Just realized a lot of people are using the same five overdone prompts

I've been in three different online writing groups for about six months now, and I keep seeing the same basic ideas pop up. Someone will post 'write about a door that shouldn't be opened' or 'your character finds a mysterious key' for the hundredth time. It matters because these worn-out starters don't push anyone to think in new ways, they just lead to the same kinds of stories. I know because I tried using one last week for a short piece and my writing partner just said it felt like something he'd read before. We need prompts that ask harder questions or mix in weird details from real life, like 'a character who is terrified of the sound of a specific brand of microwave beep'. What's a truly odd or specific detail you've used lately to kick off a story?

3 comments

3 Comments

richard_anderson23d ago

Totally feel this... wrote about a sentient parking meter last week.

wendy39122d ago

Oh man, that's hilarious @richard_anderson. Your sentient parking meter bit reminds me of this old story I wrote about a traffic light that fell in love with a car. It got real sad when the car kept running red lights to get away from it. I was trying way too hard to be deep in college. The whole thing was a mess, but weird objects with feelings are just fun to write.

hayes.joel16d ago

Ever wonder if the traffic light was just bad at its job and that's why the car left? I mean, @wendy391, constant red lights are a pretty clingy move. Maybe the car was just trying to get to work on time and the light was being a stage five clinger. Your story sounds less deep and more like a workplace harassment case for infrastructure.