I tried writing a story from a random word generator versus a full prompt

Last month, I used a website that gave me three random words (like 'moon', 'key', 'rust') and tried to build a story around them, but it felt forced and I gave up after two pages. Then I tried a prompt from a book that gave a character, a setting, and a problem (a librarian who finds a secret door in the stacks), and I wrote 5,000 words in a weekend. What kind of prompt structure works best for you guys to actually get writing?

3 comments

3 Comments

terry_barnes1mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah, that's the thing. Random words feel like a puzzle to solve, but a full prompt gives you a situation. It's like being told to draw something from a single color versus being given a whole scene to sketch. My brain needs a little conflict or a character with a goal to latch onto, otherwise I just stare at the page.

cameronb521mo ago

True about needing conflict. But sometimes a single random word works better. Like "rust." That's not just a color. It's decay, old machinery, something left out in the rain. Gives me a whole mood to build from. A full prompt can box you in.

anna9831mo ago

My brain needs a full prompt too, otherwise I just end up writing about my own rusty life skills like @terry_barnes said.