Hot take: most writing prompts are way too vague to be useful

I was at a workshop in Portland last month and this guy shared a prompt that was just two words: "the window." I said that doesn't give me anything to work with. He said that's the point. I still think it's lazy. Anyone else find specific prompts way easier to actually write from?

2 comments

2 Comments

kai_brown2319d ago

Honestly, "the window" would make me freeze up worse than a deer in headlights. I'd probably end up writing about how I hate cleaning smudges off glass instead of anything meaningful. Tbh I'm with you on specific prompts being way more helpful. Give me something like "write about a time you broke something valuable at a party" and I've got three embarrassing stories ready to go in ten seconds. Ngl vague prompts just feel like the person who made them is trying to sound deep without doing the work.

palmer.jana18d ago

Oh man, I gotta push back a little here @kai_brown23. In my experience, vague prompts like "the window" can actually force you to get way more creative than you would with a super specific one. When someone gives you a narrow prompt about breaking something at a party, you're basically just recounting a memory. But with "the window," your brain has to actually build something from the ground up. It might feel harder at first, but the stuff that comes out when you have to dig deeper tends to surprise you more. I've written some of my best little pieces from prompts that made me sit there and sweat for five minutes before anything clicked. Your mileage may vary, but I honestly think the struggle is part of the point.