c/creative-writing-prompts

20

the_dakota•1d ago

A broken elevator in my apartment building gave me a new story idea

Last Tuesday, the elevator in my building in Spokane was down for repairs. I had to take the stairs from the 8th floor. On the third trip down, I noticed a small, faded sticker on the wall of the 5th-floor landing. It was for a plumbing company that went out of business in 1998. I started thinking about who put it there and why. That sticker became a person in my head, a guy named Leo who worked for that company. Now I'm writing a prompt about finding a piece of old, everyday graffiti that opens a door to a different time. What's the most random object that has sparked a story idea for you?

19

the_max•4d ago

A guy at the library gave me the strangest writing prompt

I was at the main branch downtown last Tuesday, just looking for a quiet spot to work on my outline. This older man, maybe in his 70s, sat down across from me, put his coffee cup on the table, and just stared for a minute. Then he leaned forward and said, 'Write about a man who is slowly turning into a parking meter. Not the whole thing, just the arm. His right arm is the one that takes the coins.' He said it totally straight, like he was giving me the weather. I just mumbled 'thanks' and he got up and walked away. I haven't stopped thinking about it. It's so specific and weird, it kind of unlocked something. What's the most oddly specific prompt someone has ever given you out of the blue?

13

clark.iris•4d ago

I finally gave up on my epic fantasy outline and just started writing a short story

For months, I was stuck trying to plan a huge fantasy series with maps and family trees. My friend in my writing group said, 'Just write one scene from the middle, anything.' So last Tuesday, I opened a blank doc and wrote a 1,200-word piece about a guard finding a strange key. No outline, no pressure. It was the most fun I've had writing in a year. The scene turned into a complete story with a clear ending. I was so focused on building the whole world that I forgot to actually tell a story. Now I have a finished piece to edit instead of another sprawling note file. Has anyone else broken out of a planning loop by forcing themselves to write something small and complete?

25

elliot_miller22•6d ago

My main character's motivation fell apart halfway through a draft

I was convinced her goal was revenge, but a beta reader in my workshop last Tuesday pointed out she never seemed angry. I'm stuck now, has anyone rebuilt a character's core drive this late in a story?

1

taylor82•6d ago

TIL a weird thing at the library in Madison made me rethink prompts

I was at the Madison Public Library last Tuesday and overheard two people arguing about a book's ending. One said the character should have left town, the other said they should have stayed to fight. It hit me that a good writing prompt isn't a full idea, it's just that starting argument. Now I always try to frame my prompts as a conflict between two clear choices. What's the best 'two choices' prompt you've ever found?

11

blair_allen•8d ago

Shoutout to a random book I found at the library in April

I used to think I needed a full outline before I could write a single word, which meant I never started. After reading a chapter in 'The 90-Day Novel', I just pick a character and write them into a weird situation, like finding a door in their basement that wasn't there before. How do you all get past that blank page fear?

15

taylor.jordan•8d ago

I hit exactly 47 unfinished drafts in my writing folder and it's kind of a weird flex

I mean, that's a lot of abandoned worlds and half-baked characters just sitting there. Anyone else have a specific number of drafts that made them laugh at their own process?

9

baker.ben•9d ago

I had to choose between a haunted typewriter prompt or a sentient traffic cone prompt for a contest in Boise.

I went with the traffic cone, and my story about a cone named Kevin who hates construction ended up winning me a $50 gift card to a weird local bookstore.

1

shanewells•10d ago

I got past writer's block by writing a scene where my detective's only clue was a single, mismatched sock

It was so ridiculous that it broke the tension, and I ended up keeping the sock as a running gag. Has anyone else used a deliberately absurd detail to kickstart a stalled story?

12

iris_adams•10d ago

PSA: My writing prompt notebook got soaked at a coffee shop in Portland

I was at a place called The Grind last month, working on a prompt about a sentient umbrella. My iced coffee tipped over, and the whole bottom half of my notebook turned into a blue blob. I had to dry each page with a napkin, and now the ink is all smeared. Has anyone else had a writing tool disaster that changed how you keep your ideas safe?

12

thomas105•11d ago

TIL my main character's name was the same as my boss's after writing 30 pages.

I was halfway through a draft for a sci-fi prompt when I realized my gruff spaceship captain, 'Marcus', shared a name with my actual boss, so I used a simple find-and-replace to switch it to 'Kael' before anyone in my writing group noticed.

32

patricia_wells•12d ago

My writing group went from flat to fantastic after we ditched the usual prompts

For about six months, our little group in Spokane was stuck. We'd use those common one-line prompts like 'write about a door that shouldn't be opened' and everyone's stories felt the same, kind of tired. The change happened when our leader, Sarah, brought in a new method. She started giving us a single, specific object-like a cracked blue teacup or a train ticket stub from 1947-and told us to build a character who owned it. Just that one shift, from a vague idea to a concrete thing, made all the difference. Last meeting, the stories were so varied and full of life, you wouldn't believe they came from the same starting point. It made me realize how much a prompt's focus can limit or free your imagination. Has anyone else tried moving from situational prompts to object-based ones and seen a similar jump in creativity?

16

taylor_fox•13d ago

I finally looked up how many books Stephen King wrote before Carrie got published

I was reading his memoir On Writing and he said he wrote four full novels that got rejected. That's like four years of work before his first big hit. What's the most 'failed' project you ever had that later helped you?

2

allen.cole•13d ago

Warning about that 'Plot Twist Generator' app I bought last month

I spent $15 on it thinking it would help with my short story block, but the ideas were all super basic stuff like 'the friend was the villain' or 'it was a dream'. I could have gotten better prompts from a free Reddit thread in five minutes. Has anyone found a tool that actually gives unique twists for mystery writing?

13

skylercooper•15d ago

Pro tip: Stop calling every story setup a 'prompt'

I keep seeing people post full story ideas with characters and plots and call them writing prompts. A real prompt is a simple seed, like 'You find a key that opens any door, but only once.' I learned this after a workshop leader in Boston corrected me three years ago. Are we watering down what a prompt actually is, or am I just being too strict about the definition?

11

linda658•15d ago

I used to think writing prompts had to be huge, epic ideas

Last month, I was stuck trying to outline a fantasy novel and getting nowhere. My coworker, Mr. Evans, suggested I just write about 'a character who finds a single blue sock in their dryer that isn't theirs.' That tiny, specific detail unlocked a whole mystery plot about magical laundry in my apartment building. It completely changed how I brainstorm. What's the smallest, most ordinary prompt that's ever sparked a big story for you?

10

olivers28•18d ago

A weird thing I saw in a coffee shop in Portland three years ago

Honestly, three years back, I was in a Portland cafe and saw a guy writing on napkins for like an hour. Last month, I found out he was using a prompt about a barista who could see people's memories in the coffee foam. He told me he built a whole short story from it, just setting a timer for 20 minute bursts. It made me think about how the best ideas can come from just watching regular stuff. Has anyone else turned a random moment into a full story?

7

tyler_hunt72•18d ago

Just realized I wrote a prompt about a sentient toaster and it turned into a whole novel about grief

I only meant to write a quick 500-word scene, but the character's voice took over and I finished a first draft in three months. Has anyone else had a silly prompt spiral into something way more serious?

16

alice_chen48•19d ago

The writing prompt site I used for five years just got a weird new owner

I logged in last month and the whole vibe changed from creative to corporate. They removed the fantasy and sci-fi sections, added a bunch of 'brand storytelling' templates, and now you have to pay $8 a month to post your own ideas. It happened literally overnight after they were bought by some marketing firm. My main source of ideas for short stories is basically gone. Has anyone else had their favorite prompt site ruined like this?

5

palmer.zara•19d ago

Found a strange writing prompt notebook in a coffee shop in Portland

I was at a place called The Daily Grind on 3rd Avenue yesterday and saw a notebook left on a table. It was full of writing prompts, but the weird part was every single one was about doors that shouldn't be opened. Like, 'You find a door in your basement that wasn't there yesterday' or 'A door appears every time you tell a lie'. There were over 50 of them, all just about doors. It felt like someone's very specific obsession. Has anyone else found a prompt collection that was stuck on one idea like that? I'm curious if it's a common exercise.

17

loganw85•20d ago

Stopped at a gas station outside Flagstaff and saw something that gave me a story idea

It was this old, beat-up payphone. Still had a phone book chained to it, pages all yellow and torn. But someone had drawn these little cartoon monsters in the margins with a blue pen. Like a whole battle scene. Got me thinking. What if the phone book was a secret bestiary? Each drawing was a real creature, and calling a number from its page summoned it. Been stuck on where to take that idea next. Anyone ever build a whole plot from a random object they saw?

15

kellygrant•21d ago

Just compared a vague 'write a mystery' prompt to one about a detective who can't solve a case because they're the ghost of the victim.

The second one gave me a full scene in 20 minutes, while the first left me staring at a blank page. What's the most specific prompt that's ever worked for you?

19

craig.drew•21d ago

Found out Stephen King wrote 'Carrie' on his wife's portable typewriter in their trailer

I read that in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, and it made me think how the physical tools we use to write can shape a story before a single word is even on the page.

12

skyler_mitchell•24d ago

The workshop in Portland that made me stop using 'show, don't tell' as a rule

I was at a writing workshop in Portland about three years ago, and the instructor said 'show, don't tell' was the worst advice for new writers. He argued it makes people write 30 pages of pointless description just to avoid a simple sentence like 'he was angry.' I used to follow that rule like a law, but now I just ask if the sentence moves the story forward. Has anyone else found that strict writing rules actually hold them back more than help?

14

the_dakota•25d ago

Remembering the old writing prompt notebooks

I spent a whole afternoon trying to find a specific prompt I wrote down in 2018 about a lighthouse keeper finding a modern cellphone, but my old notebooks are a total mess. It took me over three hours to finally locate it in a green composition book under my bed. What's the most time you've wasted looking for a lost idea?