialogue bubble and L in a box could be put together to be the antagonist's name starting with L and being interrogated in a jail cell or interrogation room. The die and the plane could be a trip to Las Vegas. 

If we put that all together:

Las Vegas has many performers, but there is only one Great Lovinski. He is a magician, and a talented one at that, but he finds himself in a lot of trouble when someone steals his signature disappearing act and uses it in a bank heist. He must now team up with a serious, magic-hating police officer on a trip across the country to track down his past assistants in hopes of finding out who sold out his act and who might be framing him. 

The dice are kind of obscure but, as you can see, they can create stories or, at least, get the creative gears turning. And I can take one or two, four or nine, any number of dice could work.