Okay, this feels embarrassing to admit in an MFA program where everyone acts like they're writing the next great American novel, but I use creative writing prompts almost every day before I start my real work. Not the cheesy ones—I find more literary prompts from places like Poets & Writers magazine or writing blogs . I'll do a 10-minute freewrite on something like 'write from the perspective of someone waiting for news that will change their life' or 'describe a memory using only sensory details.'
It gets my brain into writing mode without the pressure of my actual project. It's like stretching before a run. I've actually gotten a couple of flash fiction pieces out of these warm-ups that got published. Anyone else in a 'serious' writing program secretly using prompts? Or am I the only one?
It gets my brain into writing mode without the pressure of my actual project. It's like stretching before a run. I've actually gotten a couple of flash fiction pieces out of these warm-ups that got published. Anyone else in a 'serious' writing program secretly using prompts? Or am I the only one?