Am I the World’s Oldest Spoiled Brat?
I follow a writing prompt and discover my Inner Princess
I rarely respond to writing prompts, which is silly
Maybe it’s because I spent years posting prompts on the whiteboard, trying to transform my students into willing writers when I taught middle-school English.
Maybe it’s my perverse Puritan work ethic thing. I mean, writing prompts are terrific — for everybody else. When I do them I feel a little, I don’t know, smarmy? Like I’m cheating?
More probably, it’s my pointy little ego. I’ve got lots of stuff to write about! I’ll summon my Muse all by myself, thank you very much.
You don’t got to show me no stinkin’ prompts.
That attitude is just as dumb as it sounds. As with so much else in life, in writing, I am often my own problem. I am ready to break through the egoic crust.
Luckily, there is the talented and witty Karen Schwartz
In addition to her many fine stories on Medium, Karen Schwartz also offers a series of prompts she calls her This or That challenges, or ToTs. Each one proposes to uncover something specific about the writer: your level of personal development, for example, or how…
