I gave my writing group a prompt about a lost library book and got a spy thriller

Last Tuesday, I tried a simple prompt with my weekly writing group: 'A person finds a library book they forgot to return 20 years ago.' I thought we'd get quiet stories about memory or regret. Instead, four of the six people wrote full-on spy plots. One had the book as a dead drop for Cold War secrets. Another made it a code book for a modern heist. I learned that even the most plain idea can launch people in wild directions if you don't box them in with too many rules. The prompt was just a seed, but what grew was totally different from what I planted. It showed me that a good prompt gives a strong start but leaves all the doors open. Has anyone else had a prompt spin off in a direction you never saw coming?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyc3324d agoMost Upvoted

That "seed" idea is so true, it happens with regular conversations too. You mention one small thing and someone's brain just runs with it to a totally different place. It's cool how our minds jump tracks like that.

taraw1624d ago

I read a psychology article that called this "associative chaining." Like you say "coffee" and my friend goes from coffee to her favorite mug to a pottery class she took last year. Our brains are basically making these wild jumps based on personal memories. It's why conversations can go from the weather to your third grade teacher in sixty seconds flat. The connections feel random but they make total sense inside someone's head.

lunar472d ago

Honestly it drives me nuts when people go off like that, feels like they're not even listening.