Rant: Writing prompts about "what if you woke up with a superpower" are lazy

I was at a local writer's meetup in Portland last Tuesday and someone pitched a prompt about waking up with the ability to talk to animals. Three other people said it was a great idea. I just don't get it. These superpower prompts are everywhere and they never lead to anything interesting because everyone writes the same story about saving a cat from a tree or stopping a bank robbery. Has anyone else tried pushing back on these at a group session and gotten weird looks?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancybailey22d ago

My cousin's kid wanted to write about a superhero who could turn invisible. I asked her what she'd actually do with it and she said "rob a bank." That's the problem right there. People think superpowers are just shortcuts to money or fame, like winning the lottery. It's the same with these writing prompts. Nobody asks what kind of everyday problems you'd solve or mess up by having that power. Like talking to animals sounds fun until you realize cats are mostly jerks and dogs just want to talk about squirrels and food all day.

lucashart22d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah but the kid has a point though. If I could turn invisible I'd probably accidentally walk into traffic or get stuck in a Walmart bathroom because someone came in right when I got visible again. Last time I tried to be sneaky I walked into a glass door at a gas station and had to pretend I was just admiring their snack selection. Honestly the real superpower is having good timing and not making everything awkward.