Do Real Writers Need Prompts?
December 23rd 2008 15:53
I've noticed a lot of writing prompt blogs here on Orble and elsewhere.
Which prompted this question: Do real writers need prompts?
Writing prompts were forced on me in high school.
Every day, my English teacher scrawled a prompt on the board.
"Today I feel like a marshmallow because ___".
And, I had to write three pages about feeling soft and sweet.
Nobody, to my knowledge, enjoyed those writing prompts. If we had to write three pages, why not let us write three pages on topics that we enjoyed?
However, those writing prompts taught me a lesson. I could spontaneously write a story on any given topic.
Still, one day I asked my teacher, "Do real writers need prompts?"
She glared at me but was silent.
"Aren't writers like champagne bottles waiting to be uncorked?"
No answer.
Now, I'm a "real writer".
And, when I sit down to write, ideas come rushing at me.
It's like I'm sitting at the bottom of Niagara Falls. Millions of gallons of water are gushing over me at once.
And, from those millions of gallons of water,
I need to catch one tiny droplet
and write about
how
wonderful
it is.
Which prompted this question: Do real writers need prompts?
Writing prompts were forced on me in high school.
Every day, my English teacher scrawled a prompt on the board.
"Today I feel like a marshmallow because ___".
And, I had to write three pages about feeling soft and sweet.
Nobody, to my knowledge, enjoyed those writing prompts. If we had to write three pages, why not let us write three pages on topics that we enjoyed?
However, those writing prompts taught me a lesson. I could spontaneously write a story on any given topic.
Still, one day I asked my teacher, "Do real writers need prompts?"
She glared at me but was silent.
"Aren't writers like champagne bottles waiting to be uncorked?"
No answer.
Now, I'm a "real writer".
And, when I sit down to write, ideas come rushing at me.
It's like I'm sitting at the bottom of Niagara Falls. Millions of gallons of water are gushing over me at once.
And, from those millions of gallons of water,
I need to catch one tiny droplet
and write about
how
wonderful
it is.
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Comment by Dianna G
I Wish This Was 42
Fictional Worlds
I personally think that we don't usually need prompts-albeit on occasion I have-but prompts can be fun. They can stretch a person; when you have no motivation to work on your current work in progress, a short prompt can get you writing. It can show you new story ideas.
I think prompts are a great thing, but not a necessary one for all writers. I also think every writer goes through a time when it's hard for them to write; after the loss of a family member or something like that. Prompts get us writing again. That is their purpose.
~Dianna
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