Noticed creative writing prompts got way more detailed since 2015

I was scrolling through old prompts from like 2014 on here and they were mostly just "write about a door" or "a character finds a letter." Now people are posting whole opening paragraphs with specific settings and emotional stakes built in. The shift happened around 2016 or 2017 when writers started adding constraints like word counts or required dialogue tags. I think it's because more published authors started sharing their actual process instead of just vague ideas. There's less room for interpretation now but the responses seem richer. Has anyone else found the older style easier to riff off?

3 comments

3 Comments

maxl933d ago

Changed my mind actually. The detailed ones really do spark more interesting stories.

nelson.wren3d ago

Trust the process, @maxl93. Detailed descriptions are where it's at, lol.

keith2743d ago

Right, because the length of a description is what's really going to make or break the story. I've seen some that were basically novels and still bored me to tears. Guess I'm just not a connoisseur of fine details, lol.