You know how they say a picture is worth a 1000 words? As an amatuer high school writer, I argued regularly with people about which was better: an enchanting image or a thousand beautiful words.

As an adult, I have since decided that both are equally bewitching in the right circumstances. For me, an image contains the possibility and opportunity for countless stories but tells none completely. Whereas a thousand choice words takes you on a full journey, but the story is set in stone.

I love writing short stories, and one of my goals this year is to write a short story every month. One of the ways I get myself to sit down and write a story is by finding an inspiration. To that end, I have been using the cards from the game Dixit.

Dixit is a family game that plays similarly to Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, but there are no words on the cards: only images.

I don’t play the game much anymore, but each card is a work of art, and with about 10 expansions — each by different artists — there are hundreds to choose from.

My process: Shuffle the deck. Choose a random card. Analyze and organize the details like theme, color, and emotions. Write.

If I want to write a longer story, I’ll draw two or three cards and mesh the ideas together. It’s quite entertaining and jumpstarts my writing when I would otherwise have to do a lot more creative work. I don’t always finish the stories, but the cards never fail to get me started.

Recently I have been using the expansion: Revelations. The cards create words in my mind that have been vital to the process for my next short story anthology: When Hope Burned White. Currently planned for a release later this month, I plan to publish a story a day for 10 weeks, accompanied by the Dixit cards that inspired them.

I’m extremely excited to share these stories with you. Until then, how do you jumpstart your writing when you’re stumped? Or when you’re starting something new?