[ OT ] Research : How and why do prompts help us ?

There's really no way to define, objectively, what makes a good or bad prompt. That sort of thing is going to be different to each and every writer; what one writer could n't make a bedtime story out of, another might be able to weave a Homeric epic. Writers and their strengths are going to vary tremendously, and for those of us looking to maintain or even improve our skill with the written word, prompts act as the flint and stone to help get the fire going. 
 
 That said, my personal idea of a good prompt? A solid concept is the most concise way I can put it; an idea that - while fully realized - is only exactly that. Very little about setting or characters or where the prompter implies the story *should* go, but the general idea behind the prompt itself illustrated clearly and explicitly enough so that writers know exactly what's being asked of them regardless. It's hard to strike that balance in a prompt, mostly because the line between not enough information and too much information is a very blurred line indeed. Generally speaking; the *less* a writer has on the specifics of a situation and the more a writer has on the *gist* of a situation, the better the story will turn out. Bad prompts generally go too far in the opposite directions. Either the idea is too nebulous to really latch onto or the prompt is so very specific that it's clear what the prompter is looking for without any real input from the writers. 
 
 Now, why do prompts help us? Some of us like to write in a particular genre or to write characters with such and such traits ( I'm a repeat offender of this, just about every NaNoWriMo protagonist of mine has just been me in some form or another ) and dislike deviating from those patterns. But there's so much more to our individual abilities and imaginations that can be unlocked. A prompt helps writers get out of those comfort zones. A *good* prompt will intrigue the writer enough to say `` Yeah, sure, what the hell? ``.
