Debate: Should a writing prompt give you the ending or let you figure it out yourself?

I tried giving my writing group a prompt that spelled out the final line of the story, like 'The door opened to reveal nothing but a single feather.' Half of them said it was too restrictive and killed their creativity, while the other half loved having a target to aim for. Do you prefer prompts with a clear ending in mind, or do you like them open so you can take the story anywhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_fisher419d ago

Hang on, is this really something to split a writing group over? It's a prompt, not a contract. If you don't like the ending they gave you, just ignore it and write your own. Nobody's gonna come arrest you for not using the feather thing. I've never seen people get so worked up about something so simple. Just pick the half that works for you and move on. This feels like overthinking a fun exercise into a big debate.

umab8618d ago

Jason, you said "it's a prompt, not a contract" but that's exactly the problem. When a writing prompt comes with a strict ending like the feather thing, it trains people to expect a certain payoff and then gets mad when you go off script. I've seen it happen more than once in groups I've been in. Some people take these exercises really seriously and feel like you're disrespecting the workshop by taking a detour. You say ignore it and write your own, but then you're not engaging with the original idea anymore, you're writing something completely different. That defeats the purpose of a shared exercise where everyone builds off the same starting point. I'm not saying it's worth splitting a group over, but I can see why feathers get ruffled when someone changes the rules mid game.