Can we talk about how everyone uses the same three prompts over and over?

I scrolled through the last 50 posts here and I saw the same 'write about a door that leads somewhere unexpected' thing at least 4 times. People just change the setting from a closet to a basement and call it new. If you want real feedback, try something like a story starting with a character who only speaks in questions or a scene that takes place during a power outage in a grocery store. Has anyone else noticed this pattern getting stale?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanelee1mo agoMost Upvoted

Is it really that deep though? People are just messing around with writing prompts for fun, not trying to win a Nobel Prize. The door thing is basic but it works for a quick practice session. If you want something original you gotta bring it yourself instead of expecting the whole forum to level up overnight.

anthony1291mo ago

Fr man, exactly. Not everything needs to be some deep art critique, sometimes a door prompt is just a door prompt. People got way too much time on their hands lol.

the_viola1mo ago

The door thing is the writing prompt equivalent of elevator music. It's fine if you're half asleep but you're not exactly stretching any creative muscles. Power outage in a grocery store already has more tension in its premise than four "mysterious door" posts combined. A character who only speaks in questions forces you to actually think about dialogue and personality instead of just describing creaky floorboards. I get that people want easy warm ups but the front page is basically a graveyard of the same five ideas copy pasted. Maybe thats fine for a casual Tuesday but the forum feels like its just recycling instead of actually writing.

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