Can we talk about when a writing prompt totally backfires

I tried one of those 'write a story from your biggest regret' prompts last week and it wrecked my whole day. Instead of a fun creative exercise, I ended up spiraling into bad memories from 2019. On the flip side, my friend used the same prompt and wrote her best short story ever. So is the issue the prompt itself or how we handle the emotional weight behind it? Have you ever had a prompt go sideways on you like that, or do you think prompts should steer clear of heavy topics altogether?

3 comments

3 Comments

theas2811d ago

Honestly, I've been there with prompts that hit too close to home. My trick is to set a time limit like 15 minutes and tell myself I can bail if it gets heavy, no pressure to finish. That way you give yourself permission to write something shallow or funny instead of digging up real trauma.

linda_reed11d ago

Your biggest regret" is practically asking for a therapy session, not a story. The problem is the prompt is too vague and heavy for most people to handle without turning it into a personal downer.

phoenixk6411d ago

Oh man, totally. It's like asking someone at a party to tell you about their divorce. People freeze up because they feel like they have to dig up something profound and painful. I see this all the time at work meetings when someone tries to get everyone to share a "learning experience" and nobody wants to be the one who admits they messed up a big project. We've all been trained that regrets have to be this heavy confession, not just a funny story about eating too much gas station sushi. Makes you wonder how many good stories we just never hear.