My writing group prompt went sideways in the best way

We were doing a 10-minute sprint based on the prompt 'a character finds a key that doesn't fit any lock' at our local library meetup. Halfway through, my pen ran out of ink completely. I had to grab a crayon from the kids' corner to keep writing. The weird, waxy feel made my character's thoughts get way more frantic and desperate, which actually fit the story better. I ended up reading that crayon-scrawled page out loud and everyone loved the shift in tone. What's the most useful writing mistake you've ever made?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie60211d ago

Ever try to write a grocery list with a crayon? It's all downhill from there.

wren21711d ago

Okay but "all downhill from there" feels like a stretch. It's just a crayon on a scrap of paper. I've done it when a pen died and the list was fine. The milk and bread still made it into the cart. It's not like the crayon makes you forget how to spell "eggs.