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I tried a writing prompt about a character who can't lie and got a surprise
I used the prompt 'write about someone who is physically unable to tell a lie' for a short story last week, and my main character ended up confessing a secret in the first paragraph, which completely changed the plot I had planned. It taught me that a simple constraint can force way more interesting choices than I would have made on my own. Has anyone else had a prompt completely derail their original story idea in a good way?
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ruby_henderson367mo ago
Remember that quote about constraints? @william_garcia proved it.
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william_garcia7mo ago
My last prompt was about a time traveler fixing one small typo. I spent three hours outlining a complex causality chain, but the story just wrote itself as a quiet moment where nothing really changed. Sometimes the constraint just makes you write the boring, obvious version.
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haydenmurray7mo ago
Wasn't there a writing book that said constraints just show you the first idea you need to get past?
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