darren r hill

the creative minimalist

  • Valid excuses for no creativity

    I return from a brief vlogging hiatus with a raft of excuses, some more feasible and valid than others. The creative path is winding, and sometimes there are valid reasons for not being creative. In this week’s vlog I try to explain.

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  • Completing a creative project

    In a productive moment, I finished a creative project. In a surreal moment, I decided to interview myself about the challenges, practicalities and what exactly that creative project was. In a recorded moment, I present this week’s vlog about completing a creative project.

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  • Meandering with purpose for creativity

    There are times when being creative, writing, painting, making music or any creative activity just isn’t working out. At those times it may be that we need a break, or as I like to call it, meandering with purpose. This week’s vlog explores when and why a little meander might be just what we need

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  • Mountains as a creative metaphor

    This past week has been hard going. This creative life of mine was all over the place and a bit of a mess. So, in this week’s vlog, it is time to take a look at mountains as a creative metaphor. The next mountain may be higher, but the view will be amazing.

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  • Reviewing Creative Goals

    How have we done with our creative goals, habits and routines as the first quarter of the year passes? I confess to what I have achieved and not achieved in Q1 as I review and prepare for Q2. Creative successes and habit failures are in this week’s vlog

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  • Creative resources and time

    Everywhere we look there are adverts and influencers offering stuff to make our lives perfect. I have also been seeing a lot of talk about minimising what we have and what we use in our creative lives. This week’s vlog explores this very issue.

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  • Friday Fiction Writing Prompt exploring light

    A Fiction Writing Prompt exploring the topic of light. The aim to stretch your literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore. Light is the topic for this prompt.

    As the light flickered on she understood; both the reason for the silence and the explanation to not being told - fiction writing prompt @darrenrhill #ffwp

    As the light flickered on she understood; both the reason for the silence and the explanation to not being told

    Writing prompt expanded

    This week’s fiction writing prompt ties into my weekly prompt word; light. If you take a look at light in the dictionary you’ll find many uses for it and many meanings. Put light into a thesaurus and the possibilities stretch further. However, in this prompt, I have focussed on the aspect that light illuminates and makes clear.

    Because we need light to see, and light is one of our senses, it plays an integral part in our lives. If we have difficulty seeing and/or are visually impaired you’ll understand the importance and the associated feelings with not seeing something.

    The prompt is deliberately open. Something or someone has been hidden, but now the light has come on, they, or it has been revealed. But what? And that’s the writing challenge. Here are some ideas, but the list is almost endless:

    • a forgotten, now returned relative
    • a partner found in a compromising situation
    • a dead body
    • a known associate now revealed as someone else
    • an item thought lost
    • a surprise party

    Those are just a few ideas, but have fun exploring and writing about your own if you want.

    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, use the hashtag #ffwp or tag me @darrenrhill. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original bulb image by >Free-Photos from Pixabay

    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

  • Light Wordless Wednesday

    Inspired by my weekly creative prompt word, light, I took these pictures the other day. Nothing like a good light reflection to reflect upon.

  • Weekly creative prompts for 2021

    I want to make 2021 the most creative year of my life. My word for the year, if you’ve watched my vlog is ‘connect’ and the first step in many of my goals and dreams for the year is to create. Now 2020 has been difficult for us all in many ways. For me, I have struggled to maintain focus and that has impacted my creativity. I have struggled to start, work through and finish a whole host of creative projects.

    One thing I have managed to do is keep posting the Friday Fiction Writing Prompts #ffwp. And that got me thinking. Could I expand the idea of prompts and use it to both my own and anyone else who is interested, benefit? So, I am going to share a weekly creative prompt. I’ll be using the prompt to inspire and guide my creativity, and to focus on some blog posts.

    I am sure the prompts will evolve over the year but the intention is to keep them simple. This is an experiment, so I’ll see how it goes. I am hoping it won’t feel too prescriptive, I don’t like prescriptive, or rules or must dos… perhaps that’s why I’ve struggled creatively. So, we’ll see if this makes any difference. And, like all the prompts and ideas I share they are open to your interpretation.

    Let the prompts inspire you in any area of creativity that you are interested:

    • writing fiction
    • art journaling
    • songwriting
    • journaling
    • photography
    • painting
    • composing
    • blog posts
    • art therapy
    • anything that could use a little nudge to begin

    I’ll give a prompt, just one word each week, that we can use as a foundation for whatever art we want to create. I’ll share what I am creating and how it has helped or hindered, what I am working on. There will also be expanded fiction writing prompts each week and other posts.

    As 2020 has passed, and we are trying to be a little optimistic for 2021, the first prompt seemed to choose itself. Of course, it is possible that it will lead you down darker pathways…

    This week’s creative prompt word is:

    “light”

    I’ll add additional posts relating to the prompt through the week so do subscribe to stay in the loop.

    This isn’t a ‘challenge’ but the prompts can be used that way if you want. And 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 @darrenrhill or #thecreativeminimalist on any social platform.

    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

  • My Vision Journal and One Word for 2021

    I created a vision journal for 2021. It also includes my One Word for the year. In the video, I show you how I made it, the process for creating the content on each page and how it all ties into my One Word for the year.

  • Happy mail Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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

    happy mail - I opened the letter and read. I had to be careful not to smudge the words, as tears of joy rolled down my cheeks a Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

    I opened the letter and read. I had to be careful not to smudge the words, as tears of joy rolled down my cheeks

    Writing prompt Expanded

    Some things make us so happy that our emotions overflow. But what can make us so happy? Today’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is all about exploring mail that makes us so happy we cry.

    Our main character, written in the first person, is reading a letter and it is happy mail. But what words could bring tears of joy to someone’s eyes?

    • is it the news they have been waiting for?
    • the news they never dared would arrive?
    • is it a confirmation of something or a positive change in fortune?
    • in a digital age what is so important that it arrived via the post?
    • or, is this a past event being described, before the advent of email, texting and messaging?

    The choice, as always, is yours. Put pen to paper or finger to keyboard and write, that’s the only rule. 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 #ffwp. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

    Original image by Victor Vote from Pixabay

    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

  • Cloudy sunlight Wordless Wednesday

    sunlight seen through dark clouds in the sky