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Spent 6 months writing 500 word prompt responses before realizing the prompt itself was never the point
I was answering every prompt in our Tuesday writers group in Reno like it was a school essay, and nobody ever said anything until my friend Dana asked why I never just pick one small moment and sit in it. Now I write 2 sentences about a gas station at 2am instead of trying to cover a whole life story, and people actually respond to them. Has anyone else had to unlearn the fear of writing something too small for a prompt?
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stella90429d ago
The part about the prompt never being the point is close but maybe a little off. The prompt is still the point, it's just that you were reading it as a topic to cover instead of a door to walk through. Dana didn't tell you to ignore the prompt, she told you to shrink what you were doing inside it. Two sentences about a gas station at 2am is still an answer to the prompt, it just trusts the reader to find the life story on their own. I had to unlearn the same thing, that covering more ground feels safer but usually just means you never land anywhere.
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