I just hit 1,000 words on a story about a sentient potato and I'm not sure how to feel

I was just trying to write a quick 500-word flash fiction piece for a prompt about 'unlikely heroes'. I started with a potato that gains consciousness in a pantry. Next thing I know, two hours have flown by and my word counter says 1,023. The potato, named Spud, now has a detailed backstory involving a grumpy onion. Has anyone else ever had a simple prompt spiral into a whole weird universe like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

alex_flores241mo ago

A grumpy onion named in the backstory is the part that got me. That's such a perfect, weird little detail. In my experience, that's exactly how the good stuff happens, when you just let it run wild past the word count. Spud and his onion friend deserve their thousand words, maybe even a whole chapter.

piperf4026d ago

That grumpy onion is the whole point of the story now. It went from a throwaway line to the main character in my head. Spud needs his grumpy friend to balance him out, it just makes sense. Cutting it to fit some word limit would ruin what makes the idea good. Those weird tangents are where the real story lives.

gonzalez.rowan1mo ago

Know exactly how you feel, but don't call it weird. That's just how the creative brain works sometimes. You got hooked on a fun idea and followed it, which is the whole point. A sentient potato and a grumpy onion sounds like a solid start to something way better than a quick flash piece.