darren r hill

the creative minimalist

Author: Darren

  • The dream Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing Prompt about dreaming to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    My eyes snapped open. I was wide awake. But the dream was still vivid. Friday Fiction Writing Prompt about dreaming

    My eyes snapped open. I was wide awake. But the dream was still vivid.

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    This Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is about stretching your imagination muscles. Dreams are not fully understood. More importantly for us, they don’t follow the normal physical laws of reality. It’s time to play around with some fundamental laws of nature.

    The trouble with dreams

    Dreams take place in our brains while we sleep. Sometimes we remember them, other times we don’t. We might capture fragments or feelings or sometimes be able to construct a convincing narrative from them. However, in dreams

    • things don’t always happen in order
    • places and people can become confused and mixed-up
    • emotions can be exaggerated or non-existent
    • friends and family can act out of character
    • places can be known, amalgamated or pure fantasy
    • The natural laws of gravity and nature can become warped

    In other words, dreams are creative playgrounds for writers. They go beyond the normal constraints of a simple narrative. There are no limits to what your dream can be about. Describe your dream and draw the reader into this ‘strange’ land of the subconscious. No rules, just write and enjoy.

    As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story or something a little more grandiose. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments or tag me #ffwp @darrrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original bed image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

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  • Studies in music – Wordless Wednesday

    Fender acoustic and fender telecaster guitars
    Microphone and pop shield

  • Free Christmas Holiday Music

    I wrote a piece of music for the Christmas holidays. I now offer it to you. You can hear it below or download to keep and listen anytime you want. I hope it brings you a little pleasure in these difficult times. As you hear the bells jingle raise a prayer or intention and perhaps you’ll receive that Christmas miracle.

    Please share this page with anyone you think might like to have a little uplifting tune

    Download here (Dropbox)

    If you like the music be sure to check out my Bandcamp page and this temple eden homepage, where you’ll find more music and related news and information. In the meantime, enjoy the holidays safely when they arrive and have a lovely weekend.

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Who are you? Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    A Fiction Writing Prompt to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

    There were faces all around, looking intently at me, but I recognised none of them - a Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    There were faces all around, looking intently at me, but I recognised none of them

    Writing Prompt Expanded

    A piece of advice often given to would be writers is to write about what you know. Well, this is a challenge that develops that idea. Here you’re prompted to write about what you don’t know, but for a purpose.

    So what has happened?

    • Have you just recovered, or woken up from some traumatic experience? Is your memory playing up and not recognising those around?
    • Perhaps you’re coming round in the street after a funny turn? The faces are the strangers, or paramedics come to offer aid.
    • You might be about to make a presentation or speech, and the unknown faces are the crowd eagerly awaiting your words?

    Or it could be something else. As always these writing prompts are optional and entirely open to your own interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story or something a little more grandiose. If you do write something, please share it or a link, in the comments or tag me #thecreativeminimalist #ffwp. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest

  • Morning clouds

    A little colour in the morning clouds behind the trees

  • The real meaning of Advent?

    Lit Advent candle

    advent noun
    1 the arrival of a notable person or thing: the advent of television.
    2 (Advent) the first season of the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.
    Old English, from Latin adventus ‘arrival’, from advenire, from ad- ‘to’ + venire ‘come’.

    Advent has arrived. Of course, there is a certain irony to think of a period that looks forward as something that is here now. But thoughts like that seem particularly poignant this year. Every month, or week, or moment, I have thought we have got somewhere, arrived, only to realise that things have not improved or changed.

    Things are different.

    Primarily because of the pandemic and partly due to my laziness, I haven’t got an advent candle this year. It’s the first time in several years I don’t have one. I have found great comfort in the moments spent meditating and contemplating ‘stuff’ each day as one number at a time melted away. I don’t need a numbered candle for that but every symbol helps and is a gentle reminder that there is more out there than my own personal bubble of fears, worries and concerns.

    The pandemic has disrupted things. It has disrupted routines. It has disrupted structure and function and forms of living. Whether any of the things it has disrupted could be called normal is debatable, but what is certain is that our regular has been disrupted.

    Back to my lack of a candle: disruption to my regular. It is easy to focus on the negative of this disruption. To focus on what I don’t have and what I can’t have. The challenge is to look forward.

    • To focus on the horizon
    • To the way ahead
    • To the vision of what will be and what is to come
    • To know that what I do now is paving my path ahead, strengthening the tunnel through all of this

    I don’t have a candle. You may not have a candle, or struggle to find any light, but it is there. We can all hold on to a little hope, a little faith, a little miracle. Despite all that the virus and 2020 si throwing at us, there is hope and there is light. The tunnel may be of indeterminate length but it will have an end and as we travel along the light will brighten. This is Advent.

    Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
    namaste
    d
    xox

    If you enjoyed this post please support my writing by making a donation of any amount.

    Sign up for my (ir)regular newsletter to keep up to date with my creative adventures, including special offers, and join me on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Pinterest