WordPress has a daily writing prompt that you can use and has a link below where you can see what other people have written. I’ve never used writing prompts outside of when I was in school and we were required to use them. Rarely have I seen a writing prompt that has inspired me to write. But something about seeing that box on my dashboard as I logged in today made me wonder – does that really matter?
I imagine writing prompts were invented for exactly those moments when you want to exercise your writing muscles but don’t have a subject in mind to write about. Given that it shouldn’t matter if you are interested in what the prompt is. Your interest in writing and filling a blank page just to get your creativity going is the only motivation you need. Yet knowing that I still dismiss writing prompts that I see that don’t resonate with me and I wonder if all writers are that way? Or are there writers out there who will write about anything from a “cold start” just to warm up before they get to work on their novel.
My writing here is intended to be a journal style document of writing my first novel and all that entails. The struggles, the frustrations, the excitement of the first copy being sold, etc. I am not intentionally using this space as a place for me to dump writing exercises, but I could see that happening given I’ve already had one post where I had nothing to say but had the urge to write anyway. In the end I believe it is all part of the journey so it does stand to reason that sharing one or two of those exercises may make sense.
Time will tell though. Today’s prompt was “What was the most difficult decision you have made and why?” which was a bit too deep for a post Thanksgiving writing session. So instead I went with the random train of thought that the prompt led me down as opposed to addressing the actual question.
Then again – maybe this is exactly what the prompt was intended for in some odd spin of intent? I don’t know. I haven’t had enough coffee to be clever yet. But at least I’m writing and being as consistent as I can. That is the point and that is the most important thing for me right now.
BRANDON KELLER.NET 