I tried writing a prompt based on a real newspaper article and it flopped hard

Last month I took a true crime story from a local Detroit paper and turned it into a writing prompt about a missing evidence box. I thought it would be a hit because real life is stranger than fiction, right? Nope. Only two people replied and one said it felt too scripted. I learned that just because something happened in real life doesn't mean it makes a good prompt. Real events have weird tangents that don't fit a story arc. People want prompts that spark imagination, not ones that stick too close to facts. Now I tweak real stories more heavily before I post. Has anyone else tried pulling from true events and gotten a similar letdown?

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1 Comment

jade61824m ago

Maybe you're overthinking it a bit. Two people replied to a prompt, that's not exactly a disaster, it's just a low turnout. Real life is messy and weird, but a prompt is just a jumping off point, not a documentary.