The writing prompt that sounded dumb actually fixed my story block

I saw this prompt on here last week that said 'write a scene where your character has to wait in line at a DMV but something supernatural happens'. I almost scrolled past because it felt so silly. But I had been stuck on my fantasy novel for three months with no idea how to get my hero from point A to point B. So I tried it just to mess around. Next thing I know I wrote 4 pages about a demon who works the counter and gives my character a cursed license plate. That dumb little idea broke the whole logjam. Now I'm wondering if the prompts that seem too simple are actually the best ones. Anyone else find that the most basic prompts unlock something weird in your brain?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_stella6d agoMost Upvoted

Try it with the most boring setting you can think of.

adam_butler385d ago

Man, you nailed it. I tried it with like a blank beige wall and a single ceiling light and somehow it still felt more interesting than half the "minimalist" setups people show off. It really makes you realize how much of the vibe comes from the person using it, not the fancy stuff around them. Did you end up sticking with that boring setup or did you switch it up later?