Had a chat with a retired English teacher that messed with how I write prompts

I was at a coffee shop in Portland last Tuesday and this older lady saw me typing on my laptop. She asked what I was working on and I told her about this creative writing prompt community. She said something that stuck with me: 'You're not giving people a story, you're giving them a key to unlock their own.' I've been thinking about that ever since. How do you guys balance giving enough detail without boxing people in?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.wren22d agoTop Commenter

That quote about giving people a key to unlock their own story really hit me too. I used to write these super detailed prompts with specific characters and settings, but I noticed people would just copy them pretty much word for word. Then I tried something different (sort of by accident, really) where I just gave a vibe or a starting point like "You find a door that wasn't there yesterday" and stopped. The responses got way more creative and personal, like each person was filling in their own world. I think the sweet spot is giving them a spark to run with, not a whole blueprint. For me now, I aim for one strong image or question and then get out of the way.

sarahsullivan22d ago

Has anyone tried just straight up asking people what kind of prompt they want? Like, do you want a setup or do you want a vibe?