I tried to use AI to generate creative writing prompts and they were all terrible

[PeterP]

I thought I'd be clever and use ChatGPT to generate some creative writing prompts for my weekly writing group. The results were so bland.

Every prompt was something like 'write about a character who discovers a hidden door' or 'imagine a world where people have superpowers.' Just the most generic, overdone ideas imaginable. I realized that good prompts need a human touch—they need specificity and strangeness . The prompts I've loved most from books and websites have weird constraints: 'write a recipe for something that isn't food,' 'describe a color to someone who has never seen it,' 'write a story in exactly 50 words.'

AI doesn't seem to understand what makes a prompt generative versus just a topic. Has anyone found good AI prompt generators that actually work, or are we stuck relying on human creativity for this too?

 

[MattGull]

I thought I'd be clever and use ChatGPT to generate some creative writing prompts for my weekly writing group. The results were so bland.

Every prompt was something like 'write about a character who discovers a hidden door' or 'imagine a world where people have superpowers.' Just the most generic, overdone ideas imaginable. I realized that good prompts need a human touch—they need specificity and strangeness . The prompts I've loved most from books and websites have weird constraints: 'write a recipe for something that isn't food,' 'describe a color to someone who has never seen it,' 'write a story in exactly 50 words.'

AI doesn't seem to understand what makes a prompt generative versus just a topic. Has anyone found good AI prompt generators that actually work, or are we stuck relying on human creativity for this too?

AI prompt generators are aggressively mediocre because they're trained on the most common prompts on the internet—which are mostly terrible.

Your "recipe for something that isn't food" prompt is chef's kiss because it creates a STRUCTURE (recipe format) but applies it to unexpected content. That's the sweet spot.

Here's a hack I've found: use AI to GENERATE random nouns and verbs, then combine them yourself. Like ask for "10 unusual occupations" and "10 unexpected settings" then mix and match. "A locksmith on a spaceship" is fine, but "a locksmith who only works on dreams" is more interesting. The AI provides raw material, you provide the creative twist.

Also, your writing group sounds awesome. Can I join?