Tried writing a prompt with a strict word limit and got a totally flat story

Last week I wrote a creative writing prompt where characters could only speak in 5-word sentences. But when I tried my own story, every conversation felt choppy and lost all emotion. I thought the limit would force creativity, but it just killed the dialogue's flow. My character sounded like a robot after about 3 exchanges. What I learned is that restrictions need some wiggle room or they break the natural rhythm. Has anyone else had a rule or limit backfire on them in a story?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_mason3113d ago

That's a really good point about rigid limits killing the natural rhythm of things. Did you try giving the characters one or two words of physical action between their five-word lines to keep the emotion alive, or did you stick to just the dialogue?

amy_reed7913d ago

Not exactly. I gave them two physical actions per five-word line, actually.