- Title: The Writer’s Book of Matches 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction
- Authors: The staff of fresh boiled peanuts, a literary journal
- Year Published: 2005 (Writer’s Digest Books)
- Year Purchased: 2005/2006
- Source: Writer’s Digest Book Club
- About: It took buying a book of prompts for me to realize that it is not for me. Not just this book, but in general: I’m not a prompts type of person. My mind doesn’t work that way. I don’t spark off of random sentences that are thrust in my face as something that will drive my creativity or discipline. I already have too many ideas, phrases, plots and sentences of my own to get bogged down with these. I also get bored, instantly bored. Not a few exercises in, but pronto. Basically, before I even open the book. I’ve tried several times to learn something from this perfectly sound tool, something useful. Something to propel my fiction forward to the place (or places) I know it can go. I am ready to admit-finally, after six or seven years-that the only lesson I have learned is that I really don’t like this kind of thing. At all. But maybe you do, which is lovely and brilliant and just as it should be for you. This book is portable, comes with 1,001 nicely varied prompts, has nifty photos and illustrations. It’s funny, too. I’m actually ready to part with this one. I think I’m going to give it away in a future post, pass it on to a writer who appreciates the idea. Stay tuned.
- Motivation: I had never used a book of prompts before, or any prompts period. Not in school, not on my own. Now I know why.
- Times Read: Casually, a sentence here and a sentence there
- Random Excerpt/Page 80: ” A young woman must run errands while wearing an embarrassing and inappropriate outfit.” (This sounds like that feature in Glamour magazine. Or is it Cosmo?)
- Happiness Scale: 3 (but only because it is not my thing)
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea.
Not just a blog, a philosophy
A Small Press Life: Books. Art. Writing. Life. Tea. 
I know the feeling. Ideas aren’t the problem, time is the problem.
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Indeed!!
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Hunter S. says something about needing fuel, that when people talk about inspiration, they often mean fuel. That I understand.
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That makes perfect sense.
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I did a few writing prompts when I first started my blog. It gave me something to help jump start, but once I got comfortable and found my groove, I just didn’t do them anymore. Not that I don’t like them, just haven’t had the desire. When it comes to creativity and inspiration, everyone is a little different. What works great for one will not work at all for another!
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Yeah, they definitely do not work for me. I’ve been writing for so long and I have never come close to needing ideas, either for non-fiction or fiction. Let alone blogging. I can see how they would be helpful for someone just starting out, if only for discipline purposes. Some of the prompts are pretty wacky, though.
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