Loose Change

The Prompt

I am intrigued by the ways different people react to prompts.  By "prompts", I mean the themes or phrases or images stated by a contest or magazine issue.  Some people hate prompts, wanting to write what is on their minds and not be constrained.  Some people love prompts, as it gives them an inspiration or tells them what to write about. 

Supernatural flash fiction about a tortoise starting with the phrase "My duck left me, but I got over it."

The first group says "Ugh!"  The second group says "Got it.  Here I go to write a story about..."  Reluctantly, I must admit I am in the second group.  But even within that group, there are differences.  A fair number of people see the prompt as the goal.  I think of the prompt the way Ender thinks of the opposing wall in Ender's Game (see how I cleverly brought up Orson Scott Card?  See my second post on this blog)... anyway, I think of the prompt the way Ender thinks of the opposing wall in Ender's Game, not as a destination, but as a place to bounce off of in an unexpected direction.  I want to follow the rules, but with a story or poem that nobody else would possibly think of for that prompt.  If the prompt phrase sounds happy and light, I want to be dark and serious.  If the prompt image is of a lovely park bench with autumn leaves around it, I want to write of the bum who sleeps there at night.  It is just my nature, twisted.

How about you?  What do you think of prompts?


Current status: 27 items in 40 submissions.  1 new market attempted, errant parent