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Shoutout to the 'write a story from a grocery receipt' prompt that actually worked
I saw that prompt floating around for years and always thought it was dumb, like, how creative can you get with a list of eggs and milk? But last week, I was stuck on a project and decided to try it with my own receipt from a trip to the store in Portland. I mean, I had broccoli, a six pack of beer, duct tape, and a birthday card. I forced myself to write a 500 word scene, and idk, maybe it's just me but something clicked. Instead of a boring list, it became a story about a guy trying to fix a broken shelf for his roommate's surprise party, and the whole thing just flowed out in about twenty minutes. It taught me that a real, dumb limit can kick your brain into gear way better than a blank page. Has anyone else had a prompt they thought was silly totally unlock a piece for them?
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ward.kim14d ago
Honestly, a grocery list turning into a story still sounds kinda goofy to me.
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roberts.leo15d ago
Yeah that grocery receipt thing is wild. I read a blog post once where someone wrote a whole noir detective story from a receipt for lightbulbs and a single plum.
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Was it on that writing blog, "Micro Obscura"? I tried that once with a receipt for just duct tape and a mango. Wrote a whole spy thriller about a botched drop. The mango was the secret drive.
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