Spent 2 hours trying to write a prompt about a talking cat

I sat down to write a prompt about a cat that gives life advice. Ended up staring at a blank page for 45 minutes. Then I wrote a whole paragraph about the cat's fur color before realizing I forgot to include any actual conflict. Deleted it all and started over three times. Finally finished a 3 sentence prompt around 2 AM. Has anyone else spent way too long on what should be a simple writing exercise?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela68723d ago

Oh man, your fur color detail thing cracked me up because I totally do that too. But wait, I gotta say something - you mentioned a "3 sentence prompt" but honestly prompts don't really have a set length like that. Some of the best ones I've seen are like two paragraphs or just a single question. Three sentences might be too short unless you're doing something really tight. For a talking cat story you'd probably want at least a few more sentences to set up the cat's personality and what kind of life advice it gives, plus who it talks to. That way you're not stuck rewriting later because you rushed the setup. I've bailed on prompts after an hour just to come back the next day with fresh eyes and finish it in five minutes. Blank page staring is the worst part, but sometimes it helps to just write the worst version possible first and fix it later.

joseph_ellis8523d ago

@angela687 nailed it. Blank page staring is the worst.

the_holly23d ago

Oh man, angela687's "just write the worst version possible first" is basically my entire writing process. I've got a folder full of what I call "dumpster fire drafts" that are just me typing "ummm what if the cat says something about... no that's dumb" over and over until something vaguely coherent comes out. Half the time my "worst version" stays the worst version and I just submit it anyway and hope nobody notices.