Tried a 'quiet book' prompt for my writing group and nobody wrote a word

I suggested a prompt where we write a scene with no dialogue at all. Just action, setting, internal stuff. Figured it'd be easy. Nope. 5 out of 7 people just sat there for 20 minutes. One guy wrote two sentences about a coffee cup. Total flop. Anyone else have a writing prompt that backfired hard?

3 comments

3 Comments

carr.lee28d ago

Man, commitment to the bit is exactly right. Coffee cup guy is my new hero honestly. I bet he was really feeling that cup's inner life. That's the kind of focus most folks can't muster anymore when phones are right there. Sounds like your writing group is full of people who can't handle the quiet challenge.

carter.casey29d ago

wait, is that really such a big deal? like 20 minutes of silence is basically a normal tuesday in my house. the coffee cup guy sounds like a legend tbh, at least he committed to the bit. i feel like quiet prompts work better if you frame it as "describe a memory without talking" or something more specific than just "no dialogue.

the_tessa28d ago

Commitment to the bit is a dying art form, so coffee cup guy deserves a round of applause honestly. Twenty minutes of silence in my house sounds like a vacation, not a challenge. Maybe the real issue is that people just don't know how to be quiet without making it weird.