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Writing Prompt簡單來說，就是「寫作題目」。

但「寫作題目」聽起來很無聊，聽起來就像補習班的作業。

實際上「Writing prompt」給人的印象是很有趣、很五花八門的，在美國相當流行。從給文字工作者挑戰技巧的prompt，到針對業餘愛好寫作者、或是一般大眾較趣味性的prompt都有。

通常，會是一個問題、或一個情境，引發你思考或想像。有些人，專門喜歡丟出這種引子，然後文青小妮子、職業婦女、專業攝影師、生物學博士等各式各樣、因為各種原因想要動動筆的人，就會來嘗試一下。無意間，時常變成一種community，例如這個Tumblr。

出題者的品牌或個性，就代表了不同的趣味和想像世界。Prompt可以簡單到「為什麼你要寫東西？你到底想講什麼？」這種制式問題，或是像上面Tumblr出過的「秋天到了。你是一片葉子。寫吧。」Chronicle Books出版的，總有種日常創意俯拾即是的親切感。來自McSweeney's的，一定辛辣難解，不知道是在嘲笑讀者還是與讀者同樂。

Writing Prompt，中文到底該如何稱之呢？

功用是「寫寫看」「想像看看」

形式是「引子」「題目」

感覺是「有趣無妨」

我想叫它「想像力題目」

但是要達意，我現在只想得出無趣的「寫作題」

接下來讓我試譯McSweeney's出版DAN WIENCEK十三道令人詫異的寫作題

～THIRTEEN WRITING PROMPTS.BY DAN WIENCEK試譯～

1.
Write a scene showing a man and a woman arguing over the man’s friendship with a former girlfriend. Do not mention the girlfriend, the man, the woman, or the argument.

請寫一對男女吵架的景。他們在吵男方跟一個前女友的友誼關係。前女友、男方、女方、及爭吵本身都不可入文。

2.
Write a short scene set at a lake, with trees and shit. Throw some birds in there, too.

請寫一個湖畔的景，有樹啊那些有的沒的鳥，喔對還有鳥。

3.
Choose your favorite historical figure and imagine if he/she had been led to greatness by the promptings of an invisible imp living behind his or her right ear. Write a story from the point of view of this creature. Where did it come from? What are its goals? Use research to make your story as accurate as possible.

想像你最喜歡的歷史人物，是因為受耳朵中住的小魔精操弄，所以才成就了偉大。請從小魔精的觀點，寫一個故事。他從哪裡來？他的目的是什麼？請盡量精確，做一些研究調查。（譯註：imp一般指源自德國民間故事的魔精）

4.
Write a story that ends with the following sentence: Debra brushed the sand from her blouse, took a last, wistful look at the now putrefying horse, and stepped into the hot-air balloon.

請寫一個故事，最後一句如下：「黛布拉拍掉襯衫上的沙，極其渴望地看了已在腐化的馬最後一眼，然後走進了熱氣球。」

5.
A wasp called the tarantula hawk reproduces by paralyzing tarantulas and laying its eggs into their bodies. When the larvae hatch, they devour the still living spider from the inside out. Isn’t that fucked up? Write a short story about how fucked up that is.

有一種叫做沙漠蛛蜂的胡蜂，繁衍方式是把狼蛛毒昏，然後在牠體內產卵。幼蟲孵出的時候，會從狼蛛體內把牠生吞活剝地吃掉。這牠媽的變態吧？請寫一個關於這有多變態的短篇故事。

6.
Imagine if your favorite character from 19th-century fiction had been born without thumbs. Then write a short story about them winning the lottery.

請想像你最喜歡的十九世紀小說主角，出生時就沒大拇指。請寫一個關於這位主角贏了樂透的短篇故事。

7.
Write a story that begins with a man throwing handfuls of $100 bills from a speeding car, and ends with a young girl urinating into a tin bucket.

請寫一個故事，開頭是一個男人在行駛中的車子裡丟出一把又一把的百元美鈔，結尾是一個少女尿尿在錫桶子裡。

8.
A husband and wife are meeting in a restaurant to finalize the terms of their impending divorce. Write the scene from the point of view of a busboy snorting cocaine in the restroom.

一對夫婦在餐廳裡處理離婚協議的最後內容。餐廳的跑腿小弟正在廁所吸古柯鹼，請從他的觀點寫這個景。

9.
Think of the most important secret your best friend has ever entrusted you with. Write a story in which you reveal it to everyone. Write it again from the point of view of your friend. Does she want to kill you? How does she imagine doing it? Would she use a gun, or something crueler and more savage, like a baseball bat with nails in it?

想想你最好的朋友跟你講過最不得了的秘密。請從你朋友的觀點，寫一個你向全世界洩了密的故事。她想殺掉你嗎？她怎麼想的？她想用槍，還是用更殘忍更野蠻的方式（例如插滿釘子的棒球棒）？

10.
Popular music is often a good source of writing inspiration. Rewrite Bob Dylan’s “Visions of Johanna” as a play.

流行音樂富含許多寫作靈感。請把巴布·狄倫的「Visions of Johanna」改寫成戲劇。

11.
Write a short scene in which one character reduces another to uncontrollable sobs without touching him or speaking.

請寫一個這樣的景：一個角色不講話也不碰觸人，就把另一個角色逼到狂哭不止。

12.
Your main character finds a box of scorched human hair. Whose is it? How did it get there?

你的主角找到一盒燒焦的人髮。那是誰的頭髮？怎麼會出現在這裡？

13.
A man has a terrifying dream in which he is being sawn in half. He wakes to find himself in the Indian Ocean, naked and clinging to a door; a hotel keycard is clenched in his teeth. Write what happens next.

一位男人夢到自己被鋸成兩半的惡夢。他醒來發現自己全身赤裸的緊抓一個門，牙齒咬著旅館房間門卡，正在印度洋上。請寫接下來發生的事情。