Found a weird trick to get past writer's block in my Denver apartment last month

I was stuck on a short story for three days, just staring at a blank page. On a whim, I opened a random book, pointed at a word without looking, and wrote it down. That word was 'cobblestone'. I made a rule that every sentence in my next paragraph had to mention that word somehow. It forced me to think in a totally new way and broke the block instantly. What's the strangest prompt trick that's actually worked for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim8191mo ago

Actually tried something similar with a random object generator online... ended up writing a whole scene about a broken toaster that became a metaphor for the main character's career. Sometimes the brain just needs a weird little puzzle to solve before the real work can start. Your cobblestone method sounds way more poetic than my kitchen appliance phase though.

finleyh891mo ago

Wait, but broken toasters are low-key genius? That weird spark is the whole point.

jana_fox501mo ago

That broken toaster metaphor thing is cool. My friend got stuck and started writing only in questions for a whole page. Said it felt like interviewing her own characters and it totally unstuck her.