#google sheets

i started working on this specific gsheet in early 2021, with my first iteration: "prompt gen." inspired by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's "Oblique Strategies," i wanted to develop prompts that make me think, that are unique to my interests and general skill wheelhouse.

i split my prompt into three categories: Type of Art (technique or form), Subject Matter (what it is depicting), and Themes (of which there are two per prompt). then, i brainstormed options for each category, using a free writing, blue sky technique. more options are typically better here, and the fun part is that you can get really wild with them. since the final prompt doesn't have a specific format or structure, you can be really creative here.

using gsheets formulas, i was able to figure out a way to randomly generate one box entry from a named range. i dropped each category's brainstorm into a single column per category, and then called the boxes that were filled of that column in the formula.

the page looks like this:

the formula process i use is this: 1. select the box you want to generate an entry. type in "= INDIRECT("columnletter" &RANDBETWEEN(#, #))" without the outside quotes, and replacing "columnletter" with the letter of the column that has your list of options, still in quotes here. then, in the first #, put the number row your list starts on. for me this was 2, because of the title row. in the second # put the very last row that has an entry on your list. for example, 50. i have like 232 or something at this point but start small.

after that, i would just need to refresh the document by selecting a box and hitting backspace, or reloading the tab. and it generates a random prompt for me. here are some examples:

this ^ actually is the insp for my zine: moving quickly is not a virtue

eventually i updated the structure to streamline it a bit, and also updated my list of elements too, forming: 'prompt gen 2' lol this one has only two columns: form and subject matter, which it calls thrice per prompt. here are some examples of prompts from this one:

most recently i've been in need of prompt without specific forms attached, so i made another tab and simplified it to the following (shown with examples):