Writing Prompt Reviews

Following back to my previous post about writing prompts, I decided it would be interesting to find a couple and test them out myself, pointing out their potential weaknesses, strengths, and perhaps writing a few paragraphs based on how they inspire me. A few, brief, un-revised paragraphs (do forgive me!).

Prompts can often get looked down upon by writers. Until recently I was not a fan, and still today am unlikely to use one for anything but casual exercise. Perhaps it feels less authentic to use someone else’s idea to spur your own writing. But, as the saying goes, “there’s nothing new under the sun.” Even the most brilliant ideas have their roots somewhere, and it’s likely that someone else in the world has had the same thought at some point. Man does not live in a vacuum, and neither does inspiration. It is our responsibility as writers to bring a unique perspective and an individual voice to our ideas and to represent them faithfully in a way that is entertaining and hopefully thought provoking.

Today’s prompts come from the Writer’s Relief “Writing Prompt” pinterest board. I love the combination of images with text. It changes the way you read the prompt, perhaps pushing you in a specific aesthetic direction. Which you can absolutely ignore if you want, but emotional guidance can be a good way to start on especially blocked days.

#1.

I almost passed this one by because it’s too specific. Plus you toe the line with cliché when you throw in immortal beings and their very special artefacts. Been there, done that. It’s the last line that really caught my eye – “its very special reputation.”

Ahah! What reputation? This immediately gives the author a chance to look for museum stories associated with items on display. What historic pieces have legends and myths attached to them in the real world? How could we use that to our advantage in creating an original story?

Would this tale be serious or comedic? How does the immortal keep losing the artefact? What consequences are there to their being separated from it for long periods of time? How successful are they in breaking into these collections without being caught? If they have been caught, what happened to them? How did they get out of trouble?

How do the curators view the item? Do they misjudge it horribly (and hilariously?) or does the item have some separate significance that they focus on instead?

Does the immortal have other motives for getting the artefact back? Perhaps insidious plans to cause mischief which is only possible with the power of the artefact? Or do they just want to live in peace, despite a series of recurring, unfortunate events that cause the item to continually be lost in a world of glass cases?

Is the immortal really Nicholas Cage?

#2.

“Do you remember the day we left Earth?”

Now that’s a beautiful, open-ended question if I ever saw one. The possibilities with this prompt are pretty endless. The question can be discussed between as few as two people (or even one, if you’re really looking for a challenge!) or addressed to an entire assembly.

It begs an answer – yes? If so, what was the day like? Was it joyful? Melancholy? Was the departure forced or willing? What were the travelers looking forward to? Or were they looking behind?

Or if the answer is no – why doesn’t the recipient remember? What might they be blocking out? Were they too young to remember? Too old? What might be the consequences of not remembering what your home planet was like? What does it do to a person’s emotions to be displaced like that?

What have the characters left back on Earth? What did they bring with them? Is the Earth deserted, or is it still thriving?

How does the image of the mountain fronted by ocean inspire your answers to these questions? Does the color-scheme push you in any particular direction?

And did you notice the small line in the sky hinting at where the travelers have gone?

The thing I love about this prompt (other than my natural inclination towards space travel) is that you can do anything you like with it. Even the words of the prompt aren’t particularly unique enough to bind the author in the fear of being unoriginal. Yet they have a power in their brevity, and that’s what encourages the writer to answer.

Do you remember the day we left Earth?

Do you remember the day we watched the skies burn?

When that golden world turned black with ash,

and everything that ever was became ‘no more’?

Do you remember the day we left Earth?

I was wearing a blue dress; the one you gave me on my fifth birthday.

You said it was the same color as my eyes,

the same color as the ocean.

But the oceans boiled and turned the shade of night.

And you ripped my sleeve as we ran.

You never sewed it back.

Do you remember my mother’s face?

They say we are of star dust – and to dust we return.

I like to think that she,

caught up in that dissolving world,

was blown to someplace better

and is now a star again.

Do you remember the day we left Earth?