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A guy in my writing group said prompts are training wheels and I can't stop thinking about it
Last Tuesday at the library in Toledo, this guy Dave in my writing group said he never uses prompts because they are "training wheels for people who can't find their own ideas." He said it real casual, like it was obvious, and then he pulled out a notebook full of stuff he wrote from his own head. Meanwhile I have a folder of about 40 prompts and half my best short stories came from them. One about a locked car with the keys inside turned into a 3,000 word piece I actually like. So now I'm stuck wondering if I'm leaning on a crutch or if Dave is just being a snob about how he gets to the same place. The annoying part is he might be a little right and I hate that. Do you all write from prompts for practice or for real finished stuff, and where do you personally draw the line?
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ray_burns15d ago
Boy, I used to think prompts were cheating too, then one unlocked my best story.
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