I gave my writing group two different prompts last week and one flopped hard

The first was a vague 'write about a journey' and it got zero traction. The second was 'You wake up in a library where all the books are blank, and the librarian says you have 24 hours to fill one.' That one sparked five stories. What makes a prompt actually work for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

alicecooper15d ago

Specificity is the whole game. That blank book prompt gives a clear problem to solve, which is way easier than staring at a blank page. Vague ideas just make people freeze up.

jordanc3215d ago

Totally agree with @alicecooper. That blank book is a perfect example. Trying to write "something about nature" is a nightmare, but "describe the forest in this empty book" gives your brain a real starting point. It turns a huge, scary task into a simple puzzle to solve.

lilykelly9d ago

Exactly, constraints make the whole thing less scary.