Free story tool · no sign-up
Story problem generator: what trouble happens next?
Every good story needs a problem. Pull the lever for one silly sentence: who makes trouble, what they do, and to what.
Tap one line to change just that part.
Budding turns your child’s own story into an illustrated picture book.
How to use the story problem generator
- Press Make trouble for a new sentence.
- Tap one line to swap only who, what they do, or what it happens to.
- Read it aloud and ask, “Oh no! What does your hero do now?”
Why every story needs a problem
A story starts moving when a character wants something and something gets in the way. Children often invent a great hero and a great place, then stall because nothing happens. A silly problem gives the hero a reason to act: find the map, save the cake, get the moon back. The child decides how.
Three questions that turn trouble into a plot
- Who notices the trouble first?
- What do they try, and why doesn’t it work the first time?
- How do they fix it in the end?
Silly, never scary
Every pairing reads as a sentence, so any spin works in any story. Nobody gets hurt: the trouble makers are mischievous, not mean. These are the same lists as the Trouble Maker button inside the Budding app, where it shows up on the pages about a story’s problem.
Questions parents ask
Is the story problem generator free?
Yes. It works right here with no account, and nothing you spin is saved or sent anywhere.
How many story problems can it make?
24 trouble makers, 19 actions and 20 targets make 9,120 different problems.
Where does the problem go in a story?
Put the hero and the place in the beginning, the trouble in the middle and the fix at the end. Our guide to beginning, middle and ending shows how to help without taking over.
Can I use it in a classroom?
Yes. Put it on the board, let a child press the button, and have everyone write or draw what happens next.
More story tools
Now let them tell the story
In Budding, your child speaks or types each page and gets an illustrated, narrated picture book they made themselves.
Make 3 books for free