I spent $75 on a 'premium' writing prompt book that was basically just a list of single words | Creative Writing Prompts

Fiona Murphy · 2026-03-10T21:20:04.475374+00:00

Found it at a bookstore in Seattle a few months back, and the fancy cover promised 'endless inspiration.' It was literally just pages with words like 'door,' 'red,' and 'whisper' on them (you know, the kind of thing you can get for free online). I felt pretty silly for not just flipping through it in the store first. Anyone else have a go-to place for good, actual story starters that don't feel like a total rip-off?

the_gray6mo ago

Ugh, I just use old movie plots now.

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sean7826mo ago

Man, I bought a "creativity journal" once that was just empty pages. At least you got words. I'm still trying to figure out what I paid for.

4

brian3286mo ago

What kind of fancy bookstore was this, a museum gift shop? Sounds like they just ran a dictionary through a paper shredder and called it art. I've seen better prompts scribbled on a diner napkin. For actual ideas, I just people-watch at the park or read weird local news headlines. That stuff is free and way more interesting than the word "door" on a blank page.

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