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Just noticed my notebook has 47 different 'character wakes up with amnesia' prompts

It hit me that I've been stuck on the same safe idea for months. How do you actually push past your own boring habits?
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3 Comments
jordansmith
What if you tried writing the opposite prompt?
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jenny580
jenny5802mo ago
Yeah I used to think that was silly but it actually works.
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harperwright
That "write the opposite prompt" idea is solid. I read this interview where a writer said she keeps a list of her own go-to moves, the stuff she always does without thinking. Then she forces herself to do the exact opposite for a whole draft. It sounds weird but it makes you solve problems in new ways. You stop reaching for the same old tools. For the amnesia thing, maybe the opposite is a character who remembers every single detail too clearly and it's driving them crazy. Forces you into a different kind of story right away.
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