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My writing group hated my favorite prompt book
I spent 3 months using prompts from Story Sparks by Brian Kite and everyone in my critique circle said my work felt forced and unnatural. Has anyone else had a prompt source that actually made their writing worse instead of better?
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umaprice1mo ago
Oh man, I totally get this. I had this one prompt book that was all about writing from the perspective of objects, like a coffee cup or a doorknob. I tried it for a week and my character development went straight into the trash. One story had my main character thinking about their childhood while standing in a grocery store aisle, but I had to force in this whole bit about the peanut butter jars having feelings. My workshop people were so confused, they thought I was writing a children's book. I just went back to my regular old prompts after that and everything felt normal again.
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robinc661mo ago
The whole "peanut butter jars having feelings" bit got me, that's exactly the kind of thing that makes me put a book down. I tried a similar object prompt once, but it was from a lamp's point of view. My lamp was this ancient floor lamp in a therapist's office, and I spent three pages on its dust allergies and how it felt about being turned off during sessions. My writing group just stared at me until someone asked if I was okay. I think some people love that stuff, but my brain just can't do it. Give me a person with a bad habit and a deadline over a sentient toaster any day.
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