Even the sky doesn't limit this! Story cubes are intended to be a fun way to select story elements, so have fun when making them. Very basic story cubes have single images or words, such as a picture of a child for a character or a theme suggestion of friendship. However, highly creative minds need not be restricted! You can make the faces as simple or as detailed as you want. Here are a few basic and advanced story ideas that can be represented in either words, pictures, or both. Characters: Man, woman, girl, boy, animal, monster, personified object Setting (time): Day, night, afternoon, morning, recent past, ancient past, future, other Setting (place): Outer space, underwater, mountains, city, school, neighborhood, forest, cave, desert, an imagined place Conflict: Character vs. character, character vs. self, character vs. nature, character vs. technology, character vs. supernatural, character vs. society Character traits: Honest, selfish, lazy, hard-working, proud, brave, loyal, shy, bossy Theme: Friendship, love conquers all, importance of family, justice/injustice, traditions and change, growing up Mood: Spooky, serious, light/comedic, cautionary, tense, sentimental/nostalgic, romantic, whimsical Full scenes or visual writing prompts: story starter, role-playing scenario, familiar scene with one major change, "what if" scenario, crime scene For additional guidance for students, use the parts of a story for each die, such as "Somebody Wanted But So Then". It would be a total of five dice for students to roll, but the plot may come together more easily for struggling students when the parts are more clearly defined.