the use of prompts in free writing

During Third Story Writers Guild meetings writing prompts are often tossed out to see what members can come up with at the drop of a hat. In a 10- to 15-minute time frame attempts are made to pen a paragraph or two. Following is Scott Schmidt's work on the prompt word cliché:

      "As luck would have it, it seems like there's no time like the present to open this can of worms. Some won't touch a cliché with a ten foot pole but I think one man's trash is another man's treasure. Some will avoid clichés like the plague, but I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Like my Daddy used to say, take the bull by the horns and if you play your cards right you can bet your bottom dollar that by and large everything will be fine and dandy.
      "But if you run fresh out of ideas, or find yourself at a loss for words, you can rest assured that by keeping your nose to the grindstone it's only a matter of time before a cliche' hits you like a ton of bricks. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. It just goes to show you that when you take the plunge and really push the envelope you'll be tickled pink to discover clichés you can really sink your teeth into.
      "At the risk of sounding like a broken record but in order to drive the point home I should remind you to look before your leap or you'll be an accident waiting to happen. Avoid having a knee-jerk reaction. Once you get past that and get the ball rolling you'll be like a kid in a candy store with clichés coming a mile a minute. But don't push your luck and put all your eggs in one basket. You don't want to be on the outside looking in because you bit off more than you could chew.
And last but not least it's been a pleasure to say that when you're on a roll and laying in on thick it never hurts to try, in any way shape or form, to go out on a limb, even when you're barking up the wrong tree."