My old writing prompts were basically just 'what if a guy had a sword'

Then my niece, who is 7, asked me to write a story about a sentient potato that gets elected mayor of a small town in Vermont, and honestly it was the most fun I've had writing in ages. What's the weirdest prompt someone has ever given you that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanegibson2mo ago

Honestly, the best one came from my little cousin who wanted a story about a toaster that was deeply, spiritually afraid of bread. It sounds silly, but writing from the toaster's point of view, where every slice of wheat was a terrifying intruder it had to bravely face, gave it this weirdly epic feel. The climax was it finding peace with a bagel because the hole meant it wasn't a full threat.

harper_owens2mo ago

My own niece once asked for a story about a squirrel who was a terrible secret agent, constantly dropping his acorn gadgets and getting his tail stuck in vents. Ngl, it was way more fun to write than my usual stuff about brooding knights. That potato mayor idea is pure gold, you gotta tell me how the town meetings go.

robert_smith361mo ago

I had a similar thing happen with my nephew last year, wanted a story about a penguin who ran a detective agency but was scared of fish. I mean, it sounds so dumb on paper but writing from the perspective of this penguin who had to solve cases while basically avoiding the entire ocean ecosystem was surprisingly fun. The best part was when he had to interrogate a sardine but couldn't look it in the eye without getting nervous. Idk, maybe that squirrel agent and my scaredy-penguin should team up for a crossover episode or something.