Are Writing Prompts a Form of Procrastination?—D.M.K. Ruby

Doing writing prompts feels virtuous, I mean, you’re writing so isn’t that a good thing? Not according to my writing group, as they see me using them to avoid working on my own projects.

But the lure of them is so powerful. Each one feels like it’s doable, like something I can actually finish, unlike a short story or heaven forbid, a novel. A small, discrete chunk of work with a beginning and an end.

Prompts are meant to generate ideas and get you writing but that’s not my problem, as accurately diagnosed by a member of our writers group. It’s having the courage to finish a story and set it out in the world, open to criticism and complaints.

While I’m doing writing prompts, I can relax because no one is going to read it but me. No chance of fucking it up and hey, if it’s not perfect, there are literally books full of 500 more to do when the mood strikes.

Ah, that ugly beast of perfectionism raises its ugly head again, always ready to remind me it’s not good enough, it’s not ready, everyone will judge it harshly. In Gretchen Rubin’s Happier podcast, episode 427, she poses the question, are you an opener or a finisher, a question to know yourself better. I realized that I’m a mix, I love finishing that last drop of shampoo but love starting writing projects, but less enthused about finishing them.

For some, writing prompts can help get the creative juices flowing, for others, they can suggest new scenarios or create opportunities to explore dialogue they might not otherwise consider.

For others, ok, it’s me, I’m the “others”, it’s a way of feeling productive without necessarily being productive. This is an extension of my procrastibaking, procrasticleaning, and procrastisocializing – they all feel good, feel productive, but ultimately are not in service of finishing my current work in progress. 

What do you think? Are all the books out there on writing prompts helpful? Or are they hindering your work with the illusion of being productive, without producing publishable work?

Looking forward to your thoughts!