Figured out a dumb trick to stop procrastinating on writing prompts

Been stuck on this one fantasy prompt for like 3 weeks. Couldn't even type a sentence. So I tried setting a timer for 5 minutes and just wrote the worst possible opening I could think of on purpose. Like, 'The dragon wore a tiny top hat and spoke like a 1950s radio announcer.' It was so bad it made me laugh and then suddenly I had 500 words down. Has anyone else used a 'make it terrible' method to break a block?

3 comments

3 Comments

park.robin1mo agoMost Upvoted

The dragon wore a tiny top hat" is amazing and I love it. This trick works for everything honestly, not just writing. I do it with cleaning too, I'll tell myself I'm just gonna wipe one counter really badly and stop, and then suddenly the whole kitchen is done because I already started.

torres.sage1mo ago

That tiny top hat trick really does take the pressure off, makes the whole thing feel like a joke instead of a chore.

jordan_anderson901mo ago

park.robin's point about the 'do it badly' trick working for everything is really interesting. I've never thought of using that for cleaning, but I bet "wiping one counter badly" would totally work on me too. Did you find that writing the worst possible opening helped you let go of some pressure right away? I've been stuck on a scene for a while and that 'tiny top hat' approach sounds like it might actually break the spell.