T
3

Tried a 3-act structure prompt from a forum post last Tuesday and it flopped hard

I saw someone suggest using a 3-act structure for a short story prompt about a lost dog in Chicago. Last Tuesday I sat down and mapped it out - Act 1 was the dog running off, Act 2 was searching alleys near Wrigley Field, Act 3 was finding him at a fire station. But my beta readers said it felt too rigid and fake, like I was checking boxes instead of writing naturally. Has anyone else run into prompts that sound good but kill your flow once you try them?
2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In
2 Comments
robertgreen
Checking boxes" is exactly what's wrong with that approach but is it really that deep?
8
james_singh7
Is it really that deep though?
1