Supplies

[rainbowmods]

Create a piece using the Word of the Day from dictionary.com. This counts as one of the three colors that can be used in a piece.

Color of the Day / Colour of the Day

Create a piece inspired by one of today's holidays (other sources of holidays are also allowed)

Calendar page

Create a piece using today's Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster

Brush

Use a prompt that is at least two sentences from a source that updates regularly. Please provide a screenshot or link when posting.

palette knife/palate knife/pallet knife

Create a piece that takes place in an alternate universe to your story's canon

eraser au

Use the current daily prompt

acrylics

Use the current Creative Writing Prompt

watercolors

Use a short prompt (5 words to a sentence) from a source that updates regularly. Please provide a screenshot or link when posting.

oils

Give your antagonists the spotlight

charcoal

Use a prompt list or mod-generated/public bingo card from another community, fest, or challenge like allbingo, Inktober, Whumptober, etc. See Q&A below. Please provide a link or screen shot.

pastels

Use an article from this week's Wired: Science or Live Science.

chalk

Use today's quote from Quotations Page or Quote of the Day

stain

Post a piece that was created for an event or challenge with a deadline or end date. This doesn't apply to pieces posted for rainbowlounge games or challenges (graffiti), unless otherwise noted.

resin

Finish a work in progress that's at least a year old

wood

Write a missing scene from a previously posted piece

nubs

Use the current daily random fact, #fact or fun fact of the day, or one of the interesting facts of the day

stickers

Use a very short (1-5 words) prompt or inspiration picture from a source that updates regularly. Please provide a screenshot or link when posting.

modeling clay

Use one of the current Guardian Best Pictures of the Day as a prompt

fabrics

Use today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

yarns

Use an event, birth, or death from ThisDay Trivia or Britannica's On This Day

feathers

Feature your minor characters; your main characters may make an appearance, but they may not be the focus

seed beads

Use a prompt earned from a game, challenge, or other posting in rainbowlounge. See Q&A below.

novelty beads

Use one of this week's Fstoppers Photo of the Day or Flickr Snapshot

beading wire

Use the poem from Poets.org Poem A Day or Your Daily Poem

glitter

Use today's horoscope for the current sign (date ranges are given at the link)

glue

Post something that was a gift or is about a holiday, birthday, anniversary, or other celebration

gift wrap/wrapping paper

Write something that takes place before your story

canvas

Write something that takes place after your story

frame

A piece that uses the setting, minor characters, or other aspects of a canon of someone else's invention to tell an original story with original characters. See Q&A for examples of acceptable amounts of borrowing.

gesso

Create something new for one of your stories, universes, or characters that you haven't done anything with for at least a year.

parchment

Write a story using at least 4 scenes that are each 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, or 100 words long, in any combination of those wordcounts, or a poem where every line has one of those exact wordcounts.

dice

A piece involving mystery or intrigue.

thread

Use tarot, oracle cards, runes, I Ching, dice, or another divination method for inspiration. See Q&A below.

tempera

If you've used 10, 30, 50, or any multiple of 50 of a supply, you've completed a goal and earned a banner. You can request a banner or take one of the generic banners.

Questions & Answers

• You can use prompts that are originally for art, writing, fandom, or anything else for Pastels, Palette Knife, Oils, Modeling Clay, and Resin.
• How many supplies am I allowed to use on any one piece? As many as you can make work.
• What does 'updates regularly' mean exactly? We don't want you to use extremely old prompts for supplies. It should be from a source that updates at least monthly or has updated no more than two months ago.
• If I have a piece that used a daily or weekly supply, how late can I post it? We know writing takes time and the muse can be fickle. You can use a prompt that is current to when you started writing or when you post it (not both).

Palette Knife / Oils / Modeling Clay

• Can these overlap with Brush, Acrylics, etc? Sorry, no. These should be from other sources.
• Can I use a prompt from a list, for example a list created for a specific month? Yes, so long as that list isn't for a fest or specific challenge (for example a list for Inktober wouldn't qualify, but a list that's just for October could), and you aren't doing the entire list (if you are going to use the entire or more than two-thirds of the list that would be Pastels)

Canvas & Frame

• If I have a story or 'verse takes place over a long time period, what counts as before or after? We trust you to define that, but a good guideline is if it takes place before your main characters come into play, or after it, that counts. If it involves the main characters, if it takes place before or after the main story than it counts.

Gesso

• Examples of what is and is not acceptable
• This was designed to allow the use of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) sourcebooks, but other media sources are allowed. The bulk of the story must be original.
• So I can write fanfiction, right? Not exactly. This isn't a fanfic community, so the bits you borrow should be minor.
• Can I use homebrewed ttrpg content? Yes.

Novelty Beads

• What is a novelty bead exactly? A novelty bead is a special prompt given to you.
• How do you get novelty beads? By participating in a challenge or game from rainbowlounge. These are often put on by a moderator (examples). You can often earn multiple beads per piece, depending on the rules of the challenge.
• How do you use a novelty bead to have it count towards your supply count? Create something using that prompt and include it in the post's list of styles and supplies.

Pastels

• Pastels includes prompt lists, prompt tables, and bingo cards created for challenges and fandom events
• Pastels prompts can't also count as Palette Knife, Oils, or Modeling Clay
• What do you mean mod-generated or public card? We don't want you to generate a bingo card (or other prompt list) yourself, because then you could keep generating it until it's perfect. You can use a public card that's provided by the event host, or have a card generated by a mod or host at the community or by one of the rainbow mods (ask in rainbowlounge or by private message).
• Does that mean I can't veto or replace prompts? No matter where you get the card, one of the rainbow mods would be glad to randomly select replacements for prompts you need to veto.
• Can I use old bingo cards or lists? Yes! Lists or cards from previous events are totally okay, and you can ask a Rainbow mod to generate a bingo card for you using prompts from an old event.
• If use a challenge list, do I have to do the entire list? In general you should follow the rules of the challenge, however as long as you plan to use most of the list, it can count for Pastels

Tempera

• What's the minimum for cards/runes/etc? At least one.
• Can I use a horoscope? We have Glue already for looking up horoscopes, but if you create your own it would count for this.
• Do I have to use the Elder Futhark for runes? Not at all! You can use any runes you'd like, witch's runes, or any other glyphs used for divination as long as the specific one is randomly selected.
• Can I use a website to get a reading? Yes. Feel free to use a site that randomly selects or one that provides a reading of the day. Some websites are in the comments.

If you know of any sites, Dreamwidth communities, Tumblrs, etc that regularly offer prompts, please drop the links in a comment below

Updated July 7, 2025 to replace and add a source for Beading Wire, plus add Tempera.

Comments

[silvercat17]

Some more writing prompt tumblrs that as of today are still updating

https://develop-your-oc.tumblr.com/
https://creativepromptsforwriting.tumblr.com/
https://write-it-motherfuckers.tumblr.com/
https://writing-is-ruining-my-life.tumblr.com/
https://dailytextprompt.tumblr.com/
https://clean-prompts.tumblr.com/
https://soprompt.tumblr.com/
https://dropkickwritersblock.tumblr.com/

[silvercat17]

Sources I use for https://rainbowfic.tumblr.com/:

https://randomitemdrop.tumblr.com/
https://pettyprompts.tumblr.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/have-a-story-prompt
https://zazuprompts.tumblr.com/ (monthly prompt lists)
https://www.tumblr.com/youneedsomeprompts
https://dailystoryprompts.tumblr.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/promptsforthestrugglingauthor
https://givethispromptatry.tumblr.com/
https://soprompt.tumblr.com/
https://writing-ideas-inc.tumblr.com/
https://nightprompts.tumblr.com/
https://promptlyprompting.tumblr.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/dark-fiction-and-angst
https://www.tumblr.com/ghostly-prompts
https://here-haveaprompt.tumblr.com/
https://quick-otp-prompts.tumblr.com/
https://writinghoursopen.tumblr.com/
https://a-u-prompts.tumblr.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/promptsblog
https://randomstoryprompts.tumblr.com/
https://promptsforyourwhumpfic.tumblr.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/writing-challenges-and-prompts
https://www.tumblr.com/dailystoryelements
https://1prompteveryday.tumblr.com/

[silvercat17]

Some more that as of May 2025 are updating:

https://dailytextprompt.tumblr.com/
https://dropkickwritersblock.tumblr.com/
https://writingpromptaday.tumblr.com/
https://yyprompts.tumblr.com/
https://www.tumblr.com/prompts-and-circumstance
https://thedigitalwritersquill.tumblr.com/
https://reallygoodprompts.tumblr.com/
https://writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com/

[silvercat17]

And some Dreamwidth communities:
https://hourlyprompts.dreamwidth.org/
https://allbingo.dreamwidth.org/
https://vocab-drabbles.dreamwidth.org/
https://fffc.dreamwidth.org/tag/%21challenges

[silvercat17]

https://kittens-and-spitefic.dreamwidth.org posts have been declared to count as palette knife - https://rainbowlounge.dreamwidth.org/153107.html

[himejoshiheart]

if you open a prompts box and use a prompt there, what supply does that count as?
What does a prompt from a friend count as?

[silvercat17]

I'm not sure what you mean by a prompt box?

We don't have a supply or style for prompts from a friend, except as the Paint-by-Number style. They could submit a prompt to the RainbowFic tumblr however, and that would count as a Palette Knife, Oils, or Modeling Clay once it's posted

[himejoshiheart]

A prompt box is like a place for other people to leave prompts for you! like this haha

(i should probably work on at least some of those prompts, but I don't think the people who sent them in like me anymore...)

Tempera sources

[silvercat17]

Run by me: Prompts Dealt, which should be reblogged to the RainbowFic tumblr

Tarot
https://randomtarotcard.com/ (single card)
https://www.dailytarotdraw.com/cards (multiple spreads - pop-up ads)
https://www.randomtarotcard.org/ (single card)
https://supergenerator.net/generators/tarot-card-generator (single card)
https://www.dragonbanecreation.com/en/tools/divination/tarot (multiple spreads)
https://www.ifate.com/free-tarot.html (multiple spreads, several steps to get result)

Runes
https://www.ifate.com/runes.html (multiple spreads)
https://odinsrunes.com/cast-my-runes/
https://intothesoul.com/free-rune-reading/
https://www.eyeofthepsychic.com/free-rune-reading/
https://www.runecasting.com/

I ching
https://www.ifate.com/i-ching.html (multiple steps to get reading)
https://www.dragonbanecreation.com/en/tools/divination/iching
https://www.erwinhessle.com/resources/chingdiv.php

Oracle Cards
https://lynthurman.com/ask-the-oracle/
https://dianacooper.com/pick-a-card/

[silvercat17]

Yarn (NASA's picture of the day) isn't updating due to budget cuts. I'm hoping that'll change. For now, go to the archive and use the picture from the date from a previous year.