Had a writing prompt bomb at a library open mic night

I read this prompt about a character finding a locked box in an attic. The crowd just stared at me. Nobody had any follow up ideas or questions. Has anyone else had a prompt totally flop in front of a live audience?

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kelly_henderson834mo ago

Yeah I had this one time where I read a prompt about a ghost who kept forgetting they died and kept trying to make coffee in a kitchen that didn't exist anymore. Total crickets. Like nobody even cracked a smile. But then later this old guy came up to me and said it reminded him of his grandmother who had dementia and he almost cried. So I guess with the locked box thing maybe people were just really in their heads about it. Sometimes the quiet ones are the ones that stick with people the longest even if it feels awkward in the moment.

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hugog434mo ago

Actually this kind of silence can be a good thing. A room full of people thinking hard about a locked box might just mean the prompt hit deep. Sometimes no reaction is still a reaction.

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