Tried a character's journal entry as a writing prompt and got way different results than I expected

I usually write prompts from a third person perspective, you know, 'a soldier finds a letter' type stuff. Last week I wrote one as a journal entry from a single mom in 1997 describing her day, down to the receipt in her purse. The responses I got were super personal and emotional, like people really connected with the voice. Has anyone else noticed first person prompts hitting harder than the standard ones lol?

2 comments

2 Comments

lindaowens17d ago

omg this is so funny because I did something similar with a prompt from a gas station clerk's pov at 3am and people wrote whole novels about their own late night shifts lol. it's wild how a specific voice just unlocks all this emotion in people.

the_laura3d ago

linda that's exactly what gets me about this whole thing. I was listening to a podcast where some writer was talking about how the most mundane jobs and places actually carry the most weight for people because they're the backdrop for our real lives. Like a gas station at 3am isn't just a gas station, it's where you stop after a bad breakup or before a road trip with your best friend. That specific voice and setting just clicks something in people's brains and they start pouring out their own memories. It's like the prompt gives them permission to share something they've been holding onto. I think that's why those threads blow up so fast, it taps into that shared experience we all have but never talk about.