{"id":1006,"date":"2026-11-06T07:19:24","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T07:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/john-shirley.com\/blog\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2026-11-06T07:19:24","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T07:19:24","slug":"about-writing-prompts-why-i-recommend-avoiding-that-way-to-begin-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-shirley.com\/blog\/about-writing-prompts-why-i-recommend-avoiding-that-way-to-begin-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"About Writing Prompts &#8211; why I recommend avoiding that way to begin writing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Writing prompts are ok for creative writing classes. Some writing workshops used them back in the day, for teaching purposes. The way they&#8217;re used now implies that writing prompts are legit ways to become a pro writer. I think they lead  to spinning your wheels. Joe Exception is&#8211;an exception.<\/p>\n<p>Most writing prompts lead you into cliche territory. Instead, search your soul and your imagination for inspiration. Those who use them along with AI to &#8220;write&#8221; are killing their own braincells. Most prompts are innately shallow.  Instead, exercise your imagination; cultivate it. And observe life. Reach for originality, even in familiar genres. Otherwise you cheat yourself of the pleasure of real creativity. <\/p>\n<p>If you have an interesting prompt from a smart, talented creative writing teacher, then maybe it can be a good exercise. A story might come of it. But chiefly you need to grow your own imagination, embrace observation of the world and the exquisite hard work of producing strong story ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Writing prompts are ok for creative writing classes. Some writing workshops used them back in the day, for teaching purposes. The way they&#8217;re used now implies that writing prompts are legit ways to become a pro writer. I think they lead to spinning your wheels. Joe Exception is&#8211;an exception. Most writing prompts lead you into&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>About Writing Prompts - why I recommend avoiding that way to begin writing - John Shirley Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/john-shirley.com\/blog\/about-writing-prompts-why-i-recommend-avoiding-that-way-to-begin-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"About Writing Prompts - why I recommend avoiding that way to begin writing - John Shirley Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Writing prompts are ok for creative writing classes. 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