darren r hill

the creative minimalist

The site needs a bit of a refresh, so as they used to say it is under construction. As such things might not look right, work right, or even feel right. But only until everything is new and shiny. After that… who knows.
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This month has been productive despite global chaos, and I have noticed the importance of maintaining a positive and intentional creative practice.
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This week’s creative field notes include how I am keeping up with February Album Writing Month and coming up with a few other creative ideas.
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January has been a difficult month for this creative minimalist. However, the festival of Imbolc is as good a time as any to make a creative new start. This week’s vlog explores recent creative highs and lows.
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As we begin the new year of 2025, I’m excited to share my collection of journals with you in this week’s vlog. I have a new daily planner, as well as music and fiction journals, and various vocabulary notebooks.
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My word of the year for 2025 is odyssey. It both a journey with a destination in mind and plenty of wiggle room for distractions.
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Fresh air – Friday Fiction Writing Prompt
A Fiction Writing Prompt to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

I opened the doors and stepped out on the balcony. The view was amazing, but it was the air that took my breath away

Writing Prompt Expanded

This week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is all about comparison. It’s time to compare one thing to another.

The prompt focuses on fresh air. Our narrator has arrived at a place where the air is different from what they are used to. This could be because they are from a smog-ridden city and they are now at the coast or out in the countryside, or the other way round. The choice, as always is yours.

The aim is to stretch your descriptive powers by focussing on the differences between the two. Use…
- simile
- metaphor
- exaggeration
The bigger the difference between the two places, the more captivated your reader will be, and the more likely they might relate to one of your descriptions. Emphasise the difference between the narrator’s memory and their current experience.

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. 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
23 October 2020
Wax on – Wordless Wednesday

21 October 2020
Scraps? Journal and Planner Vlog

Planner and journal vlog update. A look into my bullet journal(s) and junk journal. I seem to have run into a problem with my set-up. Instead of capturing things in my ‘daily’ journal, I have been accruing a number of scrap pieces of paper. It feels like I am being called to an all-in-one journal… but I’ve been there before 🙂

18 October 2020
Not working – Friday Fiction Writing Prompt

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

I squeezed, nothing. I pressed again, still nothing. Now, I was getting desperate

Writing Prompt Expanded

This week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is about frustration. Now you might feel there is enough frustration in your life already and that’s before you sit down and try to write. However, being able to describe frustration in your writing is a good skill.

It is said that a bad workmen blames his tool. Here, you are not a bad workman, or person. Here, it is the tool of your trade that is letting you down. You’re pressing a button, squeezing a trigger, trying to turn something on… but nothing is happening.

The prompt allows you to describe the frustration the narrator is having. They might need to fire a gun, they might need to call a lift to escape, they might be behind on preparing that special meal for that special someone. The choice of situation is yours, but whatever you choose, your challenge is to describe the complete and utter frustration.

Enjoy your writing, but don’t get too frustrated if that key on the computer doesn’t respond straight away.

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. 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

16 October 2020
How I create my weekly planner layout

This week’s vlog shows how I create my weekly bullet journal layout. I use stickers, scraps of paper and plenty of glue stick. I show how I go from a blank page to a weekly layout for my current bullet journal set-up. And I chat as I go along. Please subscribe if you like the video and find it helpful and I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Happy planning.

10 October 2020
Loss – Friday Fiction Writing Prompt
A Fiction Writing Prompt about loss to stretch the literary muscles. No rules. No word counts. Simply write and explore.

The word never is often used and frequently said in haste, but its real meaning was clear to me now

Writing Prompt Expanded

This week’s Friday Fiction Writing Prompt is about loss. We’ve looked at happiness and now it is time for a little sadness. The set-up is simple, something has been lost, something precious to your character. The thing lost is gone and it will never be with the character again. It is all about exploring the emotions that accompany absence.

Depending on your circumstances, and what you feel safe writing about, you can ‘lose’ anything. The ability to write objectively about something that can subjectively be very emotional for us can be difficult but is a valuable skill for writers of all genres and professions. The prompt has been created in the first person, but do change if that makes it easier for you.

The item lost can be anything. As mentioned above I want you to feel safe so be wary of your subject matter. Here are some ideas of items that can be lost.
- a person – the most basic loss that we all face at some point
- a love – for someone or something (or other emotion or feeling)
- an item – something that holds sentimental value, or practical importance
- an ability – explore the frustration that follows as you realise you can’t do something
- a pet – a loyal companion now gone
It’s possible that all of the above could be used simultaneously if you’re writing a disaster epic.

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. I’d love to read what you create. Write and enjoy the learning process.

Original person imageby Anemone123 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
9 October 2020