First Lines
A creative writing tool from a Figma Make-thon—lottery prompts plus voting to validate what deserves to continue.
The blank page paralyzes many writers—not from lack of ideas, but from the pressure of choosing the "right" opening. Workshops and prompts often feel prescriptive; writers wanted surprise without losing agency over tone and direction.
- Role
- Designer & Developer
- Scope
- UX/UI, design, development
- Client
- Figma Make-thon
- When
- 2025
02Problem
We asked whether a mix of randomness, publishing, and community votes could make starting—and sharing—feel safer.
03Approach
I designed and built First Lines end-to-end for the Make-thon—balancing playful discovery with tools serious enough to draft and publish from.
Scope of work
04Challenges
_Randomness vs. control
A lottery of first lines adds delight, but writers still need to feel ownership over genre, length, and whether a prompt fits their project.
→Use the lottery as a starting nudge with easy redraws—not a locked assignment—and keep the editor familiar once a line is chosen.
_Public votes vs. private drafting
Community validation could motivate continuation—or expose half-formed work writers weren't ready to share.
→Separate publishing from drafting clearly, and frame votes as feedback on whether a public continuation is interesting—not a judgment of skill.
_Playful UI vs. credible writing tool
Visual playfulness attracts experimentation but can signal "toy" to people writing seriously.
→Keep lottery moments visually energetic but stabilize typography and editor chrome around calm, readable patterns once writing begins.
05Outcome
First Lines combines prompt lottery, drafting, and community voting into one flow—giving writers a low-stakes way to test ideas before committing to longer work. The Make-thon build proved the concept in a week; next steps would stress-test retention and moderation if it grew beyond an event prototype.
06Reflection
I learned that reducing fear of the blank page is as much about social safety as UI—people need permission to be unfinished. Randomness works when it's easy to reject.
If I did it again
If I did it again, I would prototype voting copy with real writers before visual polish—words set the tone of safety more than color does.