This week’s creative prompt is Rest. Each week we begin with a single word and expand it to inspire writing fiction, journaling and other creative activities. These creative prompts, are to give me, and anyone else who wants to join in, some inspiration for our creative work.
Definitions
rest — allow to be inactive to regain strength or health, be placed or supported to stay in a specified position
Rest can be used as a noun or verb.
Related
relax, ease up/off, let up, slow down, pause, have/take a break, ease, inactivity, respite, time off, time out, breathing space
Rest denotes inactivity, a time to do nothing. So, can we make rest work as a creative prompt? Let’s see…
Let the prompt ‘rest’ inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:
- writing fiction
- journaling
- art journaling
- songwriting
- photography
- painting
- composing
- blog posts
- art therapy
- anything that could use a little nudge to begin
Let’s expand the word a little further…
Writing prompt
A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the word rest to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.
It was too much. I was overwhelmed. My mind couldn’t cope. I had to rest.
Writing Prompt Expanded
The modern world is fast-paced. We are beset with deadlines, appointments, expiry dates, the time to upgrade, alarms to wake up and take medicine. We move from minute to minute, day to day, doing whatever our day demands. If we are fortunate, we may get a few weeks each year on holiday, a holiday full of new demands and time pressures.
Sometimes this all gets too much, and that is where this prompt begins. We should all know what it feels like, and so we can call on our memories and experiences in our writing here. However, this is fiction and so…
- What has overwhelmed our character?
- What are the physical effects?
- How will the character rest?
The context for this prompt is entirely up to you. Use your experiences and memories of feeling overwhelmed to bring reality to your fiction. A truism often used is write what you know. To develop your writing, exaggerate and elaborate on these experiences.
Enjoy and may your words rest easy on the page as you create and write.
Quick fiction writing
Set a time limit, use the following random prompts and write a short piece of fiction.
- Character: child
- Place: shop
- Item: shelves of sweets
Journal prompt
Making time for writing, creating and doodling in our journals is a great way to rest. Despite alarms often being the cause of stress for me, I have several set to remind me to stop and open up my journal. And if you’ve watched my YouTube channel, you’ll know I have and use several journals.
Three ideas for your journal
- overwhelmed? write a list
- create a collage that represents rest for you
- plan a restful holiday, the place, what you need and how to make it a reality
Theory of General Creativity
I now have ‘rest’ written on the board above my computer. I am also on a journey of pilgrimage and discovery at the moment, so making time for some personal rest as well. However, I am still working away and creating, I am confident it will inspire me on my creative journey this week.
- capture things resting with your camera
- remember to pause and rest during a creative project if you are unsure of the next step
- use rest and space in paintings, multimedia and sound
Let ‘rest’ inspire your music, photography, and painting this week.
Finally…
As always, these creative prompts are optional and entirely open to your interpretation. Use them as a starting point for a short story, something a little more grandiose, or any creative project or idea.
As mentioned before, this isn’t a ‘challenge’ but the prompts can be used that way if you want. If you do create anything using them, I would love to see or hear about it. Leave a link in the comments below, or tag me #thecreativeminimalist on any social platform.
Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
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