How To Spice Up Your Writing

They say variety is the spice of life. It can take something bland or lackluster and elevate it to something amazing. In the writing world, I’ve found writing prompts to have a similar effect on my work. Writing prompts are the sriracha drizzled on my scrambled eggs. The crushed red pepper liberally added to my pizza. They clear my creative sinuses and allow the words to flow freely again.

Writing prompts come in many forms, but what they have in common is that they provide you with constraints. You’re obligated to write about a certain character, setting, or theme. This might sound like it would limit your creativity, but constraints can be a powerful writing tool. Similar to bumpers on a bowling lane, they keep you from straying too far from the goal and help guide you towards a successful ending.

Another benefit of using writing prompts is that they’re great practice. Most working writers will be writing on assignment in one form or another; whether that’s adapting a novel, creating a script based on someone else’s idea, or executing on a showrunner’s vision for a character or story. It will be helpful if you’re well-versed in writing from a strict set of instructions.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, writing prompts are fun! If you’re someone who has dedicated their life to writing, it can be easy to get lost in the weeds of deadlines, pitching, and rejections, and forget that you got into this crazy industry because you love to write. 

That’s why every year I participate in a contest called the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge. It consists of multiple rounds where you’re assigned a genre, a character, and a plot element. The first round you have a week to write a 12 page script. The second round you get 3 days for 8 pages. And the final round is just 24 hours for a 5 page masterpiece. 

Have I ever won? Doesn’t matter. Do my scripts score well?  I don’t even think about it. What matters is that I have a ton of fun every time. For someone like me who has narrowed down his writing to the specific niche of “grounded, character driven sci-fi that combines humor with heart” (shamelessly ripped straight from my website bio), it can be incredibly freeing to get assigned drama, or romance, or political thriller. I can stretch my legs into another lane and try something new. That’s usually where growth happens. So not only is variety the spice of life, it’s also the…growth supplement of life? The vitamin of life? It helps you grow.

This post was not sponsored by NYC Midnight. But maybe next year if the blog keeps growing!