That time I tried writing a prompt about a mailbox and got 40 replies

I threw together a writing prompt about a mailbox that had a hidden message inside, figuring it was a total throwaway idea. Posted it on a Tuesday night and woke up to 40 replies, some with whole short stories attached. People took it in directions I never would have thought of, like a soldier finding a letter from his kid or a widow leaving notes for her late husband. Guess that taught me not to judge an idea before it gets out there. Has anyone else had a simple prompt take off way bigger than expected?

3 comments

3 Comments

marymorgan23d agoMost Upvoted

Love how a mailbox prompt turned into emotional gold mines while my carefully crafted "write a thriller about a cursed diamond" posts get three likes and a bot reply. Maybe I should just start posting prompts about random household objects and see if I finally crack the algorithm's good side of the algorithm. Sounds like a solid plan for my next attempt, right up until I end up with forty replies about a toaster or something equally ridiculous.

gibson.sean29d ago

Read somewhere that the best prompts are the ones you least expect.

abby_king2229d ago

Yeah but that's not really true. Most of the time the best prompts are the ones that are specific and clear, not random. Like if I want a good meal suggestion, telling the app exactly what ingredients I have and what I'm in the mood for always works better than some weird vague thing. @gibson.sean might have read that somewhere but it sounds like one of those internet tips that sounds deep but isn't practical. I've tried the "unexpected" approach before and it just gives me junk half the time.