Hot take: I quit using random prompt lists after my Tuesday writing group tore apart my 8-page story
I used to grab a random prompt from one of those generator sites every Monday night and just run with whatever it gave me. Last month I pulled "write about a door that won't open" and cranked out 8 pages in two sittings, feeling pretty good about it. Then I read it to my writing group at the library on Tuesday and got absolutely wrecked. My friend Dana asked why the door mattered to anyone, and I honestly couldn't answer her. That's when it hit me that the prompt was doing all the deciding and I was just filling in blanks. Now I build my own prompts from one specific thing I actually care about, like a real argument I had or a thing I'm scared of, and the writing has been way more alive. So what do you all do when a prompt feels fun but your story ends up hollow?