One thing I sort of focused on at the beginning of 2022 was challenge events, and if it weren’t for some time off, I may have managed to complete a few more than I have actually finished or have in progress. Swordtember is one of the monthly prompt events that I thought I might make a go of when I listed the challenge calendar, and now that we’re nearing the end of August, the prompt list is out. Well, actually, the prompt lists – plural – are out, because it seems like there are some alternative options available to budding artists this year!

The Faith Schaffer “Official” Prompt List

Faith is the originator of the Swordtember event and is largely responsible for its popularity. Many would consider her list to be the “official” Prompt list, i would imagine. Her list is varied, broad enough for tons of room for inspiration to strike, and may end up being the most popular.

The Tim @randomspirits Kaminski Prompt List

Tim remarks that enough people seem to think he created Swordtember that he figured he may as well make a prompt list himself. It seems quite varied, which is nice, but also occasionally very specific, which could be either liberating or a bit limiting depending on how your brain works.

The @mmmotionnn Prompt List

This seems like a pretty well-rounded list, with few heavily-overlapping themes and few that I think are really difficult to conceptualize. It should be easy to follow along with if, like me, you have a hard time with “restrictive” prompt words.

The @slyan_the_slime Prompt List

This list is a really nice batch of words, including the seven deadly sins, which I think would make a great set of prompts for anyone who finds themselves trapped by writer’s block on these things. So many of these are really broad topics with tons of avenues for interpretation.

The @DaniVGarcia1 Prompt List

This one is another list with broad interpretations, but in contrast to the previous prompt list, it is filled with entries which overlap significantly with each other due to the strict “dark” theme of the list. If you specialize in the macabre, this could be the list for you!

It’s tough to say which I’ll select for sure; I have a few days left to decide. I guess we’ll know for sure when I post my first piece. My gameplan in any case is to doodle some, to do more fancy art for some, and to write up entries for some, in order to avoid burning out or feeling compelled to do one activity only with my schedule the way it is. What’s more, I plan to tie one or more Swordtember entries into my Gygax ’75 dungeon and, hopefully, into a version of that dungeon turned into a standalone adventure for Chris “Loot The Room” Bissette’s B1 Adventure Jam a little later on this year.

I’d love to know who plans to do Swordtember next week and which prompt list they’ll go for – let me know below or scream into the cacophonous void of Twitter with me and I’ll try to hear the echoes of your words as they bounce around the internet tubes.