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Prompt writing got easier after I stopped forcing a twist ending
Back in 2019 I used to outline every prompt with a huge reveal planned, like the character was secretly dead or the whole setting was a dream. Then I posted a simple one about a librarian who finds a note in a returned book, no twist at all, and it got way more responses than anything I'd done before. Has anyone else noticed that readers seem to prefer quiet, open-ended prompts over the big shockers lately?
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vera5144d ago
The part about the librarian finding a note hit me hard because I did the exact same thing. I spent months writing these crazy plots with ghosts and time loops and everyone being related to everyone else. Then one day I posted a prompt about two strangers sharing a bench at a bus stop and just talking about their day, nothing else happened. It got way more attention than any of my big twists ever did. I think people are tired of being tricked, they just want to feel something real for a minute. Quiet prompts leave room for the reader to fill in their own story, and that feels more personal than being handed a shock ending.
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