While I'm still getting back on my feet, this week I'll post a couple of my most popular posts. The generators in this post and the following one are some of the most-searched for through Google. If you've got other generators to suggest, leave a note in the comments. Here's hoping one of these generators will give you the inspiration you need!
Continuing the series of resources from the NaNoWriMo forums, I discovered all kinds of threads with links to generators for writers. What's a generator? It's kind of like playing roulette with story ideas.
Let's say you need a name for a particular walk-on character. It's a man, who hails from Brazil. You could spend all kinds of time researching, or you can click over to a random name generator that is specific by country. Voila! Your character is no longer nameless.
You may not need all these generators, and admittedly, some are more frivolous than others. But there may be a few you want to bookmark that will come in handy in the future.
Plot
Terrible Things Generator: helpful if you can't think of more trouble for your character.
Plot Generator: a beginning, middle, and end to get you started.
Plot Scenario Generator: try these ideas on for size.
Random Story Generator: a complete plot in a paragraph.
Titles
Random Title Generator: gives you six random titles that are actually pretty good!
Abstract Art Title Generator: uses art to come up with titles, and links to Google so you can see if that title has ever been used.
Characters
Appearance Generator: choose either a simple or detailed description.
Motive Generator: what makes your character do what they do?
Quirks Generator: Give your character an unusual twist.
Bulk Character Generator: need lots of walk-on characters? Let this generator do the heavy lifting.
Everyday Problem Generator: helps make your character feel real.
Character Generator: gives you a character with traits and strengths and weaknesses.
Names
Fantasy Name Generator
Elven Name Generator
Elf Name Generator
Fake Name Generator: includes lots of details like height, weight, occupation, and birthdate
Random Name Generator: this one includes many ethnicities to choose from, plus the name's history and meaning.
Favorite Name Generator: choose names you like, and the software comes up with new ones.
Come back tomorrow for generators on setting, fun stuff, and sites that have collections of even more generators.
Do you have any favorite generators to add to the list? Leave a link in the comments.
Other posts in the series:
Resources for plotting a novel.
Generators, Part 2.
Wow. I clicked through to a few of those and they are interesting. We're almost to the end of this month of challenges.
ReplyDeleteI'm mainly planning to use the name generators. Since I write about specific countries, I think these will save me some time!
ReplyDelete~Debbie
And don't forget to check the Generator Blog right here on blogspot. Some of the generators are useful to writers, others are just for fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anonymous! Here's the link in case anyone wants to check it out: http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/
ReplyDelete~Debbie
Some of those are quite fun! Thanks, Debbie.
ReplyDeleteIt might be interesting to write a novel based entirely around what the generators come up with!
ReplyDelete~Debbie
Another amazingly helpful post, Debbie!
ReplyDelete