TIL I was overthinking my flash fiction prompts by trying to be too clever

Used to spend hours crafting my own prompts for 100 word stories, making them super complex with specific themes and twists. Then last month a friend in a writing group just gave me a simple one like "write about a door that shouldn't be there" and I got my best piece in 15 minutes. Now I just grab random objects in my house or weird headlines from local news. Keeps it fresh and I don't burn out. Anyone else find that simpler prompts actually push you harder?

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.diana11d ago

Totally get where @craig.grant is coming from, I used to think the same way. But trying to cram a whole twist into a 100 word prompt just made me stress over hitting the right notes instead of actually writing. Last week I used a prompt from a milk carton label and ended up with a story about a missing cat that brought a neighbor back together. Simple stuff leaves room to surprise yourself, I think that's the real fun.

craig.grant11d ago

Wait, don't you think having a SPECIFIC twist or theme forces you to think harder though? I get why simple prompts are easier to start with but sometimes the challenge is what makes it fun.