The book “642 Things to Write About” changed the way I look at writing. It called to me from the shelf at Half Price Books. I felt the care in its construction. I knew in that moment it would change the way I write forever, and it did.
A couple years later and I’ve used at most a dozen of the prompts in the book. It sits mostly unused and has been entirely unused for the past year. There’s a lot of good ideas in “642 Things”. If you need ideas, I’d recommend getting a copy of it. Some of them are delicious and novel-worthy.
I, however, do not need any more ideas.
I need to execute.
I’m getting rid of this book now, because more ideas is not a good way to start writing. Writing is a good way to start writing. My quality is going to suffer. I will not stand by everything I write on this blog, but I will write things.
“642 Things to Write About” (and the US education system) taught me one thing, and it changed the way I look at writing: a D- (60%) is a passing grade; not turning in the assignment is a failing grade.