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Hot take: stop writing prompts at your desk, go sit in a laundromat
I was stuck on the same 3 story ideas for almost 2 months, just staring at a blank doc every night after work. Then I started bringing a notebook to the laundromat down on Foster and writing prompts about whatever was around me, like the guy folding 9 towels into perfect squares or the kid begging for quarters. I got 14 usable prompts in one hour, way more than I ever got at my desk. Something about the noise and strangers makes my brain stop trying so hard. Does anyone else have a random place that gets the prompts flowing?
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the_jamie1mo ago
Man, this hit me right in the ego because I have spent actual hours at my desk just rearranging the same five words like that counts as writing. The laundromat thing makes total sense to me, you are surrounded by real people doing boring real stuff instead of staring at a white screen begging your brain to be clever. Last week I tried writing at the DMV and got two pages about a guy who kept sighing at the number screen, so honestly the boring errand spots might be the move. My weird spot is the 24 hour diner by my place at like 7am, the old guys at the counter argue about sports loud enough that I stop hearing my own doubts. Something about not being alone but also not being watched just unlocks it. Guess I am swapping my desk chair for a sticky vinyl booth seat.
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