Prompt banks vs. prompts from scratch, one got me published

I spent 3 months with a $40 prompt library and got nothing but generic fantasy, then switched to building my own from overheard bus conversations and sold a story to a lit mag in 6 weeks, so why is everyone still buying those template packs?

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holly_henderson8620d ago

Funny thing is, my own prompt bank is just a notes app full of stuff I heard on the bus and half-finished bar tabs. Spent $60 on a fancy pack once and the best line I got was 'the dragon sighed,' which, congrats, is about as fresh as a sandwich from yesterday. Building from scratch is chaos, but at least the chaos is mine, and apparently editors can smell a template from a mile away. Maybe the real trick is buying the pack just to know what not to write?