My writing group in Denver almost fell apart over a single prompt

We used the classic 'you wake up with a superpower' prompt, but my friend Carla took it way too personally when someone joked about her character's lame ability. She stormed out of the cafe and didn't answer texts for three days. I had to host a separate meeting just to smooth things over and rewrite our group rules. Has anyone else had a simple prompt blow up like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

james6612mo ago

Sounds like your group needs a "no jokes about powers" rule now.

thomas_roberts1mo ago

Kevin's probably right that people would find something else to laugh about, but that doesn't solve the problem. What is it about the powers that makes them a target for jokes in the first place? Is it the powers themselves, or is it the people who have them that your group is poking fun at, @kevin_bailey? I'd be curious to hear what the people with the powers think about this too, because they're the ones who'd have to live with it.

kevin_bailey2mo ago

Banning jokes kills the fun, james661, and we'd just find something else to laugh about anyway lol.

campbell.logan1mo ago

Jokes about powers always hit different depending on the person. Some folks can laugh off anything, others have a tender spot you didn't see coming. Carla probably had some real hurt behind that reaction, maybe felt like the group was laughing at her instead of with her. Your group sounds like it needs a quick check-in rule just to make sure no one's getting blindsided like that again. Not banning jokes, just pausing long enough to see who's actually laughing.