Pro tip: Over-specific prompts are crushing your original plots.

I've seen too many folks in this community rely on prompts that spell out every detail. It makes your stories feel samey. I used to do this myself, and my tales ended up predictable. Now, I start with a single image or a weird fact. For instance, I based a whole narrative on a rusty bike I saw last week. That loose starting point let my mind wander to unique places. If you want your tales to stand out, try vaguer seeds. Trust me, your creativity will thank you.

3 comments

3 Comments

brookeb551mo ago

That rusty bike thing made me remember something. Last month I found a crumpled grocery list in a parking lot, just stuff like "eggs, duct tape, cilantro." Ended up writing a whole flash piece about a person preparing for the weirdest day of their life. Never would have come up with that if I tried to plan it out from the start. Sometimes the best ideas are just lying around.

barbara_hall91mo ago

Honestly used to believe you needed to map every story idea out first. Reading your grocery list thing totally shifted that for me. I mean, I see weird scraps of paper or lost stuff all the time and just ignore it. But now I'm thinking those random bits are way more interesting than anything I'd force. Maybe it's just me, but trying to plan from a blank page feels made up, but finding duct tape on a list feels like a real person's story waiting to be told.

scott.harper25d ago

Nah, I need a solid prompt to get going. A vague image just leaves me staring at a blank page. My best stuff comes from a detailed starting point I can actually build on.