Writing Prompts

I have several ways, but they are to secret to tell in an open forum, such as, mylot. I'm thinking about creating a website or ebook explaining how to never get writer's block or get flagged for plagiarism. How to become a content creator and more?

That would indeed be a great book, whether digital or hard copy. And I admire you for having devised a way to escape the bane of writers. However, I'm a bit puzzled by your comment about getting flagged for plagiarism. How does that relate to eradicating writer's block? If you don't suffer from the condition, wouldn't everything you create be original? Becoming a content creator is a good thing. In the coming day and age, it will be more profitable than in the past. The internet is ruled by content. Without good creators there's a risk that it will become too overwhelmed with bad content.

What's your preferred brainstorming method? I've heard of using mind maps, using trigger words, the snowflake method, etc. For me brainstorming is only really effective after I've got a direction to go in. Before that I feel too random. Once I've got my idea in place, brainstorming helps me to fill in all the details. What other unique ways have you found?

I don't consider finding soundtracks for characters pathetic, it's a form of character development, especially if your characters have differing musical tastes from you. I have characters who are totally into rap and hip hop, neither of which really appeal to me, but I listened to it to get a feel for who they were. So, if you're pathetic, join the club (secret handshake forthcoming). Not everyone responds to prompts. For me they force me to ask what if questions I hadn't considered before. Music in and of itself could be considered a prompt. Anything that "prompts" you to write is a prompt, I guess. As for expanding your experiences, I do think it's important for writers. But torturing yourself isn't the end goal. Adding depth and realism to your writing is. There is so much variety in life and topics are rarely as confining as people think they are. In every topic there is a plethora of information that can allow a reader to expand their horizons.

The morgue file. I have one of stories that got started but didn't go anywhere. It is a great technique for finding something new to write about. You're the second person to point out that MyLot is a good resource. I'd never thought about it like that and am really having to adjust what I see here. It's interesting how you don't always see what you're not looking for.

Prompts don't work for everybody. They're there for those that respond to them. I'm a big fan of the "what if" question and writing prompts really seem to bring that question up. What if these things happened? What if this person did this? It's amazing how much opens up when you ask that question.

That's one of the reasons I love prompts, the challenge. They put together strange things and you have to find the reason behind it all. Poetry is something I've dabbled in, but never really "gotten." However, I can see how poetry prompts would be a wonderful resource. There are so many different ways to write a poem and each one brings a unique vision to what you want to say.

If you're writing nonfiction, then prompts probably aren't that useful. Do you find that the newspaper helps you at all? For some of my nonfiction writing, I've found the newspaper to be invaluable as a resource. Not so much redoing the articles I find there, but finding new angles on the stories. The side that didn't get the coverage, or related topics that aren't really delved into.

I hadn't thought of using MyLot for writing ideas. That's actually really good because so many of the topics are intriguing. I'll have to check out that site. I'm a little unsure about handling prompts effectively, I always use them to trigger my creative process. Something in the prompt gets my mind going and I have to write the story.