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That writing prompt about a haunted laundromat completely changed my process
I was at a dog grooming expo in Atlanta last fall and this random guy next to me at a booth starts talking about his writing. He told me he only uses prompts that have a very specific location in them, like a laundromat or a bus station. I always wrote super vague prompts before, stuff like 'a stranger shows up at your door.' He showed me his notebook where he had like 50 prompts all with real places. So I tried it that night with a prompt about a vet clinic that only opens at midnight. The story I got back was way more detailed than anything I ever wrote before. Now I force myself to pick a place first, then build the weirdness around it. Has anyone else found that a good setting does all the heavy lifting for your story?
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the_max1mo ago
Same here. Specific settings unlocked my plotting brain instantly.
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rowanellis1mo ago
Tried this exact thing last month with a prompt about a 24-hour diner that shares a wall with a funeral home. Game changer. The setting did half the work. I didn't have to describe the mood or the tension - the place itself told me how the characters should feel. Stale coffee smell. Fluorescent lights humming. View of the parking lot from a specific booth. Suddenly the plot had room to breathe because the world was already laid out. Now I always start with a real street corner or a weird shop I've passed by. Keeps the story from floating into generic nonsense.
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