Last Tuesday, I tried a simple prompt with my weekly writing group: 'A person finds a library book they forgot to return 20 years ago.' I thought we'd get quiet stories about memory or regret. Instead, four of the six people wrote full-on spy plots. One had the book as a dead drop for Cold War secrets. Another made it a code book for a modern heist. I learned that even the most plain idea can launch people in wild directions if you don't box them in with too many rules. The prompt was just a seed, but what grew was totally different from what I planted. It showed me that a good prompt gives a strong start but leaves all the doors open. Has anyone else had a prompt spin off in a direction you never saw coming?
The isolation makes it harder than people admit.
