Debate: When a story prompt totally bombs on you, do you scrap it or try to fix it?

I was writing this horror prompt about a cursed vending machine last week. Got about 300 words in and realized the whole idea was falling flat - no tension, characters felt like cardboard. I stared at the screen for 20 minutes trying to decide if I should trash it all or keep pushing through. What do you guys do when a prompt goes sideways on you? Do you force yourself to finish it or just move on to something else?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_walker1d ago

Why not just pivot to a different genre with the same characters?

richard1371d ago

Stared at the screen for 20 minutes" - dude that's nothing, I've spent whole evenings staring at a blank page wondering if I should just go watch Netflix instead. If the prompt is totally dead, just kill it. @jake_walker's pivot idea sounds nice but that rarely works for me, the characters are usually tied to whatever stupid premise I came up with. The cursed vending machine sounds kind of fun actually but if it's not working after 300 words then it's probably not gonna get better, save yourself the headache.