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I used to think writing prompts were cheating, then one little exercise got me 3 chapters ahead in 2 weeks
I always felt like using a prompt was somehow not real writing, like I was borrowing someone else's idea instead of coming up with my own. That changed on a rainy Tuesday last month when I was stuck on chapter 4 of my novel and had been staring at the same blank screen for 6 days. My friend Dana, who teaches 8th grade English over in Salem, told me to just grab one random prompt and write for 15 minutes without stopping. The prompt was something dumb like a character finds a key that doesn't fit any lock they own, and I almost skipped it. But I tried it, and by minute 12 I had a whole scene about my main character's grandmother hiding something in a cookie tin. I ended up writing 3 chapters in 2 weeks off that one silly exercise, way faster than my usual pace. Now I keep a jar of prompts on my desk and pull one whenever I get stuck, and it works almost every time. So my question is, do you all use prompts for longer projects or just for warmups? I'm curious if anyone else fought this same fight with themselves.
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lilycraig17d ago
Did you see that interview where Stephen King said he writes scenes from random "what if" ideas all the time? Makes sense that a prompt just gives your brain a jump start instead of replacing your own ideas.
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