One of the things my new job has given me is an appreciation for the use of writing prompts. Don’t get me wrong, I utilized this tool when I was bored or wanted to do a writing exercise, but I had never considered it useful beyond that. Now I write for 7 hours a day (more or less), 5 days a week, and I have been gifted with the revelation of how writing prompts can be a weaponized tool against stale characters, stale scenes, and writer’s block.
We’ve all heard the advice of “just get something down,” in one iteration or another, right? Using brackets when you’re stuck [Hero does something clever], throwing the general idea down in all caps “I can’t believe you think I’m a child! I’m SOMETHING THAT’S NOT THAT, and it’s time you recognized it!”, highlighting a section, flagging it with comments, whatever, just keep going. Sound advice, right?
As one popular meme says, “Well yes, but actually no.”
Returning to where I’ve left off in a section can be like arriving in the bedroom to find my coffee pot. Why is it there? What was I doing? What were my intentions with it?
This is to say, I feel like returning to a section I’ve left off to insert content can be choppy and ultimately confusing for me and the reader.
So! Weaponizing writing prompts. Have you ever seen those “642 things to write about” books? I’ve had one since 2016 (ish) and I picked it up in the situations I mentioned in my opening paragraph. When I wanted to do a writing exercise or was bored. Admittedly, these things didn’t happen often, so roll forward to 2023, and maybe 50 have been filled in?
My plan was to write 1 full page, back and front, every day. Without fail. No matter what. I would not go in any set order, I would just flip through until I found one I thought I could do and then do the page. I’d flip through again, and select a second page, for a total of one, back and front equivalent, page.
May 31, 2023. I FINALLY got the thing completed.
I learned a few things from it. One, this necessity of having to do a set number of writing prompts really raised my productivity. Two, my willingness to push the traditional script boundaries has not only been more prevalent but has been met with more acceptance. Three, I feel as though my wit has become a little faster, a little sharper.
Most of the prompts were fun, and I challenged myself creatively to fill in the space provided with each exercise. There were definitely ones I kept passing again and again because I just had no ideas.
For interest’s sake, the two that remained until the last day, the ones that I found most challenging and least inspiring were “Find a passage in your favourite novel. Re-tell it, using only one-syllable words.” & “You are suddenly unable to recall any words that are not proper nouns. Excuse yourself from a very formal dinner party without drawing much attention to this fact.”
So, even though some days it was a slog to come up with something I thought was good, I can say I recommend this exercise. If you’re not the kind of person who wants to go out and buy a book, take one of your thousand blank journals, and grab some prompts from the internet. My personal favourite is whoever runs the writing prompt Tumblr (now apparently available on facebook?) I’ve left the URL in my reference section.
If you are at all extroverted, then I recommend taking it one step further. Go to an improv class. Having to come up with and actually articulate ideas on the fly with other people providing input is a bit scary, but trust me, by the end of it, you will be a faster brainstormer. You will feel less stigmatized about throwing out ideas which you feel may or not be good at. Let others build off of you, and in turn, build off them. Learn different ways to approach lines of logic by paying close attention to the other participants and how people react to their ideas.
It’s worth your time, I promise.
If nothing else, it will make you a little more brave, socially. If you’re anything like me, every little bit helps.
Winters Writer 