finn/daily-journal-prompt
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull Requests Actions Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity

Readme tweaks and testing

Browse Source
This commit is contained in:
finn
2026-01-02 21:23:04 -07:00
parent 5e89e730ee
commit 16eaceb70a
5 changed files with 73 additions and 74 deletions
Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files

20
pool_prompts.json
View File

@@ -1,13 +1,4 @@
[
"Consider a piece of music that feels like a physical space to you\u2014a song you can walk into. Describe the architecture of this auditory landscape. What is the floor made of? How high is the ceiling? What color is the light? Where are the shadows? What happens to your body and breath as you move through its sections\u2014the verses, the chorus, the bridge? Is it a place of refuge, confrontation, or memory? Explore how sound can build an environment you inhabit, not just hear.",
"Reflect on a time you had to rely on a stranger's kindness in a moment of minor crisis\u2014a flat tire, a lost wallet, a missed train. Reconstruct the scene with detail: the weather, the exact words exchanged, the texture of your anxiety. Now, imagine that stranger's day leading up to that moment. What small burdens or joys were they carrying? Write the story of that intersection of lives, not as a grand tale, but as a delicate, temporary alliance. What did that brief connection teach you about interdependence?",
"Choose a body of water you have a history with\u2014a local pond, a childhood swimming hole, a city fountain, the sea. Describe its surface at three different times of day: dawn, midday, and dusk. How does the light change its character? What creatures claim it at each hour? Now, write about a secret you once told to that water, or a feeling you poured into it. Does water keep confidences? Explore the idea of water as a silent witness to your private self.",
"Invent a small, personal ritual you could perform to mark the transition from one part of your day to another (e.g., work to home, waking to activity). Describe each step with deliberate, sensory care. What object is involved? What words, if any, are said? How does your posture change? The goal isn't superstition, but mindfulness. Write about performing this ritual for a week. What subtle shifts in your awareness might it create? How does deliberately carving out a threshold affect your experience of time?",
"Recall a gift you gave that truly missed the mark. Describe the object, the occasion, the recipient's polite but confused reaction. Now, imagine the afterlife of that gift. Does it sit in a drawer? Was it re-gifted? Does it hold a different, secret value for its new owner? Write from the perspective of the gift itself, observing its journey from your hopeful hands to its uncertain fate. What does it understand about intention and reception that you might not?",
"Describe your shadow at a specific moment today. Not just its shape, but its quality\u2014is it sharp or fuzzy, long or squat, dancing or still? What is it touching or fleeing from? Personify your shadow. If it could detach and speak, what would it say about the life it's been forced to mimic? What grievances might it have? What secrets does it know about your posture and habits that you ignore? Write a conversation between you and your shadow.",
"Think of a phrase or saying in your family's private language\u2014a nonsense word, a mispronunciation that stuck, a coded reference. Unpack its etymology. Who said it first and in what context? How has its meaning evolved? Describe the feeling of using it with family versus the slight loneliness of knowing it's untranslatable to outsiders. How do these linguistic shards build a shared world?",
"Contemplate the concept of 'waste' in your daily life. Choose one item destined for the trash or recycling. Trace its journey backwards from your hand to its origins as raw material. Then, project its journey forward after it leaves your custody. What systems does it touch? What hands might process it? Write a biography of this discarded object, granting it dignity and narrative. How does this perspective alter your sense of responsibility and connection?",
"You are tasked with writing the text for a plaque to be placed on a very ordinary bench in your neighborhood\u2014not commemorating a person, but the bench itself. What would it say? Celebrate its design, its purpose, its view. Mention the countless anonymous people who have sat there. Write a short, poetic ode to this modest piece of public infrastructure. What profound human activities does it facilitate?",
"Describe a taste you loved as a child but have since grown indifferent to or now dislike. Recreate the sensory memory of that taste with precision. What was its context? Who was with you? Now, analyze the shift. Did your palate change, or did the associations sour? Is there a way to reclaim the innocent pleasure of that taste, or is its loss a necessary marker of growing up? Explore the nostalgia and slight grief in outgrowing a flavor.",
"Observe a plant in your home or nearby. Describe it not as a static object, but as a body engaged in slow, silent motion. How does it seek light? How do its leaves orient themselves? Imagine you can perceive its timescale\u2014the hourly unfurling, the daily drinking. Write a day in its life from its perspective. What are its desires? Its fears? How does it perceive you, the fast-moving giant who tends (or neglects) it?",
"Recall a promise you made to yourself long ago\u2014a vow about the kind of person you'd become, a habit you'd keep, a place you'd visit. Did you keep it? If so, describe the satisfaction, which may be quieter than expected. If not, explore the space between that past self's resolve and your current reality. What intervened? Was the promise unrealistic, or did your values change? Write a letter to that past self explaining the outcome with compassion, not judgment.",
@@ -18,5 +9,14 @@
"Write about a time you had to wait much longer than expected\u2014in a line, a waiting room, for news. Describe the interior journey of that waiting. How did your mind travel? What petty observations did you make? What resigned or frantic thoughts cycled through? Explore the limbo of waiting as a distinct psychological space, separate from both anticipation and outcome. What can be learned in the suspension?",
"Personify the concept of 'Home.' Not your specific home, but the idea itself. What does it look like? Is it a person, a creature, a force? What is its temperament? Is it welcoming or demanding, stable or elusive? Write a monologue from its perspective. What does it think of human attempts to create it? What are its true ingredients, beyond walls and roofs?",
"Describe the contents of a junk drawer in your home. Catalog each item with forensic attention. For three of the most puzzling items, invent a brief, plausible history. How did this odd bolt, this expired coupon, this single earring arrive here? The junk drawer is an archive of abandoned futures. Write its chaotic, honest inventory as a testament to life's loose ends.",
"Contemplate a wall in your living space. Describe its color, texture, and what hangs on it. Now, imagine the other side of that wall. What exists there? If it's an exterior wall, describe the outside world pressing against it. If it's an interior wall, imagine the life in the adjacent room, real or inferred. Write about this barrier as both a separator and a connector. What sounds, smells, or energies seep through? What does it mean to share a boundary with something or someone else?"
"Contemplate a wall in your living space. Describe its color, texture, and what hangs on it. Now, imagine the other side of that wall. What exists there? If it's an exterior wall, describe the outside world pressing against it. If it's an interior wall, imagine the life in the adjacent room, real or inferred. Write about this barrier as both a separator and a connector. What sounds, smells, or energies seep through? What does it mean to share a boundary with something or someone else?",
"Describe a piece of public art or graffiti you've seen that felt like a message meant specifically for you. What did it depict or say? Why did it resonate so deeply with your current state of mind? Explore the anonymous connection between creator and viewer, and imagine the life of the person who left this mark. How does this fleeting, uncurated art form compare to works in formal galleries?",
"Recall a time you were completely, utterly lost\u2014physically, in an unfamiliar place. Detail the growing panic, the failed landmarks, the decision points. Then, describe the moment of reorientation, however it came. How did that experience of profound disorientation change your relationship to navigation, to asking for help, or to your own sense of competence?",
"Choose a single word that has been echoing in your mind lately. It might be a concept, a feeling, or a simple object. Write a definition for this word that is entirely personal and experiential, not from a dictionary. Use metaphors, memories, and sensory details to explain what this word truly means to you at this moment in your life.",
"Imagine you are tasked with creating a time capsule to be opened in 50 years. You cannot include photographs or digital media\u2014only physical, non-electronic objects that fit in a shoebox. What five items do you choose, and why? For each, write the explanatory note that would accompany it. What story about this specific era and your specific life are you trying to preserve?",
"Write a detailed review of today, as if it were a product, a film, or a restaurant. Give it a star rating. Critique its pacing, its highlights, its low points, its sensory offerings (lighting, soundtrack, ambiance). Who were the supporting characters? What was the overarching theme? Would you recommend this 'day' to a friend?",
"Contemplate the concept of 'home' as a feeling, not a place. Describe a moment when you felt 'at home' in an unexpected location or situation. What were the ingredients of that feeling\u2014safety, familiarity, acceptance, ease? Conversely, describe a time you felt like a stranger in your own physical home. What creates or disrupts this internal sense of belonging?",
"Think of a mundane task you perform regularly (commuting, doing dishes, waiting in line). Re-imagine it as a sacred pilgrimage or a heroic quest. What are the trials? Who are the allies and adversaries (even if they are internal)? What is the treasure or revelation at the end? Infuse this routine with mythic significance and see how it changes your perception of it.",
"Describe your relationship with a body of water\u2014an ocean, a lake, a river, or even a recurring puddle. Do you approach it with fear, reverence, playfulness, or indifference? Recall a specific interaction with it: a swim, a storm, a quiet gaze. How does its constant, ancient movement reflect or contrast with your own more frantic human rhythms?",
"You meet a version of yourself from ten years in the future in a dream. This future-you can only answer questions with 'yes,' 'no,' or 'it's complicated.' Write the dialogue. What do you desperately need to know? What do you fear asking? What does their demeanor\u2014their posture, their eyes, their tone\u2014communicate beyond their limited words?"
]