Prompt #17

Sometimes I get into a rut with writing, a place where nothing feels fresh, where I can’t get past my own world and ways of seeing to consider something original. This is one of my favorite exercises for such times.

First, get a fortune cookie. (Feel free to use this as an excuse to order take out Chinese food, or if you’re tight on time and finances, just buy a box of them at your local grocery store. I can get 15 for about $2.00. Either way, you have to get out somewhere and interact with people, and I think that’s always crucial for writers.)

Then, write a piece that somehow engages with the fortune in your cookie. This doesn’t mean you have to write a character who receives that fortune, but you could. Think about all the ways a fortune can come true, or ways that it could be thwarted. How might those involve interesting tensions that translate to interesting stories?

One note: Sometimes fortunes suck. That’s not to say they aren’t good fortunes (though that happens, too), but that they aren’t really fortunes at all—I’ve gotten ones before that said things such as “Wisdom is a good thing.” Well, sure it is, but it’s not much to write about. So in case that happens to you, you have some options: you may always, of course, just keep eating cookies until you find a fortune you can work with. Or you’re welcome to use my favorite all-time fortune: “There is a cake in your future.” What kind of character might have a cake in his or her future? Someone with an impending birthday to celebrate or wedding to attend, certainly. But what about the prisoner ordering his final meal? The pastry chef who’s whisking up yet another batch of the restaurant’s specialty? Marie Antoinette prior to uttering her infamous declaration? Experiment! Think broadly! Write it down, and consider sending it our way. We look forward to seeing it.

Got something great (that’s under 300 words)? Send it our way!