I hate prompts. They open up my writing, but I resist them in a similar fashion as my five year old's reluctant teeth-brushing. I don't want to open up. I'm fine right here. I will flail. Lucky for my writing hygiene, I have a copy of the magnificent Wonderbook.
This book makes a writer happy. The first prompt I tried was intriguing, but opened a rabbit hole... The internet information vortex. I love the shit out of information. The prompt asked me to find four blurbs on a random subject, in different writing styles, and--- And what? I'm sorry, did you say something Wonderbook? Six hours into the first step I had four thousand blurbs on a variety of random subjects and was shaking with insomnia-induced glee. Step away from the prompt.
My second attempt was more successful (in the actually-write-something sort of way.) I took it slower. The Writing Challenge on pg. 78 centered around an illustration of a Kraken ravaging a ship. It's geared towards figuring out how to write better opening scenes, and how to see the many different possibilities and nuances a writer has at her disposal. I used it for a dynamic scene I've been struggling with in my novel revision. The prompt, the questions, the chapter that followed it up... It all blew my mind. Rewriting the options for narration timing (When does the narration occur? Before/During/After the event?) to change the emphasis, forced me to imagine alternatives I had not considered. I wrote the attack scene, changing the details to fit my story, but bumped the retelling to just a few minutes after the decimation. My main character roared back to life. Yes! I may resist them, but a good prompt helps me every time.
My second attempt was more successful (in the actually-write-something sort of way.) I took it slower. The Writing Challenge on pg. 78 centered around an illustration of a Kraken ravaging a ship. It's geared towards figuring out how to write better opening scenes, and how to see the many different possibilities and nuances a writer has at her disposal. I used it for a dynamic scene I've been struggling with in my novel revision. The prompt, the questions, the chapter that followed it up... It all blew my mind. Rewriting the options for narration timing (When does the narration occur? Before/During/After the event?) to change the emphasis, forced me to imagine alternatives I had not considered. I wrote the attack scene, changing the details to fit my story, but bumped the retelling to just a few minutes after the decimation. My main character roared back to life. Yes! I may resist them, but a good prompt helps me every time.