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My niece asked why all my old writing prompts start with 'a mysterious stranger arrives'
She found my notebook from college and pointed out I used that same setup 17 times in 2008. What's a classic prompt trope you've moved past?
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henry6041mo ago
Wait, she actually counted them? That's some serious detective work. I used to do the whole "it was a dark and stormy night" thing way too much. Now I try to start with the character doing something normal, like making bad coffee.
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the_dylan1mo ago
Lol your niece is a legend for counting. I mean @henry604 is onto something with the bad coffee, but I got stuck on "waking up from a dream" for years. Felt so clever until I realized every story just started with an alarm clock.
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iris_davis901mo ago
Honestly that alarm clock thing is so real. What finally made you stop using it, like did you read something or just get sick of your own writing?
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