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Vent: Wasted 40 bucks on that big prompt generator database
Bought this giant spreadsheet with 5000 writing prompts and 90% of them are just 'a character finds a mysterious object' with different objects swapped in. Anyone else find a better source for actual unique prompts?
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lisaf3819d ago
I get what you're saying, @grace508, but I've seen the opposite play out. A buddy of mine bought a similar prompt list and tried to spin that "character finds a mysterious object" one into something fresh. He went with a cursed music box that plays a tune only the dead can hear. Spent three days on it, ended up with a story that was basically the plot of that old movie The Ring but with a music box instead of a tape. He was so bummed he just deleted the whole file. Sometimes a base is just a base, and it's hard to make it not feel recycled.
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grace5081mo ago
Well, I actually think you might be looking at this the wrong way. A prompt about a character finding a mysterious object isn't just one prompt, it's a whole framework. You can take that idea and spin it dozens of ways depending on the object, the setting, the character's past. I've gotten three short stories out of the pen that lets you read minds and the old pocket watch that stops time variants alone. Maybe the real value is in having a solid base and then putting your own twist on it rather than expecting every single entry to be some wildly original concept.
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