That prompt generator I thought would save my story ended up killing my plot

I spent like 3 hours on a free writing prompt website last Sunday, clicking through random fantasy generators for a short story contest. Every prompt gave me a weird combo like "a dragon who runs a laundromat" and I thought it would spark something fun. But my character ended up doing random chores for 10 pages with zero conflict, and I learned that random prompts don't build a real story arc. Has anyone else had a generator idea fall completely flat like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy1311mo ago

Useful as a washing machine in a rainstorm, that generator.

the_lee1mo ago

Yeah that's fair. I used to think those little portable generators were a solid backup for camping or whatever, but after watching a neighbor try to run his fridge off one during a blackout last summer I changed my mind. That thing struggled to even keep a few lights on and sputtered out after like two hours. Now I get why people say they're only good for light duty stuff like charging phones.

rubyk261mo ago

@wendy131 I feel you on that washing machine in a rainstorm comparison, kind of captures how useless those generators can be when you really need them. What actually worked for me was ditching the random generators and switching to a "what if" approach instead. I started with one simple idea like "what if my character's magic only works during thunderstorms" and then built the story around that single rule, which gave me way more direction than a jumble of weird details ever did. For me the trick was taking that one weird idea and forcing my character to solve a real problem with it, not just wander around doing random chores or whatever. I ended up writing a solid 20 page story in about a week that way, and it actually made sense from start to finish. So maybe try picking just one element from those generators and building a whole plot around that, instead of trying to use every weird detail they throw at you.