I used to think writing prompts were just for beginners

For a long time, I figured prompts were only for people who couldn't come up with their own ideas. Then, about three months ago, I got stuck on a story and a friend sent me a prompt about a character who finds a key that opens any door but only once. I wrote a full short story from it in a week, something I hadn't done in years. It wasn't about a lack of ideas, it was about having a specific place to start that pushed me in a new direction. Now I check a prompt site every Monday to kick off my writing time. Has anyone else found a prompt that really unlocked a story for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

brian_ramirez4d ago

Totally get this. It's like how sometimes you need a random recipe to get you cooking again, even if you know how to make a bunch of stuff. That little constraint or starting point just kicks your brain into gear. Same thing happens with music, like messing around with a weird chord progression someone else wrote. It forces you out of your own usual patterns.

the_cole4d ago

Honestly though @brian_ramirez, sometimes that outside thing just feels like noise. Like, my own patterns got me this far, you know? Why fix what isn't broken, even if it's a little boring.

masonbell3d ago

My old guitar teacher called that "borrowing a ladder." Lets you reach a shelf you didn't even know was there.