Recipe Name Generator

One-line premises: a person, something that happens to them, and a complication. Draw as many Recipe ideas as you need, keep the ones you like and press Generate again for a fresh set.

How to use this tool

  1. 1Set how many Recipe ideas you want.
  2. 2Add a starting letter if you have one in mind, or leave it blank.
  3. 3Press Generate.
  4. 4Copy a single result, or copy the whole list at once.

12 Recipe ideas

  • An unemployed actor finds a body and recognises the shoes, and the only witness has gone quiet.
  • A disgraced chef meets the person they were named after though every version of the story is different.
  • A disgraced chef is offered a job they are wildly unqualified for and the only witness has gone quiet.
  • A decommissioned soldier agrees to one last favour and has three days to fix it.
  • A retired thief is offered a job they are wildly unqualified for while pretending everything is normal.
  • A ferry captain is offered a job they are wildly unqualified for, though every version of the story is different.
  • A disgraced chef wakes with a memory that is not theirs, and the deadline is not negotiable.
  • A forensic accountant discovers the town has been lying for forty years, and the only witness has gone quiet.
  • A struggling magician inherits a house nobody will talk about but nobody else can see the problem.
  • A lighthouse keeper inherits a house nobody will talk about, while pretending everything is normal.
  • A small-town nurse loses the only proof they were ever there but nobody else can see the problem.
  • A retired thief wakes with a memory that is not theirs, and has three days to fix it.

What to do with a premise

Do not take it literally. The point of a prompt is to get the first sentence written, and the first sentence is usually the only difficult one. Change whatever you like as soon as the writing starts.

Why three parts

A character, an event and a complication is the smallest unit that makes a story want to continue. A premise missing the complication reads as a situation, and situations do not go anywhere on their own.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use these Recipe ideas in something I sell?

Yes. Everything here is assembled from ordinary words and invented syllables, so a result belongs to whoever uses it first. Do search the one you pick before you print it on anything — free to use is not the same as unused.

Why do I get the same list when I come back?

The draw is seeded, so one seed always produces one list. That is deliberate: you can bookmark a result or read it out to somebody and still find it later. Press Generate for a new seed and a completely different set.

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